UK Pulls Out Of N. Ireland, Mostly

UK Pulls Out Of N. Ireland, Mostly

news.bbc.co.uk

The British army's operation in Northern Ireland will come to an end at midnight on Tuesday after 38 years.
Operation Banner - the Army's support role for the police - has been its longest continuous campaign, with more than 300,000 personnel taking part.

A garrison of 5,000 troops will remain but security will be entirely the responsibility of the police.

(visit the link for the full news article)



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To me this marks an importand mile stone. After thirty eight years they are turning security over to the police. I hope this will be a good thing.

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Originally posted by RedGolem


To me this marks an importand mile stone. After thirty eight years they are turning security over to the police. I hope this will be a good thing.

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Interesting. And it's time for peace there for sure.

Now, will Iraq take as long for the U S to leave?

NGC
Thanks for posting. Can't really talk about Iraq here but I think most will agree that it is time for peace in the reagan.

Originally posted by RedGolem
it is time for peace in the reagan.

What!? Zombie Reagan's reign of terror has finally come to an end.
(Sorry, could'nt resist.)



As to the topic, it is good that the military is no longer needed for security reasons
and that the police can once again take up there normal role after so long.

Go Go Go IRA now is your chance! Take it back!

On a serious note, this is a very good thing, it shows that there is real stability in Northern Ireland, so much so that they can hand it off to the police.

Originally posted by Reform America
Go Go Go IRA now is your chance! Take it back!

Thats about as funny as someone praising Al-Quaeda for hitting the towers and then trying to laugh it off.

Originally posted by Reform America
Go Go Go IRA now is your chance! Take it back!

On a serious note, this is a very good thing, it shows that there is real stability in Northern Ireland, so much so that they can hand it off to the police.

I appreciate that you were only joking but you must realise that it is hard for anyone who has lived through any of the atrocities perpetrated by the I.R.A. to laugh.

The I.R.A. are exactly the same as Al-Qaeda etc, horrible, murdering cowards.

Yes, it is a welcome that they can live in relative peace together now, (apart from the non-stop internal feuds continuing within Loyalist groups), and credit is due for all the security forces, politicians and community leaders from all sides who have worked so hard for this to happen.

Congrats Brits, you finally won. Northern Ireland is proof that terrorism can be beaten. Job well done to the British Army, Royal Ulster Constabulary, etc

My only fear is that the IRA will rise up again now that the garrison has been heavily reduced and plus how do we know that they really disarmed? My guess is that they just said they did to dupe the British and the British fell for it. They dident disarm after 1916 and they wont disarm after this. We also need to do something about all the Irish Americans who give weapons and money to the IRA, if it was up to me they would be given a nice long visit with Her Majesty's Prison Service but many Americans see the IRA as heroes rather then what they really are; scum on the same level as Al Qaeda, Hizbollah, Red Brigades, etc (and im an Catholic Irish American and im saying that so some of us do support justice)

Lessons to be learned:

- Victory will not happen overnight.
- It will be a long, bloody, tear ridden conflict but in the end you can win.
- Military force alone is not enough.

Well it is about time, our Gov decided to pull the troops from N/I, no doubt they will bedeplyed elsewhere. Since our armed forces are over stretched.

Lets hope that this peace is N/I will be a blue print for Iraq. Mind you Iraq is a completely different kettle of fish than what was the troubles in Nothern Irealdn. I for one welcome the withdrawel, lets hope its a good thing and not a bad thing.

Originally posted by Reform America
Go Go Go IRA now is your chance! Take it back!

On a serious note, this is a very good thing, it shows that there is real stability in Northern Ireland, so much so that they can hand it off to the police.

hate to spoil your joke..

but i've had a family killed by the IRA

(is from Northern Ireland)

Interesting. And it's time for peace there for sure.

Now, will Iraq take as long for the U S to leave?

No, Northern Ireland is apart of the United Kingdom. Completely different.

[edit on 31-7-2007 by infinite]

Just to point out to some certain poster's that the British went into NI initially to protect the Catholics (Republicans) from the Protestants (loyalists). But, with one thing and another, plus the nature of the Irish, ended up with the Army stuck in the middle and being targetted by those that they went to protect.

They were deployed because the police at the time were exhausted and over stretched due to days of rioting in Derry and Belfast . They were there as buffer between the 2 communitys and to provide the police with the back up they needed.

