91Èȱ¬

The British Government should be reaching out to al-Qaeda to combat future terror attacks, the former Director General of MI5 has suggested in her first ever television interview.

When asked by reporter Peter Taylor whether we should be talking to al-Qaeda Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller replies: "I would hope that people are trying to do so, I don't know, it's always better to talk to the people who are attacking you than, than attacking them, if you can. I don't know whether they are, but I would hope that people trying to reach out to the Taliban, to people on the edges of al-Qaeda to talk to them."

Her comments are featured in 91Èȱ¬ Two's The Secret War On Terror, to be screened tonight (9pm on Monday 21 March), where she reflects on the UK's intelligence services' role in tackling home-grown terror plots supported or encouraged by al-Qaeda.

The former Director General of MI5 tells the 91Èȱ¬ documentary that the so-called "War on Terror" is not winnable: "...not in a military sense; there won't be a Waterloo or an El Alamein."

While saying she never signed up to terminology about actually winning the War on Terror, she suggests a safer future with fewer attacks is achievable: "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."

The documentary hears claims that the torture of terror suspects and the continuing use of Guantanamo Bay for detainees has led to a propaganda victory for al-Qaeda.

Baroness Manningham-Buller argues that hearts and minds are critical in combating terrorism: "I think that making sure we hold to our values, our ethical standards, our laws, and are not tempted to go down a route which others, in my view, have made the profound mistake of going down, means that in the longer run we'll have a chance from that moral authority, of addressing some of the underlying causes of these problems... looking for the long term political solutions and trying to get there."

A landmark two-part 91Èȱ¬ series, The Secret War On Terror reveals the astonishing inside story of the intelligence war which has been fought against al-Qaeda over the last decade since 9/11.

With unparalleled access to Western intelligence and law enforcement agencies and with a host of exclusive interviews with those who have been at the sharp end of fighting the terrorists – from the CIA and the FBI to MI5 – Peter Taylor asks whether the West is winning and whether we are any safer from attack.

For episode two Peter Taylor also explores the increasing use of pilotless drone aircraft armed with weapons in the fight against terrorism.

In a rare interview the most recent former Director of the CIA, General Michael Hayden (Director, CIA 2006-2009), describes the secretive CIA drone operation as: "The best game in town. The one that's shifted 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."

The CIA's programme has been criticised as "state-sponsored assassination" but General Michael Hayden denies they are unlawful assassinations: "In the traditional conduct of war and that's the punchline here, this is a war. You asked the question aren't these assassinations, no they're not assassinations. This is armed conflict, this is action against opposing armed enemy force, this is an inherent right of the American State to self defence."

Episode two of The Secret War On Terror is broadcast tonight (Monday 21 March) on 91Èȱ¬ Two, 9pm.

It is presented by Peter Taylor and series produced and directed by Mike Rudin.

Notes to Editors

Any use of information or quotes should be credited to 91Èȱ¬'s The Secret War On Terror.

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