PS
Continued from directly above....

Hello, again... I thought there were points missing... I see there is a first half with numbered points ... so let's see...

Point one (upper half...)

        
NATO forces where stationed in the occupied counties of the Irish Republic, recognized as part of the nation by both the 1922 treaty ending the Anglo Irish War, and the constitution of the Republic of Ireland at the time Robert Sands was alive.

Point Two:

Many people in Ireland felt this agreement violated the neutrality provision of the Irish Constitution, hence the cartoon in the Irish Times which showed a child and mother watching the US planes taking off for Iraq. The kid says, "Let me understand this neutrality thing, if Sadam wants to bomb New York, he can land here too?" Further evidence of the feelings of the Irish people was witnessed in the sentencing of (was it Mary)? Kelly, who took an ax to a US plane inflicting millions of dollars in damage. The US wanted her put away for life, she was found guilty and given no jail time. A small victory for neutrality.

Point Three

At any number of times, when there was forward motion for peace in Ireland British military intelligence committed or sponsored sectarian killings in order to keep the war alive. You may wish to find anything written by Fred (or is it Frank) Holroyed, who left Military Intelligence over his disgust at the use of loyalist paramilitaries to commit murder for the organization in which he served. He has lectured about, for example, the Icarus plan, the plan to use Irish airbases if the USSR had moved on western Germany. I will try and find you the spelling of his name. I sponsored a talk by him at NYU law school many years ago, he was one of the sources for the film, Hidden Agenda, which, after it won an award in Cannes, was banned in Britain until the cease fire. The IRA, at the outset of the present troubles sought peace talks, but the secret negotiations began the year of the break up of the Soviet Union, and at that point, there is a perceivable change in attitude towards loyalists by the British government.