Rep. King's Terrorism Problem

Congressman Peter King

Yesterday, with the opening of the 112th Congress, Representative Peter King (R-NY) succeeded Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MI) as the Chair of the House Homeland Security Committee.

In the past few weeks Congressman King, no stranger to exaggerated sensationalism, has attracted a great deal of media attention for labeling Wikileaks a terrorist organization (a stretch by any definition of the term) and calling for the prosecution of the New York Times under the Espionage Act.

Congressman King has said that his first order of business as Chair will be to hold hearings on Muslim-American radicalization.

This has caused more than a little concern in the Muslim community since King made headlines in 2004 by channeling Senator Joseph McCarthy in an interview with Sean Hannity in which he claimed – without any apparent factual basis whatsoever – that 85% of the mosques in America were controlled by “Islamic fundamentalists” and went on to describe the members of these mosques as “an enemy living among us.”

Can you tell the difference?

I suppose we shouldn’t be terribly surprised by Congressman King’s antics, as he has never been particularly good at spotting real terrorists. King was a high profile supporter of the Provisional IRA for almost twenty years telling a political meeting in Nassau County, New York, in 1982:

“We must pledge ourselves to support those brave men and women who this very moment are carrying forth the struggle against British imperialism in the streets of Belfast and Derry.”

In the course of more than three decades of violence in Northern Ireland the Provisional IRA is variously estimated to have killed between 1,700 and 1,900 people and to have injured thousands more.

These attacks included the bombing of a Remembrance Sunday (Veteran’s Day) Service in Enniskillen in which eleven members of the congregation died, the bombing of a MacDonald’s in Warrington that killed two small children, and the bombing of the London department store Harrods, which claimed six lives, including that of a United States citizen.

In addition to pursuing its armed struggle against the British government, the Provisional IRA has been involved in racketeering, extortion and drug trafficking. Former IRA members have been identified training operatives of other foreign terrorist organizations, notably the Colombian group FARC.

Congressman King finally drifted apart from the Provisional IRA, not because he had an epiphany about their use of violence or about their criminal activity, but because of the “knee-jerk anti-Americanism” demonstrated by his Irish contacts in the aftermath of the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

However, Congressman King has not broken entirely with all his former friends. In 2008 he lent his support to former IRA man Pol Brennan who was seeking bail while he fought a deportation hearing in Texas.

Brennan had been sentenced to more than sixteen years in prison in 1977 after being caught in possession of explosives and firearms in Northern Ireland. Brennan escaped in 1983 and went to ground in the United States. He was ultimately deported.

I have no criticism of King’s support for a United Ireland, the political landscape in Northern Ireland is complex and all of the parties involved share some of the blame for the decades of violence that have ravaged the province. The Congressman is, of course, free to speak out in support of any political cause that takes his fancy.

However, as the survivor of an IRA bomb attack in Central London, I do have a real problem with his support for terrorism.

That problem is simple: if your test for whether or not terrorist violence is acceptable is whether or not you agree with the cause that it furthers, you will never have the moral authority to condemn such acts when they are carried out by others. The use of violence against innocents must be wrong in whatever form it takes. Take any other position and you are open, as Congressman King undoubtedly is, to charges of hypocrisy.

There is no way to varnish the fact that for twenty years Congressman King consistently supported a violent armed group that murdered men, women and children in pursuit of its political goals. It is also worth noting that those victims were citizens of America’s closest ally in the struggle against Al Qaeda.

These are not frivolous times and rabble-rousers do not make good statesman.

Congressman King seems more inclined to chase headlines, than to tackle the difficult challenges we face with the nuance and sophistication they require. This more than anything surely raises the question of whether or not he is a fit Chairman for the House Homeland Security Committee.

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50 thoughts on “Rep. King's Terrorism Problem

  1. Well, way to go, John Milhiser and the Sloop family! You've ruined our chances of letting the bill to abolish the death penalty in Illinois pass by defeating it by a vote! I hope you're happy! All I can say is: May God forgive you for what you've done! :'(

  2. Wait a miunte… I think Sachin says that the vote was actually postponed and that the death penalty abolition bill passed the house 60-54. Never mind.

  3. Well, way to go, John Milhiser and the Sloop family! You’ve ruined our chances of letting the bill to abolish the death penalty in Illinois pass by defeating it by a vote! I hope you’re happy! All I can say is: May God forgive you for what you’ve done! :'(

  4. Wait a miunte… I think Sachin says that the vote was actually postponed and that the death penalty abolition bill passed the house 60-54. Never mind.

  5. Amnesty International never-ever sponsored any of the Irish men and women interned without trial by the UK even after the European Court rule that these individuals had been subject to "inhumane and degrading treatment". Amnesty’s pro-British bias is obvious and negates their credibility when discussing anyone or anything to do with Northern Ireland.

  6. Amnesty's position on N Ireland is completely irrelevant ti this particular case.

    The point is that somebody who openly supported the Provisional IRA for two decades has no business being in charge of "Homeland Security" and pontificating about terrorism.

    You want to make the USA? Get the hell out of other people's countries and stop propping up repressive regimes.

  7. Amnesty International never-ever sponsored any of the Irish men and women interned without trial by the UK even after the European Court rule that these individuals had been subject to “inhumane and degrading treatment”. Amnesty’s pro-British bias is obvious and negates their credibility when discussing anyone or anything to do with Northern Ireland.

  8. As Long As there are Five thousand british troops and MI5 are still in Ireland there will never be real peace. Britain still violates human rights evey day in Ireland by occupying the north of IRELAND. LONG LIVE THE RA !

