Thaindian News

London, Mar 21 (ANI): Former MI5 Chief Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller has said that Britain should hold ‘talks’ with the al-Qaeda, insisting that the “war on terror” cannot be won without dialogue.

“It’s always better to talk to the people who are attacking you than attacking them, if you can,” The BBC quoted Buller, as saying.

She said that fewer attacks would enable a safer future.

“If we can get to a state where there are fewer attacks, less lethal attacks, fewer young people being drawn into this, less causes - resolution of the Palestinian question, less impetus for this activity, I think we can get to a stage where the threat is thus reduced,” she said.

Critics of the “war on terror” have argued that the torture of terror suspects and the continuing use of Guantanamo Bay for detainees has led to a propaganda victory for the al-Qaeda.

General Michael Hayden, another Director of the CIA who had held his post until 2009, has however denied allegations that drone attacks are unlawful assassinations, saying the secretive CIA drone operation has turned the “battlefield in our favour”.

“It has been a very strong significant force in making the al-Qaeda senior leadership spend most of their waking moments worrying about their survival, rather than threatening yours or mine. And that is a war-winning effort,” Hayden added. (ANI)