then its my bad, for letting idealism come first.
i still support resistance in northern ireland, just cus i dont think a superpower like britain should be able to do and take whatever they want, as they please, and always get away w it... its not fair!
and i still support the use of force - as long as it is done in a warfare-sort-of-way, attack government forces, keep a CLEAR divide between combatant and civilian.
i get in similar arguments w americans, who assume that i support all concievable terrorism, because i support iraqi resistance/insurgency.
i try to explain to them that those i support, are those who are trying to sabotage american military achievements - JUST like norwegians sabotaged for germans. we set up ambushes, and we fucking executed them.
the most violent norwegian resistance groups are even erased from history classes, but these guys were fucking brutal. its war.
this still doesnt mean that i have ever supported the attack on civilians. a soldier knows where he is, and what hes there for. civilians are always in the middle of shit they didnt ask for. theres a big big difference.
Cool. Fair enough.
For your own sake though, I would advise you to learn a bit more about the more recent history of Irish Republican resistance before declaring support.
I'm sure you do have a decent knowledge of the pre-ceasefire era. The post-ceasefire era has little to do with the old times though, and you cleary have no knowledge of the recent actions, and aims of Republican armed resistance.
They are not the "good old IRA" that you think they are. They are simply a tiny group of twisted 'tards trying to restart the war, who have been largely disowned by their own community.
i always value information.
i remember the news story about the disarmament reaching here, and they didnt make any distinction between fractions of the ira, and i was even sortof expecting to hear some specifications about it, but they didnt mention any, so i just didnt think about that detail any further.
i do wish you'd have taken that angle, inform me about the specifics, before jumping right to "call out my bullshit" :]
Yeah, OK. I am sorry about that.
This is still a touchy subject here, and having a small group of warped lunatics trying to destroy the fragile peace that exists is something that really hurts me, and a lot of others. I suppose it is something that it is easy to feel very strongly about if you live here. I may have overreacted
If you want a bit of information about events since the disarmament. I'm no expert, and Schleed, or some others may know better than me, but this is a quick rundown:
In 1998 a referendum was held in both N.I, and Southern Ireland. This was a yes or no question, basically asking the people if they wanted peace or not.
This was supported by all the major polital parties, as well as the political wing of the IRA.
The result of the poll in N.I was 71% in favour of peace, from a turn out of 81% of the population (94% in favour of peace in Southern Ireland). It was an overwhelming majority of the people of the country choosing peace, and rejecting further violence.
This agreement, that was agreed by the IRA, meant that the IRA, and all other paramilitaries would disarm, and the IRA would enter the mainstream political process as Sinn Fein.
The leader of Sinn Fein is Martin McGuinness, a former IRA member. He is the deputy First Minister of N.I. This means that he is the equal joint-leader of N.I.
Sadly, some people have decided not to respect the wishes of the people, and have chosen to continue the fight. They are the "Real IRA," and the"Provisional IRA," as well as some others. Unlike the IRA, these people do not have the support or resources to put any pressure on the government, so they have adopted a different strategy.
Their goal is to drive a wedge between the two sides, and to undermine the peace process. They are attempting to cause a war between Loyalist and Nationalists in the hope that one, or both sides will abandon peace.
The old IRA largely had the support of the Nationalist community. The Nationalist community, and the IRA has now chosen peace, not war. They have chosen political dialogue, rather than violence.
The terrorist groups represent only a small portion of Nationalists, and are hated by the majority of their own side.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Belfast_Agreement_referendum,_1998