  9. Dear Anne,

    Amnesty International has been a consistent critic of human rights abuses by all parties to the conflict in Northern Ireland. For instance, regarding the issue you reference, Amnesty issued an influential report on the physical abuse of internees by British and Northern Irish officials in October 1971 (Report on Allegations of Ill-Treatment Made by Persons Arrested Under the Special Powers Act After August 8, 1971). A representative list of the reports and press releases issued by Amnesty International on Northern Ireland can be found at http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/organ/docs/aipubs…..

  10. How ignorant can you get? Read some Irish history. If every brit died tomorrow that would still not bring Justice to Ireland. GOD BLESS THE IRA!

  11. Dear Anne,

    Amnesty International has been a consistent critic of human rights abuses by all parties to the conflict in Northern Ireland. For instance, regarding the issue you reference, Amnesty issued an influential report on the physical abuse of internees by British and Northern Irish officials in October 1971 (Report on Allegations of Ill-Treatment Made by Persons Arrested Under the Special Powers Act After August 8, 1971). A representative list of the reports and press releases issued by Amnesty International on Northern Ireland can be found at http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/organ/docs/aipubs…..

  12. Dear Anne,

    Amnesty International has been a consistent critic of human rights abuses by all parties to the conflict in Northern Ireland. For instance, regarding the issue you reference, Amnesty issued an influential report on the physical abuse of internees by British and Northern Irish officials in October 1971 (Report on Allegations of Ill-Treatment Made by Persons Arrested Under the Special Powers Act After August 8, 1971). A representative list of the reports and press releases issued by Amnesty International on Northern Ireland can be found at http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/organ/docs/aipubs…..

  13. Amnesty’s position on N Ireland is completely irrelevant ti this particular case.

    The point is that somebody who openly supported the Provisional IRA for two decades has no business being in charge of “Homeland Security” and pontificating about terrorism.

    You want to make the USA? Get the hell out of other people’s countries and stop propping up repressive regimes.

  14. As Long As there are Five thousand british troops and MI5 are still in Ireland there will never be real peace. Britain still violates human rights evey day in Ireland by occupying the north of IRELAND. LONG LIVE THE RA !

  15. How ignorant can you get? Read some Irish history. If every brit died tomorrow that would still not bring Justice to Ireland. GOD BLESS THE IRA!

  16. Dear Anne,

    Amnesty International has been a consistent critic of human rights abuses by all parties to the conflict in Northern Ireland. For instance, regarding the issue you reference, Amnesty issued an influential report on the physical abuse of internees by British and Northern Irish officials in October 1971 (Report on Allegations of Ill-Treatment Made by Persons Arrested Under the Special Powers Act After August 8, 1971). A representative list of the reports and press releases issued by Amnesty International on Northern Ireland can be found at http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/organ/docs/aipubs.htm.

  17. THANK GOD FOR THE IRISH !!

    LONG LIVE THE IRA !!

    Mr Tom Parker,

    You are WAY out of line here.

    You are RIGHT in critiquing Mr King, that WINDBAG & OPPORTUNIST, for his flatulent attack on Assange.

    But attacking the IRA as a way to get to Mr King is going BEYOND the issue here !

    That you use …AT ALL … George Bush's & Mr King's term of "terrorist", disgusts me … for THAT term is used by imperialism & by dictatorships against the Resistance .. the people who REFUSE to be colonized !

    You use the blanket term of "terrorist" for FARC …. which struggles against your US – propped butcher regime of Colombia… a regime that allows NO recourse or discourse to the poor or the opposition inside its borders OTHER than armed struggle.

    You SIMPLISTICALLY & CRUDELY paint the IRA primarily as killers of women & children … when it is THEY who are the ONLY shield of the oppressed Catholics … & when it is THEY who have ENABLED the longest lasting ceasefire & peace in the history of N Ireland !

    Mr Parker … use the RIGHT reasons when you argue your case against repression.

    Don't use Imperialism's own terms.

    Don't CONDEMN the Peoples who resist Imperialism.

    Use the logic of the UNIVERSAL Struggle against Imperialism & reaction to buttress YOUR resistance to repression.

    THEN, you will find you can unite all progressive people in your cause… instead of dividing their ranks.

  18. THANK GOD FOR THE IRISH !!

    LONG LIVE THE IRA !!

    Mr Tom Parker,

    You are WAY out of line here.

    You are RIGHT in critiquing Mr King, that WINDBAG & OPPORTUNIST, for his flatulent attack on Assange.

    But attacking the IRA as a way to get to Mr King is going BEYOND the issue here !

    That you use …AT ALL … George Bush’s & Mr King’s term of “terrorist”, disgusts me … for THAT term is used by imperialism & by dictatorships against the Resistance .. the people who REFUSE to be colonized !

    You use the blanket term of “terrorist” for FARC …. which struggles against your US – propped butcher regime of Colombia… a regime that allows NO recourse or discourse to the poor or the opposition inside its borders OTHER than armed struggle.

    You SIMPLISTICALLY & CRUDELY paint the IRA primarily as killers of women & children … when it is THEY who are the ONLY shield of the oppressed Catholics … & when it is THEY who have ENABLED the longest lasting ceasefire & peace in the history of N Ireland !

    Mr Parker … use the RIGHT reasons when you argue your case against repression.

    Don’t use Imperialism’s own terms.

    Don’t CONDEMN the Peoples who resist Imperialism.

    Use the logic of the UNIVERSAL Struggle against Imperialism & reaction to buttress YOUR resistance to repression.

    THEN, you will find you can unite all progressive people in your cause… instead of dividing their ranks.