Even the 5000 soldiers who will still be stationed here have the power to stop and question anyone about their movements - and hold them indefinitely until they answer.

People refusing to identify themselves or answer questions about their movements could be subject to a £5,000 fine. Even though the terrorist threat has dropped massively theres still a few splinter groups around who are still active and trying to murder and bomb.

Originally posted by stumason
Just to point out to some certain poster's that the British went into NI initially to protect the Catholics (Republicans) from the Protestants (loyalists). But, with one thing and another, plus the nature of the Irish, ended up with the Army stuck in the middle and being targetted by those that they went to protect.

Ah yes, the honorable British Army, they where simply stuck in the middle, choosing no side at all, just trying to get everyone to be friends. I believe the British Army proved their loving nature for the Irish Nationalist on Bloody Sunday. Terrorism defeated? No, it was a victory.

Ah yes, the honorable British Army, they where simply stuck in the middle, choosing no side at all, just trying to get everyone to be friends. I believe the British Army proved their loving nature for the Irish Nationalist on Bloody Sunday. Terrorism defeated? No, it was a victory.

As the honourable US army covered themselves in glory at No Gun Ri and My Lai and continue to do so in Iraq today?

Some "victory", achieved through the deaths and maiming of countless innocent civilians. By, that's something to be proud of!

The stated aim and cause of the I.R.A. was to bring about a united socialist Ireland, now unless I've missed something pretty big, I don't think they've achieved that so it can hardly be a "victory" by any stretch of the imagination.

Elements within the US helped prolong the misery and the killing by their continued support and funding of an illegal organisation whose only strategy was to murder innocent people.

Not everything is perfect at the moment in Northern Ireland but it's a damn sight better than it was a few years ago and great strides are being made to build a lasting and sustainable peace.

I despise the I.R.A. and similar organisations, (UDA, UVF, INLA) with all my heart and will continue to oppose them at every opportunity.

No Surrender!

Originally posted by ChrisF231
but many Americans see the IRA as heroes rather then what they really are; scum on the same level as Al Qaeda, Hizbollah, Red Brigades, etc (and im an Catholic Irish American and im saying that so some of us do support justice)

I was in Florida in the mid-1990s and my dad was asked if he'd donate some money to help the IRA - they walked off when they realised he was British.

But that was over a decade ago. Is there any sign that support for the IRA has dwindled since 9/11, considering that Americans have experienced first hand (admittedly on a much larger scale) what Britain had been suffering for decades at the hands of the IRA on that fateful morning in September 2001?

Nevertheless, it's great news.

Oh, and I hate to be pedantic, but the topic is a bit misleading... the UK can't pull out of Northern Ireland because Northern Ireland is part of the UK

Ste
ok so the topic title is a little bit misleading. It has been proven many times that my topic titles are not always the best choice. I try to keep the concise with out copying the title from the original source.
However what I was trying to get across was that the army is mostly leaving.

Yeah most of them will be going back to their mainland bases and probably will end up in Iraq etc , like has been said before they were needed here to support the police during a 30 year terrorist campaign

Thankfully the past few years they havent been needed as much and now the police are confident of they can patrol the street without being shot or bombed at.

The topic heading is completely false ............

[edit on 1-8-2007 by The_Coo]

Originally posted by infinite

Interesting. And it's time for peace there for sure.

Now, will Iraq take as long for the U S to leave?

No, Northern Ireland is apart of the United Kingdom. Completely different.

[edit on 31-7-2007 by infinite]

Hang on Northern Ireland IS part of the UK

Sorry - reread your post, I took apart as in separate, not apart as in A part.

Continued with this post any way
Peace

Freeborn:

As your British you obviously lived on the other side of the situation, keeping an open mind about the entire situation would help perhaps, you see the IRA simply as ruthless murderers who had the only goal of killing innocent people for the sake of killing without a goal or agenda.

I know in this new cuddly lets all be friends world where we are all supposed to forget differences and past wrongs and dance around camp fires singing happy songs but..

