Political Terrorists
So the IRA has formally ordered an end to its armed campaign.
About bloody time.
Personally, I'm amazed that the UK's very own friendly neighborhood terrorists have had the nerve to continue to exist at all since September 11th, when some of their strongest supporters experienced terrorism first-hand.
The continued barrage of bombings by "insurgents" fighting the "occupation" in Iraq - with the subsequent death of so many innocents, including many children - should also have given some IRA apologists food for thought. Any comparisons?
And the icing on the cake is that the last London bombings - 1996 bus bomb, 2001 car bombs - were , of course, acts of the IRA and "Real" IRA, respectively.
Blair's comments about al-Qaeda being entirely different to the IRA are plain foolish, a desperate attempt,perhaps, to justify the government's communication with the IRA when officially speaking there can be no negotiation with terrorists these days. Any difference is more quantitative than qualitative (though that's only from a global point of view - in UK terms the IRA has killed far more innocents than al Qaeda as matter stand).
We should note that the IRA maintain their so-called "armed struggle" was entirely legitimate. So we can expect no acknowledgement of error or apology. What's more the IRA is most definitely not disbanding. Could be business as usual any time. So let's see what happens with weapons as a first big step.
Slugger O'Toole is an excellent site for all things Northern Irish. Highly recommended point of reference as matters progress (and for details on crucial matters past at that). Here's Mick Fealty's first take on the IRA statement.
About bloody time.
Personally, I'm amazed that the UK's very own friendly neighborhood terrorists have had the nerve to continue to exist at all since September 11th, when some of their strongest supporters experienced terrorism first-hand.
The continued barrage of bombings by "insurgents" fighting the "occupation" in Iraq - with the subsequent death of so many innocents, including many children - should also have given some IRA apologists food for thought. Any comparisons?
And the icing on the cake is that the last London bombings - 1996 bus bomb, 2001 car bombs - were , of course, acts of the IRA and "Real" IRA, respectively.
Blair's comments about al-Qaeda being entirely different to the IRA are plain foolish, a desperate attempt,perhaps, to justify the government's communication with the IRA when officially speaking there can be no negotiation with terrorists these days. Any difference is more quantitative than qualitative (though that's only from a global point of view - in UK terms the IRA has killed far more innocents than al Qaeda as matter stand).
We should note that the IRA maintain their so-called "armed struggle" was entirely legitimate. So we can expect no acknowledgement of error or apology. What's more the IRA is most definitely not disbanding. Could be business as usual any time. So let's see what happens with weapons as a first big step.
Slugger O'Toole is an excellent site for all things Northern Irish. Highly recommended point of reference as matters progress (and for details on crucial matters past at that). Here's Mick Fealty's first take on the IRA statement.
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