…unless the authorities hand over Sinn Fein and IRA members, that is.
From this report, it seems like Congress have finally come to the conclusion that the IRA “has formed part of a global terror network”. Apparantly, “American lives were being put at risk by Provisional IRA activity in Colombia” and “US national security is threatened”.
This conclusion is the result of the three IRA members being arrested in Colombia for training FARC rebels. To be fair, the three men have denied any involvement with the IRA - although since Gerry Adams’s envoy to the region was one of the group (Sinn Fein denied this at first, but later admitted it), it’s pretty clear the link is there.
It turns out that “not only had the IRA operated on behalf of the FARC, but also the Iranians, Cubans and possibly Basque separatist movement ETA.” If this is proved to be true, then this makes Sinn Fein and the IRA part of a global terrorist network. Are we therefore going to see Irishmen rounded up in Colombia and shipped out to Camp X-Ray in Cuba? Is the Irish goverment going to have to hand over Sinn Fein activists to the US? Is the British government going to be seen as part of an Axis of Evil because Gerry Adams has an office in Westminster?
The answer is quite clearly “no” - but why? What makes this case so different from the other groups being rounded up around the world?