  19. Ryan,s not very guarded threat of returning violence to the streets of London is sadly still all to common in today,s Ulster ! I wonder what age Ryan is ? for I cannot imagine any sane person or someone who lived through those terrible dark years wanting to return to them.
    I would also like to point out to Mr.Savage that the Provisional IRA were responsible for even more murders of innocent Catholic lives than that of all the loyalist Paramilitary s and British Forces combined. To say that the Provisional IRA protected the human rights of Roman Catholics in Ulster is absurd.The dead in the lonely peat bogs Ireland bear testimony to Provo justice.
    As for Tom Parker,s article, it has the all to rare air; of truth!
    Richard.E.Craig

  20. Ryan,s not very guarded threat of returning violence to the streets of London is sadly still all to common in today,s Ulster ! I wonder what age Ryan is ? for I cannot imagine any sane person or someone who lived through those terrible dark years wanting to return to them.
    I would also like to point out to Mr.Savage that the Provisional IRA were responsible for even more murders of innocent Catholic lives than that of all the loyalist Paramilitary s and British Forces combined. To say that the Provisional IRA protected the human rights of Roman Catholics in Ulster is absurd.The dead in the lonely peat bogs Ireland bear testimony to Provo justice.
    As for Tom Parker,s article, it has the all to rare air; of truth!
    Richard.E.Craig

  21. Mr R E Craig's use of the term "Ulster" for Northern Ireland reveals his Loyalist, Unionist bent.His entire piece speaks of the settlers' smoldering hatred of a nationalist native movement.

    He says pro-violence views reflecting a lack of "sanity" are "all too common in today's Ulster"… ( showing what he thinks of the Irish .. & the Irish Americans ) … while he SIMULTANEOUSLY trashes as "absurd" the idea that the IRA defended Irish Catholic rights. In his view, the "insane" Irish of "Ulster" "still" SUPPORT the VERY violence of which THEY THEMSELVES supposedly were the BIGGEST victims. In short, a truly "insane" people !

    He says nothing about the British army's reported direction of the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force's mass murder bombings in Dublin & Monaghan in the 1970s…

    He never mentions the wiping out of the entire Irish nonviolent civil rights movement by the British paratroopers, when they shot & killed 13 civilians on the streets of Derry in 1972 ….

    Nor does Mr Craig have a word about the near lethal shootings of the civil rights movement's leader Bernadette Devlin & her husband in their home by a Loyalist death squad in 1981….

    He has not a word to explain the feelings of the colonized Irish when they see a hated invader's colors & helicopters "still" in their air & their forts "still"on their land, & the regular, annual sexist / militaristic parades by Loyalist settlers "still" flaunting the near millennium – long Anglo invasion of Ireland in their faces.

    No wonder Mr Parker's totally onesided piece smells to Mr Craig of the "rare air of truth", when to the Irish it reeks of the claustrophobic antinationalist rewriting of Irish history that was effected following the censorship of media & broadcasting by the police torture – supporting government minister Conor Cruise O'Brien.

  22. Mr R E Craig’s use of the term “Ulster” for Northern Ireland reveals his Loyalist, Unionist bent.His entire piece speaks of the settlers’ smoldering hatred of a nationalist native movement.

    He says pro-violence views reflecting a lack of “sanity” are “all too common in today’s Ulster”… ( showing what he thinks of the Irish .. & the Irish Americans ) … while he SIMULTANEOUSLY trashes as “absurd” the idea that the IRA defended Irish Catholic rights. In his view, the “insane” Irish of “Ulster” “still” SUPPORT the VERY violence of which THEY THEMSELVES supposedly were the BIGGEST victims. In short, a truly “insane” people !

    He says nothing about the British army’s reported direction of the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force’s mass murder bombings in Dublin & Monaghan in the 1970s…

    He never mentions the wiping out of the entire Irish nonviolent civil rights movement by the British paratroopers, when they shot & killed 13 civilians on the streets of Derry in 1972 ….

    Nor does Mr Craig have a word about the near lethal shootings of the civil rights movement’s leader Bernadette Devlin & her husband in their home by a Loyalist death squad in 1981….

    He has not a word to explain the feelings of the colonized Irish when they see a hated invader’s colors & helicopters “still” in their air & their forts “still”on their land, & the regular, annual sexist / militaristic parades by Loyalist settlers “still” flaunting the near millennium – long Anglo invasion of Ireland in their faces.

    No wonder Mr Parker’s totally onesided piece smells to Mr Craig of the “rare air of truth”, when to the Irish it reeks of the claustrophobic antinationalist rewriting of Irish history that was effected following the censorship of media & broadcasting by the police torture – supporting government minister Conor Cruise O’Brien.

  23. Mr Savage would again seem to be a victim of his own ignorance. His knowledge in matters of Irish history and Irish affairs seem to be extremely limited. He also seems to believe that the term Ulster is a British / Unionist word. He does not of course now that the word Ulster was established in the third century B.C and is recorded by the ancient Greek geographer Strabo as Ulaid. So correction number one Mr Savage, Ulster is an Irish word not an English one. Mr Savage then goes on to make the assertion that I am a Unionist and Loyalist. Not so Mr Savage I am neither of those and am in fact a floating voter and indeed I, UNLIKE YOU MR SAVAGE ; AM AN IRISHMAN WHO'S ANCESTORS CHOSE TO STAY IN IRELAND INSTEAD OF CAPITULATING TO THE STATES LIKE YOUR DID !
    My grandfather spent three years aboard the prison ship Argenta 1920-23.He was arrested and imprisoned without trial for being a member of the Official IRA. You Mr Savage now nothing of Irish affairs nor Irish suffering, you are an exponent of pseudo history.

