I think that the IRA has more guns and money than the Unionists. And I think that in terms of hard core militants the IRA can call a larger force out than the Unionists. This is why disarmenment is important and the Unionists refuse peace until the IRA turns over all arms. And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg
I can't remember what the DUP are looking for at the moment. Hold on . ... ah yes, the current stumbling block is Sinn Fein properly recognising the police force, the PSNI. That's what it's down to now: arguing over who recognises and sits on the policing board.
I think you're living in a fantasy land.
Without photographic evidence there's still a lot of suspicion that the IRA arms were never destroyed for this reason.
I don't much care for the condescending tone Colman. If you have a countering view, back it up with some links, because I think that despite the statements dissident factions within the IRA will never back down. And the Unionists.
It's not like an armed Unionist killer stormed into the Northern Irish Assembly with a plan to kill Sinn Fein leaders.
Oh wait, that did happen last week.
You're living in a fantast land if you don't understand the the nationalist tensions in Northern Ireland have been swept under the rug. A growing minority rejects both sides, but so long as an armed man with plans to kill their opposition is able to gather the weapons they need to make a go of it Northern Ireland isn't stable. And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg
Do those factions control all the weapons? *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
DoDo, even supposing the IRA and the Unionists disarm, does that make a difference if organized struggle within those factions ends, but numerous individuals are willing to take independent action, like what happened last week?
Once you gone to where Northern Ireland is now, it's hard to put all the anger and resentment, and the desire to harm back in the bottle. You have a generation who only know what life is like when politics becomes a matter of arms. And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg
It sure does, which doesn't mean I will predict one definite course for events to follow. Such breakaways could (a) grow just as strong as the original groups, (b) stay causers of isolated actions and falter for lack of networking, (c) go way out of sync with the majority of 'their side' and fail even if managing ever more spectacular action. (For the last, see Real IRA or the German Rote Armee Fraktion.)
For the (a) scenario, I'd guess the Protestants are more of a concern, not because of that mad gunman, but the potential from the masses of idiots like the Orangemen. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
