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This has been a good week

Certainly has been a good week for anyone who finds it acceptable to maim and kill innocent civillians.

The British government releases a bomber from prison and the three men who trained god knows how many Colombian killers are now facing the a retirement living the good life back home in good old Oirland.

Tough on terrorism, tough on the causes of terrorism.

Indeed.

The men were acquitted in the original trial because the prosecution witnesses perjured themselves.

I hope (but I don't expect) that they will face trial in the 26 counties for the passport offences.

But I doubt we will every really find out what they were up to. They seem to have been pawns in a game since the very start, being arrested and tried under suspicious circumstances which allow any number of conspiracy theories, and then being milked to boost various Sinn Féin election campaigns.

it wasn't angry madmen with guns who killed 3,000 people in Northern Ireland over the troubles. It was all really Unionists not giving the angry madmen with guns posts in the government.

Erm, some of the angry madmen with guns \b{had} posts in the government, or at least were paid by them. That is a key part of the problem.

Nice bit of equivocation, SF would be proud. Of course the men you speak of account for 10% of the overall victims. I'm not convinced that constitutes a cause so much as a very unfortunate and deeply regrettable consequence (except of course for the 'victims' who were 'volunteers').

Anyway, the point is that these men, not content with being part of a murerous band of no-hopers at home, were off training troops to create more casualties in other countries. Or did they have to travel on false passports to take some artistic photographs of the jungle?

I don't mean to be equivocating.

But I lack confidence in a justice system where judges are forced to wear balaclavas to protect their identity, and where evidence ruled to be perjured in a lower court is suddenly acceptable in a higher court.

I don't think those men are innocent of wrong doing, but I would like to see that established beyond doubt in a free and fair trial, beacuse this country (or, if you prefer, these countries) doesn't need any more martyrs.

And to be honest, I do think that the B Specials were part of the cause of the troubles. I was not referring to the Army and Police, except where they were clearly not acting as Army or Police should in a democracy. But I was thinking of, for example, Brian Nelson, who apparently murdered Pat Finucane while being run by some division of British intelligence.

I think the whole area is too complex to say "if the IRA goes away quietly the problem will be solved". And I think what is happening now in N. Belfast bears that out.

See also the following (extracted quote)

"His (the terrorist's) primary objective is not battle. It is to bring down upon the community in general a reprisal for his wrongs, in the hope that fury and resentment roused by punishment meted out to the innocent will gradually swell the ranks of those from whom he will draw further recruits."

Lawrence Durrell Bitter Lemons
quoted here

"I think the whole area is too complex to say "if the IRA goes away quietly the problem will be solved". And I think what is happening now in N. Belfast bears that out."

Totally agree, and I think the situation there is a different matter altogether in that the "enemies" are basically mirror images of each other locked in the selfish persuit of power. It's just mindless violence and bloodshed.

Interesting quote btw.

Tony Blair recently made a distinction between the P.I.R.A and Islamic Jihadis (n.b. language fans - in English this would translate directly as 'of peace strugglers')
However he made this distinction purely on the grounds of their capacity for violence , now I dont need to point out its a nonsense to compare a terrorist organisation who's enemy is the(zelotously determined) hyper power and some of the most militarily advanced nations in the world to one whos target is one small province of one (less than commited )state, and how this effects the levels of violence rather than the decency of those involved, as Mr. Blair would suggest, nor do I need to point out the idiocy of his moral stance on the issue,( e.g is 'who was worse pol pot or hitler ?' an acceptable question?- quantifying atrocity is a tricky business), it would be interesting to see what he thought of the P.I.R.A.'s facilitation of various terrorist groups on the international stage, if he accepts the "valid political demands" of the I.R.A. what about the demands of the organisations they associate with ? and the peoples they cause to suffer so much?
These wild geese commited their crime against the Columbian people - a crime that these poor people will have to suffer for over and over again - and its these poor people who have a right to justice - the Republic has no idea of the suffering it exaserbates, and with its facilitation, encourages.
What was that about harbouring terrorists Bush said ?
If you sinners could imagine how you would feel if some foreign terror group had skill shared with the U.F.F., then been given protection at state level (by any nation) you might get a clue how awful this is........

I am by no means a Unionist, but I'm not surprised at the anger over this.

It's an equally fair comment that Sinn Fein's backing of these men equates to an admission of involvement.

On a related note, a wall in Poleglass, West Belfast read "free Sean Kelly" untill about a week after the IRA announcement. Following the announcement, it was painted over in black. Mission accomplished.

one last wee thing
*This year alone nearly 400 Colombian police officers and soldiers have been killed in this forgotten front of the War on Terror. Using PIRA mortar technology, FARC in 2002 murdered 117 civilians in a church. In the words of the US State Department, FARC "has well-documented ties to narcotics traffickers". *

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This has been a good week *

this is a very good, cut and dry example of the S.F. movement. this is what the fastest growing party in Ireland stands for.