  24. The Irishman
    By James Orr, Bard of Ballycarry

    The savage loves his native shore,
    Though rude the soil and chill the air;
    Then well may Erin's sons adore
    Their isle, which nature formed so fair.
    What flood reflects a shore so sweet
    As Shannon great, or pastoral Bann?
    Or who a friend or foe can meet
    So generous as an Irishman?
    His hand is rash, his heart is warm,
    But honesty is still his guide;
    None more repents a deed of harm,
    And none forgives with nobler pride;
    He may be duped, but won't be dared—
    More fit to practise than to plan;
    He dearly earns his poor reward,
    And spends it like an Irishman.

    If strange or poor, for you he'll pay,
    And guide to where you safe may be;
    If you're his guest, while e'er you stay
    His cottage holds a jubilee.
    His inmost soul he will unlock,
    And if he may your secrets scan,
    Your confidence he scorns to mock,
    For faithful is an Irishman.

    By honour bound in woe or weal,
    Whate'er she bids he dares to do;
    Try him with bribes—they won't prevail;
    Prove him in fire—you'll find him true.
    He seeks not safety, let his post
    Be where it ought, in danger's van;
    And if the field of fame be lost,
    It won't be by an Irishman.

    Erin! loved land! from age to age
    Be thou more great, more famed, and free;
    May peace be thine, or, shouldst thou wage
    Defensive war, cheap victory.
    May plenty bloom in every field
    Which gentle breezes softly fan,
    And cheerful smiles serenely gild
    The home of every Irishman!

  25. Mr Savage would again seem to be a victim of his own ignorance. His knowledge in matters of Irish history and Irish affairs seem to be extremely limited. He also seems to believe that the term Ulster is a British / Unionist word. He does not of course now that the word Ulster was established in the third century B.C and is recorded by the ancient Greek geographer Strabo as Ulaid. So correction number one Mr Savage, Ulster is an Irish word not an English one. Mr Savage then goes on to make the assertion that I am a Unionist and Loyalist. Not so Mr Savage I am neither of those and am in fact a floating voter and indeed I, UNLIKE YOU MR SAVAGE ; AM AN IRISHMAN WHO’S ANCESTORS CHOSE TO STAY IN IRELAND INSTEAD OF CAPITULATING TO THE STATES LIKE YOUR DID !
    My grandfather spent three years aboard the prison ship Argenta 1920-23.He was arrested and imprisoned without trial for being a member of the Official IRA. You Mr Savage now nothing of Irish affairs nor Irish suffering, you are an exponent of pseudo history.

  26. The Irishman
    By James Orr, Bard of Ballycarry

    The savage loves his native shore,
    Though rude the soil and chill the air;
    Then well may Erin’s sons adore
    Their isle, which nature formed so fair.
    What flood reflects a shore so sweet
    As Shannon great, or pastoral Bann?
    Or who a friend or foe can meet
    So generous as an Irishman?
    His hand is rash, his heart is warm,
    But honesty is still his guide;
    None more repents a deed of harm,
    And none forgives with nobler pride;
    He may be duped, but won’t be dared—
    More fit to practise than to plan;
    He dearly earns his poor reward,
    And spends it like an Irishman.

    If strange or poor, for you he’ll pay,
    And guide to where you safe may be;
    If you’re his guest, while e’er you stay
    His cottage holds a jubilee.
    His inmost soul he will unlock,
    And if he may your secrets scan,
    Your confidence he scorns to mock,
    For faithful is an Irishman.

    By honour bound in woe or weal,
    Whate’er she bids he dares to do;
    Try him with bribes—they won’t prevail;
    Prove him in fire—you’ll find him true.
    He seeks not safety, let his post
    Be where it ought, in danger’s van;
    And if the field of fame be lost,
    It won’t be by an Irishman.

    Erin! loved land! from age to age
    Be thou more great, more famed, and free;
    May peace be thine, or, shouldst thou wage
    Defensive war, cheap victory.
    May plenty bloom in every field
    Which gentle breezes softly fan,
    And cheerful smiles serenely gild
    The home of every Irishman!

  27. Between 1969 and 2001 there had been 3,526 Murders as a result of the troubles in Ulster. Of these 60% were committed by Republicans 30% by Loyalists and 10% by British Forces.
    TOTAL CIVILIAN DEATHS 1855
    TOTAL SECURITY FORCES DEATHS 1123
    TOTAL REPUBLICAN PARAMILITARY DEATHS 394
    TOTAL LOYALIST PARAMILITARY DEATHS 151

    Religion of the person killed:
    Religion Count
    Catholic 1524
    nfNI 502
    nfNIB 120
    nfNIE 14
    nfNIRI 82
    Protestant 1286
    TOTAL 3528

    Organisation Responsible for the death:
    Organisation_Responsible Count
    British Army (BA) 297
    British Police (BP) 1
    Catholic Reaction Force (CRF) 3
    Direct Action Against Drugs (DAAD) 5
    Garda Siochana (GS) 4
    Irish Army (IA) 1
    Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) 113
    Irish People's Liberation Organisation (IPLO) 22
    Irish People's Liberation Organisation Belfast Brigade (IPLOBB) 2
    Irish Republican Army (IRA) 1711
    Loyalist Retaliation and Defence Group (LRDG) 2
    Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) 18
    non-specific Loyalist group (LOY) 248
    non-specific Republican group (REP) 89
    not known (nk) 84
    Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) 52
    People's Liberation Army (PLA) 3
    People's Republican Army (PRA) 4
    Protestant Action Force (PAF) 37
    Protestant Action Group (PAG) 5
    real Irish Republican Army (rIRA) 29
    Red Hand Commando (RHC) 13
    Red Hand Defenders (RHD) 8
    Republican Action Force (RepAF) 24
    Royal Air Force (RAF) 1
    Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) 55
    Saor Eire (SE) 3
    Ulster Defence Association (UDA) 112
    Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) 8
    Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) 147
    Ulster Special Constabulary (USC) 1
    Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) 426
    TOTAL 3528

    The appalling figures above do no include the 70,000 + people who were maimed,crippled,blinded or left in a vegetative state.

