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To my family, friends and colleagues

Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit ‘One day it will be good to remember these things’

VIRGIL, AENEID, BOOK ONE, LINES 203–4

Contents

Preface

Introduction - Recognising Reality

Chapter One - Talking to the IRA

Chapter Two - From the IRA to Al Qaeda

Chapter Three - Talking to Hijack Victims

Chapter Four - Talking to the Interrogators

Chapter Five - Talking to a Convicted Terrorist

Chapter Six - Anatomy of a Sleeper Cell

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Chapter Seven - One Morning in September

Chapter Eight - A Warning Not Heeded

Chapter Nine - Bombs on Bali

Chapter Ten - Understanding the ‘New’ Al Qaeda

Chapter Eleven - Terror on the Ground

Chapter Twelve - Clean Skins

Chapter Thirteen - Terror in the Skies

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Chapter Fourteen - Jihad. com

Chapter Fifteen - Talking to the Victims of Torture

Chapter Sixteen - Journey to the Dark Side

Acknowledgements

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Illustrations

By the same author

Copyright

About the Publisher

Preface

The title of this book, Talking to Terrorists, is intended to suggest a broad compass. I’ve talked to many terrorists in nearly forty years of covering the phenomenon that has scarred the lives of so many during the latter years of the twentieth century and the first decade of the twenty-first. I’ve talked to terrorists not because I sympathise with them – I believe that conflicts should be resolved through dialogue, not destruction – but in order to try to understand their motivation, and to explore why individuals are prepared to kill for a cause, be it secular or religious, in which they believe. In the case of suicide bombers, they’re prepared to kill themselves too. I’ve always hoped that the programmes I’ve made and the books I’ve written may also help others to understand and perhaps reconsider the stereotype of the ‘terrorist’ – the deranged, fanatical gunman, or the bloodthirsty bomber who kills for the sake of killing. The reality is far more complex. I hope that this book may contribute to the continuing debate about how liberal democracies should respond to threats of terrorism and, where appropriate, engage in the process of conflict resolution.

This book isn’t just about me talking to terrorists.

It’s also about governments talking to terrorists as part of the process of resolving conflict. The British government talked to the IRA (as detailed in the first chapter of the book); the South African Prime Minister F. W. de Klerk talked to Nelson Mandela; the Americans talked to the insurgents in Iraq; and British diplomats – and no doubt American ones too – are talking to the Taliban, although at this stage perhaps only through intermediaries. Which raises the question, will we at some time in the future talk to Al Qaeda? In my view, talking to terrorists may sometimes be a necessary prerequisite of conflict resolution.