British Army Ends Northern Ireland Mission At Midnight Tonight
"The British army will officially end its peacekeeping role in Northern Ireland on Tuesday after a 38-year presence that has involved more than 300,000 personnel and cost the lives of more than 750 soldiers."CBC
Since the modern 'Troubles' started in 1969, a feature on the streets and roadways of Northern Ireland has been the large number of British troops needed to try and separate the factions.
With progress having been made to end the bloodshed, the military occupation seems about to end.
CBC Report
Whooee! I think it's worth noting that the peace we are seeing is a result of negotiations, talks, compromise and good-faith disarmament. Remember, the IRA bombed London and were, by almost any definition, terrorists. Similarly, terrorist acts were carried out by unionists in Belfast.
If negotiating with terrorists had been ruled out, what sort of peace would we be seeing today?
JB
Posted by
JimBobby |
2:33 pm, July 31, 2007
The British army marks a "milestone of peacemaking" as it leaves Ireland? This seems an oddly euphemistic way to describe the departure of an occupying force from a besieged country.
To say that the military can leave now that the IRA has renounced violence begs the question: If the British army had stayed home, would there have been a war?
Posted by
saoirse |
4:00 pm, August 05, 2007
I always felt that the British regulars were far more intolerant of the Republicans and the minority in the North then they were of the Ulster Loyalists. This whole bloody mess went on far too long with far too little British will to resolve AND to ensure that rights were protected.
Posted by
leftdog |
4:02 pm, August 05, 2007