  28. Between 1969 and 2001 there had been 3,526 Murders as a result of the troubles in Ulster. Of these 60% were committed by Republicans 30% by Loyalists and 10% by British Forces.
    TOTAL CIVILIAN DEATHS 1855
    TOTAL SECURITY FORCES DEATHS 1123
    TOTAL REPUBLICAN PARAMILITARY DEATHS 394
    TOTAL LOYALIST PARAMILITARY DEATHS 151

    Religion of the person killed:
    Religion Count
    Catholic 1524
    nfNI 502
    nfNIB 120
    nfNIE 14
    nfNIRI 82
    Protestant 1286
    TOTAL 3528

    Organisation Responsible for the death:
    Organisation_Responsible Count
    British Army (BA) 297
    British Police (BP) 1
    Catholic Reaction Force (CRF) 3
    Direct Action Against Drugs (DAAD) 5
    Garda Siochana (GS) 4
    Irish Army (IA) 1
    Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) 113
    Irish People’s Liberation Organisation (IPLO) 22
    Irish People’s Liberation Organisation Belfast Brigade (IPLOBB) 2
    Irish Republican Army (IRA) 1711
    Loyalist Retaliation and Defence Group (LRDG) 2
    Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) 18
    non-specific Loyalist group (LOY) 248
    non-specific Republican group (REP) 89
    not known (nk) 84
    Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) 52
    People’s Liberation Army (PLA) 3
    People’s Republican Army (PRA) 4
    Protestant Action Force (PAF) 37
    Protestant Action Group (PAG) 5
    real Irish Republican Army (rIRA) 29
    Red Hand Commando (RHC) 13
    Red Hand Defenders (RHD) 8
    Republican Action Force (RepAF) 24
    Royal Air Force (RAF) 1
    Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) 55
    Saor Eire (SE) 3
    Ulster Defence Association (UDA) 112
    Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) 8
    Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) 147
    Ulster Special Constabulary (USC) 1
    Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) 426
    TOTAL 3528

    The appalling figures above do no include the 70,000 + people who were maimed,crippled,blinded or left in a vegetative state.

  29. Dear Mr Craig ,

    My deepest respects to the memory of your grandfather. May his kind be born & reborn through all the future generations.

    My respects to your ancestors who never left Ireland … though my heart is also with those who did, through all the centuries of Ireland's Occupation by waves of alien settlers & state forces. i won't scoff at those who left … or were forced to leave by famine & dispossession & violence.

    Your Grandfather was Official IRA. Its descendant is the former Provisional IRA .

    "Ulster" is as old as Cuchulain. But it's use in designating "N Ireland" is a Unionist practice.

    Imperialism, colonialism divide a people. Anticolonial movements everywhere have to fight their own as well as the Occupation.

    These movements throughout history were composed of humans, not saints. Every movement has its fill of opportunists, scoundrels, traitors, infiltrators.

    The Provisional IRA was born when the disenfranchised & oppressed Catholic population's civil rights movement was met with Loyalist pogroms displacing thousands of families & with British Army raids & house to house searches into nationalist areas.The IRA was born as a selfdefense force for these areas.

    Eventually the IRA UNILATERALLY disamed itself in the face of the armed paramilitaries & British army, even as the Unionists went through a summer of violence which included murderous infighting, explosive rioting, & attacks on Catholics & their property, leading to fears that onesided disarming would lead to nationalist areas being left defenceless.

    Few movements in history have given up their positions so peacefully in the face of an intractable enemy.

    Today, the impoverishment of Unionist areas & families shows we face a common enemy.

    Let us unite the warring peoples against this growing threat within a broad multireligious movement.

  30. Dear Mr Craig ,

    My deepest respects to the memory of your grandfather. May his kind be born & reborn through all the future generations.

    My respects to your ancestors who never left Ireland … though my heart is also with those who did, through all the centuries of Ireland’s Occupation by waves of alien settlers & state forces. i won’t scoff at those who left … or were forced to leave by famine & dispossession & violence.

    Your Grandfather was Official IRA. Its descendant is the former Provisional IRA .

    “Ulster” is as old as Cuchulain. But it’s use in designating “N Ireland” is a Unionist practice.

    Imperialism, colonialism divide a people. Anticolonial movements everywhere have to fight their own as well as the Occupation.

    These movements throughout history were composed of humans, not saints. Every movement has its fill of opportunists, scoundrels, traitors, infiltrators.

    The Provisional IRA was born when the disenfranchised & oppressed Catholic population’s civil rights movement was met with Loyalist pogroms displacing thousands of families & with British Army raids & house to house searches into nationalist areas.The IRA was born as a selfdefense force for these areas.

    Eventually the IRA UNILATERALLY disamed itself in the face of the armed paramilitaries & British army, even as the Unionists went through a summer of violence which included murderous infighting, explosive rioting, & attacks on Catholics & their property, leading to fears that onesided disarming would lead to nationalist areas being left defenceless.

    Few movements in history have given up their positions so peacefully in the face of an intractable enemy.

    Today, the impoverishment of Unionist areas & families shows we face a common enemy.

    Let us unite the warring peoples against this growing threat within a broad multireligious movement.

