Hi Teribus:
This has been a a very busy week for me, so I will try to get back to this and answer more completely, but as I am getting ready to run out the door, I will just acknowlege reading the posts for the past few days. I will be very interested in seeing how further enquiries proceed. The question of wounded British soldiers was addressed in the Doherty hearing, and it was on the record that the IRA had a policy of not killing wounded souldiers, not the same is true of the SAS as you may recall the killing of three unarmed volunteers and the commitment of a sane wittness to an mental institution when she described the killings in front of her house, where an SAS operative - foot on the chest of a wounded Maried Ferrel, emptied his gun into her head.
In the environment of war, people become hardened and do unthinkable things. The British government chose as a policy, war to deal with the justifiable civil rights demands of the Irish people. In the end, I feel that British people have shirked the responciblity of learning the politics behind your government's actions in much the same way as the people of the US have ignored the lessons of our unjust war on the people of Viet Nam.
As to NATO troops, I did not mean that the troops on the streets of the northern counties of Ireland are international NATO troops, but ARE part of a programatic stratigic underimining of unalined nations rights - in order to use Ireland if needed (as it has been) as a bridge in the US incursions into - what was proposed would be defence of Eastern Europe, and became unprovoked war in the middle east.
It may surprise you that I seldom sing Republican songs in pubs. There is much to much evil being done with my tax money in the US to keep me singing about the present destruction of Iraq and the ecconomic future of the US at the same time by the less than qualified occupant of the White House.
I hope there comes a time when you, Tiberius, can meet with former IRA volunteers, as I am sure they and you would benifit towards healing by listening to each other. I assure you I am listening and acknowlege if the facts you pose in the killing of Jean are in deed a war crime and should be addressed as the killers of Mary Kelly, shot in the head by a British soldier at close range should be addressed. I am not big on prosicutions, I don't believe in retributive law, but in order for healing to happen the truth has to out.
All the best, peace
(Have a good trip Brendy!)
Larry