Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Bingo]

This week the British Army's 'Operation Banner' came to an end. This was the deployment of British soldiers in Northern Ireland to secure that part of the UK from IRA terrorism. Thankfully the Troubles are over, and Irish republicans have accepted that a united Ireland cannot be achieved through violence. The British Army, in which thousands of Northern Irish soldiers served alongside Scots, English and Welsh troops, was vital in the war against IRA terror. So, as the operation closes, I would like to express my appreciation to the Army for its role in defending the people of Northern Ireland and defeating terrorism. In certain situations, terrorism can indeed be defeated.

Well done lads.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2820540.ece

[Grimalkin]

Defeated them....by including them in government?


Who defeated who?

[philipjames]

They were definitely defeated. Sinn Fein are now in government, but it's a Northern Ireland government. Martin McGuinness may be deputy premier, but he is effectively a British minister in a region of the United Kingdom. He is not sitting in a united Irish parliament. His boss is Ian Paisley. The IRA has disarmed and renounced violence. If that's not defeat, what is it? Even many dissident republicans accept that the IRA was defeated. Last time I was in Belfast it was the Union Jack, not the Irish tricolor, flying over Belfast city hall.

[Grimalkin]

[waggo]

IRA = Defeated Army.

[JMO]

Once the catholic population becomes a majority in Northern Ireland, we should see a push for a united Ireland. I think its pretty foolish to say the IRA have been defeated.

Does this mean if we give Osama a seat in the US government and release all Al Qaueda prisoners, they have been defeated also?

I'm not a fan of the modern day IRA(since good friday agreement) which seems to be more interested in gangsterism than anything. They did serve a vital role in bringing civil rights to catholics in N. Ireland and providing protections for their communities from Police and Army discrimination however.

[Bingo]

The Troubles started when British troops killed those protesters in 1972??? You must be frickin joking. That's rubbish put out by IRA apologists, By the time of Bloody Sunday in 1972, the IRA had already murdered 154 people.

The Troubles started with Bloody Sunday.

[Bingo]

Let's get the facts straight. Because facts are important. All of the demands of the civil rights movement were met before the end of 1970. The IRA killed its first soldier in February 1971. The IRA had no interest in civil rights. They were sectarian killers. [b]All the civil righrs demands had been met.[/b]

[philipjames]

If Al Quada got 25% of the vote in the US, and they renounced violence, and you had a power-sharing arrangement, then yes Al Quada could be in power. I wouldn't say that the IRA was unconditionally defeated, but it was defeated. Ask any republican dissident if the IRA wasn't defeated?

[philipjames]

The IRA's objectives:

1) The destruction of Northern Ireland. Failed. 2) The destruction of Stormont. Failed.3) The use of violence to attain these ends. Failed. Abandoned. 4) The rejection of parliamentary democracy. Abandoned.5) The subjugation of N. Ireland's Protestants. Failed. 6) Rejection of any UK police force in N. Ireland. Abandoned.

Sinn Fain has abandoned its Provisional republican ideals. The IRA has abandoned violence and surrendered its weapons. Do undefeated armies surrender their weapons? Sinn Fein are in gov't now because they are a completely different animal from what they were during the Troubles. The old Sinn Fein and the IRA were defeated. It was a negotiated syrrender, but a surrender nevertheless. And we have the RUC and Army to thank for that.

[Big_Bird]

I think it's a bit simplistic to say the IRA were defeated. They realised their methods had been counterproductive, and they reformed and they finally acted in the best interests of the people they represented, which was to 'give peace a chance' and start participating in a democracy. It's a win-win situation. I'm glad people were wise enough to move on, and that the diehard thugs lost their support base, it was a bloody mess, quite literally.

[JMO]

[philipjames]

All of the civil rights association's demands were indeed met by 1970. The'civil rights' march of January 30, 1972, had nothing to do with those demands. It was an anti-internment march. They claimed internment was a new civil rights issue. They may have had a point. But all of the original demands had already been met..

And no, civil rights was not a side effect of the IRA campaign. The civil rights demands had been achieved before the IRA campaign began.

[Bingo]

Not all diisident republicans are nut jobs. Some are very intelligent and analytical. Check out the writings of Anthony McIntyre among others on this website. http://lark.phoblacht.net/latestnews.html

[JMO]