  31. There can be no denying that the British, but more specificity the English and Ulster Unionist traditions have played a huge and shameful role in the suppression and subjugation of the Roman Catholic population of 'Northern Ireland'.
    This is a fact and cannot be in any reasonable way argued against. Today,s 'Northern Ireland' however cannot be compared to the Northern Ireland of the 1920,s or 60,s.
    The Civil rights march that was gunned down with the all to familiar brutishness of English Imperialism on the 30th of January 1972 'Bloody Sunday – Domhnach na Fola' shall forever live in the pages of infamy.I can justly see how someone in such circumstances might feel compelled to take up ' the armed struggle ' against the British army. The statistics sadly show however, that the struggle which ensued was not taken up with the British army or Government; but with the ' Northern Irish ' civil populace. Every time a civilian victim of the IRA was shot in Northern Ireland it was with the help of misguided people like Peter King' with a bullet courtesy of the Irish American.
    The new credo's in today's Northern Ireland is ' By the Ballot box,not the Bomb'
    The other credo is the one by which we all should live 'Parity of Esteem'.
    Regards Richard.E.Craig

  32. There can be no denying that the British, but more specificity the English and Ulster Unionist traditions have played a huge and shameful role in the suppression and subjugation of the Roman Catholic population of ‘Northern Ireland’.
    This is a fact and cannot be in any reasonable way argued against. Today,s ‘Northern Ireland’ however cannot be compared to the Northern Ireland of the 1920,s or 60,s.
    The Civil rights march that was gunned down with the all to familiar brutishness of English Imperialism on the 30th of January 1972 ‘Bloody Sunday – Domhnach na Fola’ shall forever live in the pages of infamy.I can justly see how someone in such circumstances might feel compelled to take up ‘ the armed struggle ‘ against the British army. The statistics sadly show however, that the struggle which ensued was not taken up with the British army or Government; but with the ‘ Northern Irish ‘ civil populace. Every time a civilian victim of the IRA was shot in Northern Ireland it was with the help of misguided people like Peter King’ with a bullet courtesy of the Irish American.
    The new credo’s in today’s Northern Ireland is ‘ By the Ballot box,not the Bomb’
    The other credo is the one by which we all should live ‘Parity of Esteem’.
    Regards Richard.E.Craig

  33. It is distressing that Mr. Parker has used Amnesty International's space to attack the struggle for justice in Northern Ireland, and particularly the IRA's armed defense against British oppression 30 to 40 years ago. Parker's piece reads like it was written years ago by his former employer, MI5, the dreaded British secret agency whose mission has been to assist in the supression of the people of Northern Ireland (and many other places) on behalf of the imperial Crown. Parker fails to acknowledge that the IRA voluntarily and unilaterally initiated the ceasefire in 1994 and has since totally decommissioned. Why is Parker obsessed with the deep dark past, especially when his dear Britain's hands are dripping with blood from the period? Those of us involved in the ongoing struggle for justice in the North of Ireland are interested in moving forward, not back, by making things better in the future while acknowleding the tremendous strides that have been taken over the past fifteen years.
    Time to let go, Mr. Parker, of your own past as well as Northern Ireland's.

  34. It is distressing that Mr. Parker has used Amnesty International’s space to attack the struggle for justice in Northern Ireland, and particularly the IRA’s armed defense against British oppression 30 to 40 years ago. Parker’s piece reads like it was written years ago by his former employer, MI5, the dreaded British secret agency whose mission has been to assist in the supression of the people of Northern Ireland (and many other places) on behalf of the imperial Crown. Parker fails to acknowledge that the IRA voluntarily and unilaterally initiated the ceasefire in 1994 and has since totally decommissioned. Why is Parker obsessed with the deep dark past, especially when his dear Britain’s hands are dripping with blood from the period? Those of us involved in the ongoing struggle for justice in the North of Ireland are interested in moving forward, not back, by making things better in the future while acknowleding the tremendous strides that have been taken over the past fifteen years.
    Time to let go, Mr. Parker, of your own past as well as Northern Ireland’s.

  35. Dear Peter,

    Thank you for giving me the opportunity to clarify some apparent misconceptions. I take no position on the future of Northern Ireland other than that the human rights of all its inhabitants must be respected. This a blog about the dangers of a US politician adopting a relative approach to the merits of political violence, not about competing claims over the sovereignty of Northern Ireland.

    Rep. King could bring a very interesting perspective to the debate on radicalization if he was inclined to introspection. He is a man who clearly well understands the pull of ancestral ties and how Americans can feel fierce loyalty to their homeland while at the same time taking a passionate interest in political struggles elsewhere.

    Rep. King’s personal journey from supporting the Provisional IRA’s armed struggle to supporting the Northern Ireland peace process, if shared, might also provide important humanizing insights. His views have indeed evolved and changed over time. It is a real shame that someone with such an interesting personal history should tackle the issue of radicalization with such a lack of empathy and nuance as soon as it no longer concerns his own community.

    To call someone like Julian Assange – who has never, to my knowledge, espoused violence – a terrorist is no small thing. It has real consequences in a febrile atmosphere where the United States asserts the right to strike with military force at individuals overseas it identifies as terrorists. Such heated rhetoric is particularly egregious when the claim comes from a politician who has himself actually supported the use of violence by armed groups in the past. That sort of hypocrisy from a public figure merits comment.

    Amnesty International believes in the inviolability of human rights, as do I. These rights include, inter alia, absolute protection from torture, extrajudicial punishment, unlawful imprisonment and unlawful killing. The unlawful use of force may, depending on context, be a criminal act, a human rights abuse or a war crime. As far as I am concerned, it makes no difference whether the individual responsible wears a British Army uniform or a gunman’s balaclava. A crime is a crime is a crime.

