Britain should negotiate with the leaders of al-Qaeda to end its campaign of violence, the head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said today.
Sir Hugh Orde said his force's experience of tackling the IRA showed that policing alone would not defeat al-Qaeda-inspired terrorism.
Speaking to the Guardiannewspaper, Mr Orde said: "If you want my professional assessment of any terrorism campaign, what fixes it is talking and engaging and judging when the conditions are right for that to take place.
"Is that a naive statement? I don't think it is . . . it is the reality of what we face.
"If somebody can show me any terrorism campaign where it has been policed out, I'd be happy to read about it, because I can't think of one," Sir Hugh added.
In Northern Ireland, the British army and RUC failed to end 30 years of violence, and the Troubles were ended by a peace process that saw enemies such as Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams and DUP leader the Rev Ian Paisley talking to each other.
Elsewhere, CIA director Michael Hayden claimed that the terrorist network is essentially defeated in Iraq and Saudi Arabia and on the defensive throughout much of the world.
In a Washington Postinterview published today, Mr Hayden said: "On balance, we are doing pretty well. . . . Near strategic defeat of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Near strategic defeat for al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia. Significant setbacks for al-Qaeda globally . . . as a lot of the Islamic world pushes back on their form of Islam."
Mr Hayden said capturing or killing Osama bin Laden and his top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, remains a top priority, although he noted the difficulties in finding them in the remote border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan.