Gerry Adams (546)

Phoenix
In any Army you will occassionally have mistakes being made where suspicion falls on the wrong person with deadly consequences. I am aware that MI5 would set people up to look like an informer to get the nutting squad to do their dirty work.
RIRA will have the same problems except on a grander scale.
You are still going to have people that are going to be bought.
PIRA dissented from the original republican beliefs only where it was pragmatic and necessary to keep the Republican agenda from stagnating. You just have to look at the fiasco of 1923-1970 where those in command with their original republican beliefs achieved nothing tangible for the Nationalist community If they had listend to Ruari O Bradaigh they would still not be taking seats in the Dail.
The targeted economic campaign was tried by The IRA in the 1970's and was abandoned by Daithi O Connell when it became obvious that it was becoming counter productive. The British Goverment only became concerned when the bombing was done in England.
Further actions by RIRA will drive jobs investment and distract the political leadership of the majority of Republicans.
This notion pedalled by the dissidents that the current Republican leaderhip is suspect is a great insult to men and women who have consistently did what they thought was right for furthering Irish Unity
It gives MI5 the excuse they were looking for to continue to operate in Ireland and that to me is inexcusable.
It will give the Unionists the excuse to use RIRA actions to resist change that would otherwise have evolved.
I think the PIRA brought "a complete cessation to military operations" because it was deemed by the majority of the Republican movement to have achieved all that it was going to and a new approach was deemed to be a better way forward. At this stage Republicans could sit at the table and negeotiate on a level playing field for the first time since 1969 and the mandate they had from the electorate backed that up. The dissidents have no mandate from the people. Their is no use of continued armed resistence if you do not have realistic objectives.
The 1997 Army Convention was not attended by all volunteers but was attended by those from all parts of Ireland and beyond who would normally attend such events and was consistent with past conventions. At no time in the past have all volunteers been consulted in advance in order to determine a new strategy but their representatives would have been present who would brief them later in their local areas.
The 1969 split was caused because the leadership at that time were asleep at the wheel and were prepared like Jack Lynch to stand idly by and let their people be burnt out of their homes.
At that time there was no other option but a sustained armed struggle and those that took the bull by the horns are to be applauded.
The Arms were not surrendered to Whitehall but decommissioned by an International body with agreed witnesses as part of the overall settlement. This action was necessary to further the Republican objective of getting agreement on bringing policing and justice back into Irish hands
The circumstances on the ground today cannot be compared and that is why I suggest that RIRA stand down before their recklessness brings another Omagh on us and stifles the Republican agenda

I'd say he's actually a bit of both.

Not as much as you think...RUC/PSNI-Special Branch let the ball slip some years ago..




The core of the problem facing the PSNI and the Security Service (MI5) is the shallow depth and the obviously inadequate extent of penetration of the various dissident republican groups that are currently active.
In 2004, when Hugh Orde and his senior command, some of whom remain around Matt Baggott, elected to jettison 20% to 25% of its agents inside paramilitary organisations, they took an enormous, and perhaps unjustifiable, gamble.
A few months later, the IRA carried out the Northern Bank robbery and the unedifying scramble of trying to re-sign ditched agents ensued. What damage that period in the history of intelligence-gathering here caused the efficacy of the counter-terrorist strategy may never be divulged.



Like the lure of big fancy cars to drive to stormont, huge wages, double jobbing...being allowed to claim expenses....Loads of air miles...



The PRM disssented from the very core beliefs that all other republican groups still hold..(wether they are armed or not)..