US Should Talk to al-Qaeda, Analysts Say

Eschewing war as the only means of neutralizing militant groups, some analysts have suggested the US consider negotiating with al-Qaeda, Reuters reports. "No insurgency or terrorism has been defeated by warfare or violence," one negotiator said. Proponents see treating al-Qaeda as a legitimate power, not a loose network of militants, as necessary in destabilizing the group.

One concern is that by initiating conversation with al-Qaeda, the US would legitimize all terrorist groups. Moreover, al-Qaeda makes no political demands, calling for global jihad as an end unto itself. Even so, diplomacy advocates see negotiations on the horizon: "When we can't win a war, we sit down and talk with terrorists and stop calling them terrorists." (More War on Terror stories.)