>You do know Marcia that eventually Margaret Thatcher did end up negotiating with the IRA. The purpose of negotiation is to open communication and separate the the hard liners from the pragmatic majority who may well be looking for a more flexible solution.
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>And Neville Chamberlain tried to negotiate with Hitler. That had a real positive outcome, didn't it?

An interesting point Marcia. Did he actually gain time while the UK re armed. Was he weak ? Was he judged harshly by history ?. Did he want to avert another war? Churchill did deals with Stalin, was that ok with you ?.