Ferret, your message came through loud and clear and it is much appreciated. It cleared some things up for me. I appreciate the effort it took to do it.

For me the acid test is not whether or not someone agrees with me or not. The only thing that I expect is that when they take a position it is from an informed view. If one is willing to take a position, then it should be because they have arrived at it from a strong examination of all the facts. I can see that you are well informed. I probably don't agree with everything you have said, particularly the piece about what Irish Americans do or don't understand. But I do see where you are coming from and appreciate the depth of feeling with which you state your case.

I will not comment on most of what you have said as I agree with most of it. The intransigence of the Loyalist being brought to light is an affirmation of a long held opinion of mine. The only people in the North who make this a religious issue is the Loyalists. They continue to fight unification on the supposed basis that they don't want to live in a Papist state. The facts are that the Republic is extremely religously tolerant country.

One more comment that I would make. I hope your comment on Thatcher was tongue in cheek. While I accept that as PM she was a legitimate military target, I do not wish the ASU's had got her. I intensely dislike her labor politics and her position on the Irish. But I do not wish her dead, just defeated.

Tiocfaidh a/r la/.

Mick