Moonage Political Webdream

The IRA traces its roots to 1790.  To varying degrees they have been in an armed conflict since then.  They have at times enjoyed peace, and other times all out war.  In the late 1960’s, they resumed hostilities with a rather new method of "resistance": ( The following chronology of events is taken from http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/violence/chronmaj.htm )

• August 1971 - 14 people were killed in separate shooting incidents in Belfast (13 civilians - 10 Catholics and 3 Protestant - and 1 member of the Irish Republican Army, IRA). 13 were killed by members of the British Army and one killed by a Republican group.

• Saturday 4 December 1971 - 15 Catholic civilians were killed in a bomb attack on McGurk€™s Bar, North Queen Street, Belfast. The attack was carried out by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).

• Sunday 30 January 1972 - €˜Bloody Sunday€™: 14 Catholic civilians were killed at a Civil rights march in Derry. They were shot by members of the British Army.

• Friday 21 July 1972 - €˜Bloody Friday€™: 9 people were killed in 2 separate explosions in Belfast, at Cavehill Road and Oxford Street bus station. The attacks were carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Of those killed there were 7 civilians - 5 Protestants and 2 Catholics - and 2 members of the British Army.

• Monday 31 July 1972 - 9 civilians - 5 Protestant and 4 Catholic - were killed (3 died the following week) as a result of 3 car bombs in Claudy, County Derry. The attacks were carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

• Monday 4 February 1974 - 12 people were killed in a bomb attack on a British Army coach travelling along the M62 in Yorkshire, England. The attack was carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Of those killed 9 were members of the British Army and 3 were civilians.

• Friday 17 May 1974 - 33 civilians were killed (some died in the following weeks) in car bomb explosions in Dublin city centre and in Monaghan, County Monaghan. The attacks were carried out by Loyalist paramilitaries. In Dublin 26 were killed while in Monaghan there were 7 killed. These related incidents represent the greatest loss of life in a single day as a result of the conflict.

• Thursday 21 November 1974 - 20 civilians were killed in two explosions in public houses in Birmingham, England. The attacks were carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

• Monday 5 January 1976 - 10 Protestant civilians were killed when the minibus in which they were travelling was ambushed near Bessbrook in County Armagh. The attack was carried out by the Republican Action Force (RAF).

• Tuesday 17 January 1978 - 12 Protestant civilians were killed in an incendiary bomb attack on the €˜La Mon€™ House Restaurant in County Down. The attack was carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

• Monday 27 August 1979 - 18 members of the British Army were killed in two remote-controlled bomb attacks near Warrenpoint, County Down. The attack was carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

• Tuesday 20 July 1982 - 11 members of the British Army were killed in two remote-controlled bomb attacks in London, England. The attacks were carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

• Monday 6 December 1982 - 17 people were killed when a bomb exploded at the €˜Droppin Well€™ Bar in Ballykelly, County Derry. The attack was carried out by the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA). Of those killed 11 were members of the British Army and 6 were civilians - 4 Protestant; 1 Catholic (1 born outside Northern Ireland).

• Thursday 28 February 1985 - 9 members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) were killed in a mortar bomb attack on an RUC base in Newry, County Down. The attack was carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

• Friday 8 May 1987 - 8 members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and one Catholic civilian were killed as the IRA attempted to carried out a gun and bomb attack on Loughgall Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base in County Armagh. The 9 people were killed by undercover members of the British Army, believed to be the Special Air Service (SAS).

• Sunday 8 November 1987 - 11 people - 10 Protestant civilians and 1 member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) - were killed in a bomb attack in Enniskillen during the Remembrance Day Ceremony. The attack was carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

• Friday 22 September 1989 - 11 members of the British Army were killed in a bomb attack on a British Army base in Kent, England. The attack was carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

• Thursday 21 October 1993 - 10 people - 9 Protestant civilians and 1 member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) - were killed in a premature explosion at a fish shop on the Shankill Road in Belfast. The attack was carried out by the IRA.

• Saturday 30 October 1993 - 7 civilians - 6 Catholic and 1 Protestant - were killed in a gun attack at the Rising Sun bar in Greysteel, County Derry. The attack was carried out by the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF).

• Saturday 18 June 1994 - 6 Catholic civilians were killed in a gun attack on a bar in Loughinisland, County Down. The attack was carried out by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).

• Saturday 15 August 1998 - 29 civilians were killed as a result of a bomb attack in the centre of Omagh, County Tyrone. This attack was the work of a Republican splinter group calling itself the "real" IRA.

And now we have this:

• Thursday July 7 2005, a series of four bomb attacks struck London’s Public transport system during the morning rush hour. At 8:50 a.m. Fifty-six people were killed in the attacks, including the four suspected bombers, with 700 injured.
• Friday July 29 2005 - The IRA, once one of the world’s most merciless and relentless killing machines, formally signaled to the world yesterday that after almost four decades and 3,700 funerals its "war" had run its course. It declared that its members "must not engage in any other activities whatsoever", except peaceful ones, saying it intended to put its arms beyond use as quickly as possible.

Smart move.  Very smart move.  I can imagine the tolerance for terrorism in Britain right now is about as low as it can get.  What the Muslims have done is put the IRA in an even worse light than they were before.  The tabloids in England are now willing to call these acts of violence what they are, terrorism. 

And, notes to the radical Muslims blowing themselves up in Britain and elsewhere:

1. It took the IRA 215 years to figure out this wasn’t working too well.  I surely hope it doesn’t take you guys nearly that long to come to the same conclusion. 
2. The IRA is considered by many to be the inspiration to Abu Nidal and many others who defined today’s terrorism tactics in a "resistance".  Until today those tactics were questionable at best.  Although the IRA was not achieving their goal, they survived to kill another day.  Not any more.  They are now establishing themselves as a legitimate legal political entity that could pursue their goals peacefully and possibly successfully.  This is only possible because they are "resisting" in a civilized manner.  I hope you guys are taking note that the IRA has recognized the failure of terrorism on the very day a terrorist is resisting arrest in London.

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