Kevin,

You say that you, "...can't see why the fact that guns are in the hands of police officers rather than soldiers should imply a significant difference in where they are pointed."

On your way through Stanstead Airport did you you notice any of those hilarious fake road signs stating "Sniper at Work"?

The armed Police Officers present at the airport are there to provide a passive, deterrent presence. Police Officers and Soldiers on foot patrol provide an active, deterrent presence in areas that contain a known threat. That is the significant difference.

Gareth's story about his Sunday morning trip to the cargo area at Heathrow, and, more importantly, his reaction to that experience, I would think, reflect the reaction of most members of the general public. They realise that those soldiers were there to protect the general public, not to harass, or intimidate them. So much for your contention that such behaviour would not be tolerated on "the mainland".

Back to "the gun pointing thing". While on patrol, as previously explained, certain members of the patrol will be at immediate readiness to fire. Normally he will sweep his specific arc of responsibility, while other members of the patrol keep an all round look-out. Should any of those keeping look-out notice anything out of place or suspicious, they will call that to the man at instant readiness responsible for that sector and he will follow that "target" until such time as it passes out of his arc of responsibility. It is a Standard Operating Procedure, Kevin, nothing more - It is also very effective.

On terrorists on operations you are perfectly right:

"But your real terrorists on an operation would generally look neat and clean and well advised."

Just like those hero's of the Provisional IRA, who (according to Larry's American Judges, only conduct operations in accordance with the articles of war, and who do not wage war on civilians) travelled to that shopping Mall in Warrington in 1993, planted two bombs in order to kill a four year boy and injure fifty others. Wonder when the "Sean South" type song about that particular exploit will come out, to sung in the bars of Boston?

On Brendy's bottom line: "...that people, places and things will be all brought out into the open, when and if the old Truth & Reconciliation Commission ever gets up and running."

It should be remembered by all that that is a two way process, while the Saville Inquiry looks into "Bloody Sunday", The PIRA and it's Derry Commander will be asked to explain the 87 murders he was responsible for sanctioning, the whereabouts of those abducted, tortured and executed. But that is a long way off.