    Human rights are universal – they don’t belong to one side of a conflict or another. Similarly, those who abuse human rights can usually be found on all sides of a conflict too. An act of torture committed in a police cell and a bomb detonated in a public space are simply two sides of the same coin. Both are heinous. Justice does not admit a tu quoque defense, and two wrongs never make a right.

  36. Dear Peter,

    Thank you for giving me the opportunity to clarify some apparent misconceptions. I take no position on the future of Northern Ireland other than that the human rights of all its inhabitants must be respected. This a blog about the dangers of a US politician adopting a relative approach to the merits of political violence, not about competing claims over the sovereignty of Northern Ireland.

    Rep. King could bring a very interesting perspective to the debate on radicalization if he was inclined to introspection. He is a man who clearly well understands the pull of ancestral ties and how Americans can feel fierce loyalty to their homeland while at the same time taking a passionate interest in political struggles elsewhere.

    Rep. King’s personal journey from supporting the Provisional IRA’s armed struggle to supporting the Northern Ireland peace process, if shared, might also provide important humanizing insights. His views have indeed evolved and changed over time. It is a real shame that someone with such an interesting personal history should tackle the issue of radicalization with such a lack of empathy and nuance as soon as it no longer concerns his own community.

    To call someone like Julian Assange – who has never, to my knowledge, espoused violence – a terrorist is no small thing. It has real consequences in a febrile atmosphere where the United States asserts the right to strike with military force at individuals overseas it identifies as terrorists. Such heated rhetoric is particularly egregious when the claim comes from a politician who has himself actually supported the use of violence by armed groups in the past. That sort of hypocrisy from a public figure merits comment.

    Amnesty International believes in the inviolability of human rights, as do I. These rights include, inter alia, absolute protection from torture, extrajudicial punishment, unlawful imprisonment and unlawful killing. The unlawful use of force may, depending on context, be a criminal act, a human rights abuse or a war crime. As far as I am concerned, it makes no difference whether the individual responsible wears a British Army uniform or a gunman’s balaclava. A crime is a crime is a crime.

    Human rights are universal – they don’t belong to one side of a conflict or another. Similarly, those who abuse human rights can usually be found on all sides of a conflict too. An act of torture committed in a police cell and a bomb detonated in a public space are simply two sides of the same coin. Both are heinous. Justice does not admit a tu quoque defense, and two wrongs never make a right.

  37. Tom – I'm not here to discuss the relative merits of Rep. King, much less Julian Assange – I leave that to others. My complaint, and the Irish American Unity Conference's, is that your blog used King's positions as a jumping-off point for criticising the long-ago tactics of human rights fighters in the North of Ireland, with no acknowledgment of the current peace posture of the IRA or its political allies.

    I agree with much of what you say here (but did not say in your blog), but I take strong issue with your view that there is no difference between government-sanctioned butchery, and legitimate struggles for freedom, equality, justice, and often independence. You must know that one of the founders of Amnesty International was formerly Chief of Staff of the IRA — Sean McBride. Would you also condemn him? Further, McBride was the son of an IRA officer who was executed by the British army for his role in the Irish uprising of 1916, which led to Ireland's independence. Would you also condemn him? I strongly reject the notion, currently in political fashion, that freedom fighters are all of the same ilk as illegitimate, occupying and brutal military forces or governments. Contrary to your belief, unlawful use of force is not always a criminal act or human rights abuse; it is sometimes the legitimate act of an oppressed people. The United States was founded by men who realized that distinction, as were the deomocratic governments of France, the Republic of Ireland, and many others.

    Further, sensationalizing the story by use of emotion-catching terms like "balaclava" is not helpful to the discussion. However, for a comparison of images, I refer you to the picture of one of Britain's present-day operatives in Ireland shown with the article at this site: http://www.irishcentral.com/news/British-undercov…. The IRA has disarmed and renounced violence. It is past time for the British government to do likewise.

  38. Tom – I'm not here to discuss the relative merits of Rep. King, much less Julian Assange – I leave that to others. My complaint, and the Irish American Unity Conference's, is that your blog used King's positions as a jumping-off point for criticising the long-ago tactics of human rights fighters in the North of Ireland, with no acknowledgment of the current peace posture of the IRA or its political allies.

    I agree with much of what you say here (but did not say in your blog), but I take strong issue with your view that there is no difference between government-sanctioned butchery, and legitimate struggles for freedom, equality, justice, and often independence. You must know that one of the founders of Amnesty International was formerly Chief of Staff of the IRA — Sean McBride. Would you also condemn him? Further, McBride was the son of an IRA officer who was executed by the British army for his role in the Irish uprising of 1916, which led to Ireland's independence. Would you also condemn him? I strongly reject the notion, currently in political fashion, that freedom fighters are all of the same ilk as illegitimate, occupying and brutal military forces or governments. Contrary to your belief, unlawful use of force is not always a criminal act or human rights abuse; it is sometimes the legitimate act of an oppressed people. The United States was founded by men who realized that distinction, as were the deomocratic governments of France, the Republic of Ireland, and many others.

    Further, sensationalizing the story by use of emotion-catching terms like "balaclava" is not helpful to the discussion. However, for a comparison of images, I refer you to the picture of one of Britain's present-day operatives in Ireland shown with the article at this site: http://www.irishcentral.com/news/British-undercov…. The IRA has disarmed and renounced violence. It is past time for the British government to do likewise.

  39. Tom – I'm not here to discuss the relative merits of Rep. King, much less Julian Assange – I leave that to others. My complaint, and the Irish American Unity Conference's, is that your blog used King's positions as a jumping-off point for criticising the long-ago tactics of human rights fighters in the North of Ireland, with no acknowledgment of the current peace posture of the IRA or its political allies.

