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Sure, why not? When you think about it, what happens when 3 armed terrorists hijack an airliner? The first thing we do is try to start some sort of negotiation because we want to save the lives of the passengers and crew. Anything else would be foolish. It buys you time and even if you decide to storm the airliner you will have had more time to plan your rescue mission. Also, the negotiation may wind up saving a lot of lives if it is successful. So, what is the difference then with negotiating right now with, say, Al Qaeda? We negotiated with North Korea in 1953 and North Vietnam in 1973 because we were not sure of victory at those dates. Do not assume that the terrorists are too inflexible. Any good negotiator will always start with the most unrealistic position so that he has something left to trade with and work his way down to something acceptable to both sides. We also need to talk to each other so that we can find moderates in these terrorist organizations so that we have a chance to split them away from the rabid fundamentalists. A dialogue is always better than nothing. Ask any marriage counselor.

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