I wish the US government would take out the IRS. It would make my life a whole lot easier, fookin taxes…
Anyhow, I am going to assume those asking about us taking on the IRA are English for the most part. At least those supporting such action. And let me ask you honestly, do you REALLY want US commandos landing in the UK? Doesn’t that set a dangerous precedent for American Hegemony? Shouldn’t the UK want to hold onto every bit of it’s sovereignty in it’s own domestic problems?
I personally think this will only apply to attacks that will directly affect America, if the IRA started to TRULY fuck up Britain we’d send troops I’m sure as we need the economic and military partner that is England. However they are little more than thugs when considered from a national level. For the most part Mafia organizations throughout the world have done just as much damage in the name of profit, and not a political agenda in the last few years.
As we are not taking out the PLO, who incidentally HAS attacked us in the past, I seriously doubt we’ll go after the IRA.
Just to amplify that point, the Washington Postreported that the FBI has several al-Qaeda cells in this country under surveillance, but hasn’t actually arrested their members yet because “the group members entered the country legally in recent years and have not been involved in illegal activities since they arrived, the officials said”. In other words, not only do we respect the civil rights of Arabs and Muslims, we even respect the civil rights of people who have been “linked” to Osama bin Laden.
Yes, there have been some ugly actions by individual contemptible persons. But the government at all levels has so far been pretty good, I think, about distinguishing between terrorists, and people who just happen to be the from the same part of the world as the terrorists or are the same religion as the terrorists or look kinda like the terrorists.
The US and the UK are pretty tight. I don’t think Brits would be automatically opposed to US troops on their soil per se (the US already maintains bases there don’t we?).
Still, it’s a pride thing and I would think Britain would rather take care of its own messes then bring in outside help unless really necessary.
All of that said the I doubt the US could do much better than the UK against the IRA (frankly we’d probably do worse…if nothing else the British have unfortunately had more practice at it). British intelligence is some of the finest in the world and British special forces (such as the SAS) set the standard for other special forces to follow.
It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if we already do share intelligence with the UK and vice versa but that’s a different kind of cooperation that’s easily and happily handled between our two governments and I think has been for a long time.
The war on terrorism almost certainly won’t include the IRA for the simple reason that the IRA didn’t attack the US, and if the British haven’t been able to solve that problem then it is very unlikely that US could either.
For the record, a lot of the rhetoric has been emphasising the ‘International’ aspect of the targetted terrorists, which would exclude the ETA and the Basques. However, the IRA set off a car bomb in a British army base in Osnabrueck, Germany in 1996(?), so they definatly are ‘International’.
The British would probably be best helped by forbidding any IRA or Sinn Fein front organisations from collecting money for their cause in the US, but IIRC that was rejected not many months prior to 9/11.
There is no way US troops would be allowed to take any action on UK soil. Besides anything else, it naively assumes that Irish terrorism is a problem that throwing troops at is going to solve. What do you think the British Army spent the best part of thirty years doing?
No, I just think Britain and Ireland would just like certain US citizens to stop funding things. Until that happens, opinions like “nothing to do with us, it’s an internal affair” from the US are only going to be greeted with hollow laughter.
Didn’t our president say that those who help terrorists will share their fate? If American Citizens fund the IRA, are they not helping? Hell yeah. They should share their fate.
Just in case this isn’t clear, the Real IRA is not the IRA. They’re a dissident group (not currently on ceasefire) who broke away in 1997 and were added to the State Department’s list of proscribed terrorist groups last year.
