President Obama is taking a new approach to tackling terrorism

President Barack Obama's chief counter-terrorism adviser said the US government is forging a new approach to tackling violent extremism.

In a major policy speech, John Brennan said Washington would no longer use terms like "war on terror".

Nor would it employ interrogation tactics like water-boarding, which he said had only played into the hands of terror groups like al-Qaeda.

He said it was time to use diplomacy and dialogue to solve problems.

Mr Brennan - who is Mr Obama's assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism - said the United States would not be defined by what it was against, but by what it was for.

Soft power

He said there had been a fundamental shift in policy as well as language.

As proof, Mr Brennan cited the president's efforts to reach out the Muslim world.

And, Mr Brennan said that while safeguarding the American public remained Mr Obama's priority, the US would not be relying solely on military might and counter-terrorism operations.

"We will use our power to demonstrate that seemingly intractable problems and legitimate grievances can be resolved through diplomacy, dialogue and a democratic process."

He said "soft power" would be the focus of the Obama administration.

BBC Washington correspondent Jonathan Beale said that of as much interest as the new approach was Mr Brennan's condemnation of past techniques used by the CIA.

Mr Brennan was one of a small number of people President Obama considered for appointment to head the intelligence agency.

But the former CIA officer withdrew from the running when critics questioned his role in the interrogation of terrorist suspects.

In Thursday's speech Mr Brennan said tactics like water-boarding were "a recruitment bonanza" for extremists, and he said such techniques had undermined America's national security.

Several leading opposition Republicans - including the former Vice-President, Dick Cheney, have expressed concern that this reversal in policy could make Americans less safe.