Thank you for finally confirming that the treaty WAS signed under duress; "sign it in three days or you will be at war".
I trust that you are not going to suggest that, if there had been such a war the British would have stayed neutral and not supplied weapons and even men to to support their newly formed six county state - what WOULD the neigbours say?
In those circumstances the outcome would have been a foregone conclusion, especially following the softening up campaign by the military thugs sent in by Britain at the beginning of 1920 to produce a favourable result to the negotiations.
Your figures on the casualties of such a war fits in pretty well with the 'might is right' attitude you have displayed from the beginning of these arguments. I'm sure they are correct about the outcome of such a conflict, but that was the hurdle faced by any former colony attempting to shake off British rule - didn't stop them from trying though.
They did not include the casualties, dead, maimed and terrorised in the period following the signing of the treaty up to the present day, and any in the future.
I can't help but notice that you haven't addressed the question of the manipulative way that the border was drawn up, and the open way in which Unionist domination was consolidated, leaving a third of the population without proper representation - for or against, I wonder?
I was interested to see your description of the fight against a military uprising in Spain as 'futile' - does this mean that the elected government should NOT have fought against Franco and his fascists - do tell.
Anyway, back to reality.
Something for the parrot to consider - please note, no mention of children, as I'm sure there would have been if they had been there in any significant numbers.
Jim Carroll

PSNI OVERTIME FOR JULY RIOTS TOPS £1M
GERRY MORIARTY
Northern Editor
OVERTIME PAYMENTS to police officers charged with trying to quell or contain rioting in Ardoyne, north Belfast, over the July 12th period cost £1.1 million, PSNI chief constable Matt Baggott revealed at yesterday's meeting of the Policing Board in Belfast.
Mr Baggott told members that because of this cost he was forced to abandon plans to set up a neigh¬bourhood policing team for Ardoyne for the next three years.
More than 40 people have been arrested so far in connection with the rioting which left more than 80 police officers injured, one of them, a woman officer, seriously injured after a large lump of masonry was dropped on her head. A Spanish national has been charged with attempted murder in connection with this offence.
Mr Baggott said money he had earmarked for community policing in Ardoyne was diverted to overtime costs due to the rioting.
Dissident republicans were accused of fomenting the violence and also of "bussing" people into the area to cause trouble.
"The overwhelming feeling I have about these events is one of great sadness. I would have liked to have spent money on creating neighbourhood policing that wins hearts and minds and improves people's lives. The reality is I don't have £1.1 million now."
The chief constable said society in the North must have a debate around these costs and these issues that were undermining the prospects of creating a shared future for everyone in the North.
Policing board member Prof Sir. Desmond Rea said there must be some way of learning from the annual experiences of trouble over parading and protesting. He called for politicians and the North's Department of Justice to bring together "all the relevant parties" to try and address the problem.
Mr Baggott, referring to the dissident republican threat, also told the board that there had been a three-fold increase in the number of people facing terrorist charges compared to the same period last year. Last year 17 faced charges compared to 54 this year.
Board members endorsed the decision by chairman Barry Gilligan to temporarily stand down pending the outcome of a police inquiry into his role in a Belfast land deal. Last month Mr Gilligan, a property developer, went to the PSNI to answer questions about a north Belfast land deal.
The board was also told by deputy chief constable Judith Gillespie that investigating past kill¬ings during the Troubles was costing the PSNI £12 million annually. "Twelve million pounds spent on policing the past is not £12 million spent on policing the here and now," she said.