That's just not reality, never has been, never will be. All generations push for peace, often they fight for peace, but in war 2 peoples can fight one another for the common goal of peace.. while ones peace may be another's suffering and the latter's peace an agitation and disruption to the harmony they wrought to control.. the quest for individual peace for a people can never be talked down as if you some how stand on higher ground, above the problem, because often the one oblivious to the damage wrought upon other by their own governments foundations are the ones the inflict the most damage by not witnessing the expressions hidden in the objective motives of the ones opposed to what you may assume is your own way of life...

And since you bring America into this, for Lord only knows what reason, I suppose because I am American, and thus being an American I should be assumed by you to be woefully ignorant in the affairs of another nation. Yes, stereotypes run deep all over the world, dare I assume I should omitted from them.

America being attacked on 9/11 (forget conspiracies for the time being please) .. was America's fault.. that cannot be ignored at all. Is the death of over 3,000 people, innocent in their offices a horrible crime? Hell, of course it is.. should it be declared evil? Sure, war is evil.. it is evil in nature, if it where not it would not exist, as war is a disturbance in the equilibrium of life that we call "peace" ..

But can America assume that this attack was for the sake that the "terrorist" did not like democracy? That they did not like our women walking around without veils? That we are a open liberalized society? That we are Christian? ... common.. Do not assume I nor .. well.. hopefully, that the majority of Americans with an once of common sense .. that terrorist attacked us for those reasons...

But they did attack us for our way of life.. our way.. of oppressing people, of standing on the backs and necks of others to progress our own way of living, so that we can have xxl sized cars while they ride bikes to work, while we sap their own natural resources to burn in our planes, in our cars, in our tanks that destroy their homes.. it cannot be assumed that they over looked all of the devastation, the exploitation, the corruption, the arming of despots and the destruction of their cultures to attack us for being democratic with scantly clad women. No. The meaning for wars, to cause men to devote them selves to mutual destruction .. to die in a dusty street .. the meanings are always deeper, and rarely seen from the opposing point of view. The ignorance of people to assume others are out to get them for the sake of causing turmoil for glee or fun or amusements, some sick obsession with destruction has been a plague through history, and as a result the stronger cultures consistently repeat the same problems, with redundant acts that break the backs of smaller cultures, people who live oppressed with nothing but hate to continue on. If only people saw what we do to others, what we all do.. what America does to 3rd world nations around the world.. what Russia did to the Soviet Bloc, what Israel does to Palestine, what Britain does to Ireland, well maybe we could finally reach a state of peace you so ignorantly think we currently have.

This all fits to nearly every nation that wields power, be it military, economic, a combination, or even cultural power.. the US being an example, McDonald's popping up in every city around the world it seems..

The Brits are occupants of Ireland, the Island is not theirs, it is the Irish, and for centuries the Brits have suppressed the Irish, countless atrocities occurred over this timespan, countless, from inflicted famines, suppression by totalitarian kings, the list is extensive, North Ireland is apart of the Island, originally Irish occupied by people from the isle of Britain they claim the lands for them selves.. the Irish nationalist want their land back, a perfectly natural claim that cannot be denied by anyone .. except Brits for the reasons listed above....

The methods used by the IRA where crude, where deadly and terroristic in nature.. which was the entire goal in the first place. There are no rules in war, and quite frankly civilians are legit targets in wars. Even in the US, they hit the towers, as terrible as it was, it was a legit target, a rational realist cannot deny that. When an army as the suppressive ability to lay down rows of men before they can even get within range to inflict damage back, what the hell do you expect these suppressed people to do? .. Use any means nessecary, a natural and common human process of taking what they can and doing what they can because there is no other alternative..

In the ME they do the same, they bomb the civilians, they lay bombs on roads, they use the media, they use scare tactics they mutilate, destroy, shoot, bomb, cut they do what ever the hell they can possibly do to fight back! .. Its legit, its expected, and if they laid down and took the raping then there would be no boundaries for the oppressive regimes of the world like the US, like Britain, as was the Soviet Union, Germany, Italy, Japan, hell, Rome, Greece, they all fit here.. history repeated in the newest ways.

If your mad civilians died, and if you know someone who died, I am terribly sorry, but god damnit, ask your self man .. why would they do it.. what the hell pushed them so far as to do what ever they could, no matter how barbaric...... and often it comes right back to your self..

I do not encourage war, and I do not encourage terrorism, and I do not agree with the way the IRA handled things.. but I will never assume they murdered without a cause.