The announcement by the IRA that the armed struggle is over is news of a Berlin Wall falling nature. We have friends whose brother was blown up in a pub in the early 70s and we were with them when they got the news - very odd having that explained to a seven year old me. There was never any need for that.
In fact, come to think of it, if it were not for the handful of moronic nihilist murderers of Al Queda, this would be the biggest news of the decade in the English speaking world. So what could be done to get Al Queda to follow the IRA and call the whole thing off? Really, there is not much progress in having your most keen blown up or arrested when they cannot follow the instructions sheet leading to the final step "Kaboom". I am thinking we need to teach them sarcasm. Nothing bums out your average materialistic westerner more than a well placed acerbic quip. Isn't the point getting to the "you got me there, Omar" moment? Death and mayhem really are getting in the way of their policy of change.
And if sarcasm doesn't work, then I'd move to something in the TV celebrity sports format.
Comments
Hans - July 28, 2005 10:24 am
Truly great news. Reviewing the on-line material from BBC, the demilitarization of the IRA seems to be the key to furthering the current peace/democratization/decolonization process in Northern Ireland and, in the the larger historical context, a telling victory for earnest peaceful mutually satisfactory (though hard won) conflict resolution. Hats off to Tony Blair, again. He's on quite a roll. The difference between the IRA and Al Qaida, though, is quite stark, even though their methods have similarities. The IRA had/has identifiable goals that had/have some legitimacy in law, not unlike the Palestinian situation. It seems that Al Quaida's methods and goals are the same thing: creating violent havoc for the sake of creating violent havoc.
Alan - July 28, 2005 10:48 am
Correct. And that is why I fear they will not opt for the TV celebrity sports model for dispute resolution.