How should Sharon respond to the latest bombing?

[p_p_man]

I understand that. But constrast the two years in Northern Ireland with the over 20 in the Middle East. We've attemtped negotiations for two decades there and there's been no notable improvement whatever.

We're getting our wires crossed here. The two years I mentioned relate to the present situation. Various overtures and plans and attempts at peace have been made almost since day one in Ireland. And on the current round of troubles that's almost 40 years ago.

Even now with things beginning to look promising the Real IRA can still throw the thing back into the melting pot.

When two opposing sides have hated each other for so long any peace process is going to take decades.

If I remember correctly the Vietnam War peace talks in Paris, which were nowhere near as complex as Palestine-Israeli ones would be or the British-IRA peace process is, was heading in the right direction until it all suddenly collapsed and everyone had to start again.

Something to do with Nixon and an election if I recall.

So once peace talks get started everyone's in for the long haul.

 

[The Gimp]

I don't see US coaltion building for an attack on Iraq as a factor here. What the US really needs to justify an attack on Iraq is an excuse. If Hussein were linked to a terrorist attack on US soil that would greenlight operation destroy Baghdad even if the United States were operating as a coalition of one. When taking on an insiginifant target like Somalia or Kosovo then neither an excuse or a coalition is necessary but for a nation like Iraq you can't just bomb the place because they violated a treaty.

 

[madelaine angel]

The Irish terrorists didnt deliberately blow up civilians???

How about canary wharf? what about the Brighton hotel bombing (yeah it was full of politicians, but does that make the staff legititmate targets too?) How about blowing up a manchester shopping centre? an entire street in omagh on the middle of a saturday afternoon?

It drives me insane, the English wimped out by refusing to hand over Ulster in the days before partition, but to claim that the IRA or The UDF for that matter didnt target civilians is the worst sort of misinformation, and typical of a certain misty eyed view in which some countries hold Ireland.

The peace process survived beacause the leaders NOW were interested, for the last 70 plus years they havent been and it has failed.

Should The British have sent in troops and reinacted bloody sunday everyday? Should the Americans have got involved and by self declaring the Irish as part of the axis of evil bombed the fuck out of dublin until the IRA surrendered?

I dont know anything about the Israel situation, but I do know a lot about the Irish position and that post REALLY wound me up.