Jan Egeland: Diplomacy in the Depths of Hell

Thu, Sep 13, 2007 at 11:45:38 am PDT

Anti-Israel European spokestool Jan Egeland tells Reuters that he would talk to al Qaeda.

In fact, he’s so enthusiastic about diplomacy, he’d talk to Satan himself. Maybe share a burrito.

Jan Egeland, a Norwegian who helped broker secret talks between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation in the 1990s and later, as a top U.N. official, dealt with warlords and guerrilla leaders from Colombia to Uganda, told Reuters: “I wouldn’t rule out speaking to anybody, a priori.”

He went on: “It depends on who you speak to, but also what you speak to them about. I’m willing to speak to the devil to help the victims in the depths of hell. If I could have a meeting with al Qaeda where one could impress upon them that they are the biggest anti-Islamic force around, why not?”

“Victims” in the depths of hell? I thought the whole idea of hell was that if you ended up there, you deserved it. I guess I’m not nuanced enough to grasp the subtle gray shadings of elite European thought.

But Egeland and others point out there are huge obstacles to negotiating with al Qaeda, even if Western governments could overcome their revulsion towards it.

Ya think?

(Hat tip: JammieWearingFool.)