Washington, Oct 26 (Reuters) U S secretary of state Colin Powellsaid that some groups sometimes described as terrorist might beseeking to redress grievances, gain rights or achieve freedom from oppressors.
In language that contrasts strongly with the Bushadministrations previous rhetoric on terrorism, he said Yesterdaythat not every case would be "black and white and that therewould be "gray areas" that might need to be treated politically.
Speaking to the Senate foreign relations committee, Powellsaid the Al Qaeda organization led by Osama bin Laden was oneclear case of a terrorist group against which it would not bedifficult to sustain an international alliance.
The leftist revolutionary armed forces of Colombia (FARC) and the real Irish Republican Army in northern Ireland"probably meet a similar standard", he added.
"But then you start to run into areas where one mansterrorist is another mans freedom fighter and thats where youhave to apply judgment," he added.
To test whether groups qualify as targets against which theUnited States could sustain an alliance, one would have to askwhether they have a better way to express grievances", "changethe political problem" and "gain your rights", Powell said.
"These are difficult calls to make...
You can be quitechallenged in explaining these differences with respect to themiddle east," he added.
The United States usually resists any attempt to drawdistinctions between the groups on the state departments listof "foreign terrorist organizations", which includes the FARC,the real Ira and an array of middle eastern groups.
President George W.
Bush, in his rallying cry to the nationon Sept.
20, said: "every nation ...
Now has a decision tomake.
Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists." Powell and other U.S.
Officials have said repeatedly thatcountries cannot pick the" Terrorist" groups they like anddislike a rebuke to countries such as Iran and Syria, whichdispute the U.S.
Definition of terrorism.
Iran, Syria and many other Arabs say that Lebanese andPalestinian groups which Washington calls terrorist arefighting a legitimate struggle against Israeli occupation.
Powells remarks suggested some U.S.
Flexibility on the subject,especially when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The United States is trying to discourage comparisonsbetween its war on Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and Israelsuse of force against the Palestinians, on the grounds that inthe middle east a political process is possible.
Powell said, "We can use this coalition to go after theclear cases of terrorism and then to start to explore the grayareas where there have been longstanding differences that havenot yet been resolved." "Its going to take the kind of patience and diligence thatgave us the breakthrough...
In northern Ireland, where twogroups fighting all these years finally realised that thiswasnt going to do it." The Irish Republican Army began to disarm on Tuesday,marking a historic breakthrough in the long and bloody conflictbetween Irish nationalists and pro-british loyalists innorthern Ireland.
The real Ira is a splinter extremist groupwhich opposes the Iras cease-fire.
"Were just going to have to persuade everybody to stick toit and continue to make distinctions between that which islegitimate protest and legitimate movement toward freedomagainst an oppressor and that which simply doesnt meet thatstandard.
But there are not going to be black and white rulesin every instance," Powell said.