Brother Trevor:
In order to conduct the crime of war, empirial nations have always villified the enemy. Even in wars with as jsut a cause as one can emagine this happens. I remember, in your comment, the branding of Vietnamese fighting for their land as -gooks in black pajams - Japanese as - yellow and Japs - Arabs as towelheads, and all the other nonsense leveled at those our government wants to dehumanise in order to allow us not to empathise with those the nation wishes to kill, wether by napalm in the jungle, or the shoot to kill policy in occupied Ireland.
I will not repete the long conversation that I had about US court cases that give lie to your description, however, I believe it is under the Bobby Sands post. In point of fact, when in active service, most soldiers have limits on their public speach for the sake of security. On the other hand, unlike the SAS assasins,(not name calling but the findings of the Stalker report) who after active service, their actions and records remain secret, ex-IRA volunteers, for example Joe Doherty, have been outspoken, even publicly making proposals that challenge IRA policy on spesific issues. I would remind you that the founder of Amnesty Internaitonal, who was deputy Sec. Gen. of the UN, was the former comander in chief of the IRA,
Well, like the POW/MIA myths in the US, war breads myth and distortion, remember the fine book, the First Casualty.
All the best
Raising a glass to peace and reconcilliation and better understanding with time
Larry