    I agree with much of what you say here (but did not say in your blog), but I take strong issue with your view that there is no difference between government-sanctioned butchery, and legitimate struggles for freedom, equality, justice, and often independence. You must know that one of the founders of Amnesty International was formerly Chief of Staff of the IRA — Sean McBride. Would you also condemn him? Further, McBride was the son of an IRA officer who was executed by the British army for his role in the Irish uprising of 1916, which led to Ireland's independence. Would you also condemn him? I strongly reject the notion, currently in political fashion, that freedom fighters are all of the same ilk as illegitimate, occupying and brutal military forces or governments. Contrary to your belief, unlawful use of force is not always a criminal act or human rights abuse; it is sometimes the legitimate act of an oppressed people. The United States was founded by men who realized that distinction, as were the deomocratic governments of France, the Republic of Ireland, and many others.

    Further, sensationalizing the story by use of emotion-catching terms like "balaclava" is not helpful to the discussion. However, for a comparison of images, I refer you to the picture of one of Britain's present-day operatives in Ireland shown with the article at this site: http://www.irishcentral.com/news/British-undercov…. The IRA has disarmed and renounced violence. It is past time for the British government to do likewise.

  40. Tom – I’m not here to discuss the relative merits of Rep. King, much less Julian Assange – I leave that to others. My complaint, and the Irish American Unity Conference’s, is that your blog used King’s positions as a jumping-off point for criticising the long-ago tactics of human rights fighters in the North of Ireland, with no acknowledgment of the current peace posture of the IRA or its political allies.

    I agree with much of what you say here (but did not say in your blog), but I take strong issue with your view that there is no difference between government-sanctioned butchery, and legitimate struggles for freedom, equality, justice, and often independence. You must know that one of the founders of Amnesty International was formerly Chief of Staff of the IRA — Sean McBride. Would you also condemn him? Further, McBride was the son of an IRA officer who was executed by the British army for his role in the Irish uprising of 1916, which led to Ireland’s independence. Would you also condemn him? I strongly reject the notion, currently in political fashion, that freedom fighters are all of the same ilk as illegitimate, occupying and brutal military forces or governments. Contrary to your belief, unlawful use of force is not always a criminal act or human rights abuse; it is sometimes the legitimate act of an oppressed people. The United States was founded by men who realized that distinction, as were the deomocratic governments of France, the Republic of Ireland, and many others.

    Further, sensationalizing the story by use of emotion-catching terms like “balaclava” is not helpful to the discussion. However, for a comparison of images, I refer you to the picture of one of Britain’s present-day operatives in Ireland shown with the article at this site:
    http://www.irishcentral.com/news/British-undercover-agent-led-attack-on-Irish-police-at-rally-113840214.html. The IRA has disarmed and renounced violence. It is past time for the British government to do likewise.

  41. Dear Peter,

    I fear we are not going to find common ground on this issue. I do not believe that there are any circumstances that legitimize the deliberate targeting of civilian objects. Human rights are universal, absolute and inviolable. This is one reason why the Amnesty movement does not adopt any individual who advocates violence as a Prisoner of Conscience.

    I do want to thank you for reminding me of Sean MacBride’s role in the early years of Amnesty's existence. He chaired the organization ‘s Executive Committee for over a decade in the 1960s and 70s, he also played a key role as Irish foreign minister in the adoption of the European Convention on Human Rights, served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974. He died in 1988 but he was an individual who traveled an incredible personal journey and I would have been fascinated to hear his views on our debate.

    Finally, I can’t help but comment that anyone who can juxtaposition “government sanctioned butchery” with “legitimate struggles for freedom, equality, justice” in the same sentence knows a thing or too about the use of “emotion-catching terms”!

  42. Dear Peter,

    I fear we are not going to find common ground on this issue. I do not believe that there are any circumstances that legitimize the deliberate targeting of civilian objects. Human rights are universal, absolute and inviolable. This is one reason why the Amnesty movement does not adopt any individual who advocates violence as a Prisoner of Conscience.

    I do want to thank you for reminding me of Sean MacBride’s role in the early years of Amnesty’s existence. He chaired the organization ‘s Executive Committee for over a decade in the 1960s and 70s, he also played a key role as Irish foreign minister in the adoption of the European Convention on Human Rights, served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974. He died in 1988 but he was an individual who traveled an incredible personal journey and I would have been fascinated to hear his views on our debate.

    Finally, I can’t help but comment that anyone who can juxtaposition “government sanctioned butchery” with “legitimate struggles for freedom, equality, justice” in the same sentence knows a thing or too about the use of “emotion-catching terms”!

  43. Tom – Touche on your last comment! And I'm flattered!

    Yes, the journey of people like Sean McBride and others like him is impressive for sure. But as much as I abhor violence myself, I cannot condemn his early activities. I've always thought of how easy it is for people living in peace in a country like the US today, who have benefitted from the very violent struggles of revolutionaries past, to criticize all use of arms without distinction. I believe that view is neither realistic nor fair nor intellectually honest, and I refuse to be so judgmental when I'm living the compartively easy life thanks to their fights and sacrifices. Like you, I don't know what McBride would say today, but I would guess he would not renounce his earlier struggles against the empire.

    Thanks for listening.

  44. Tom – Touche on your last comment! And I’m flattered!

    Yes, the journey of people like Sean McBride and others like him is impressive for sure. But as much as I abhor violence myself, I cannot condemn his early activities. I’ve always thought of how easy it is for people living in peace in a country like the US today, who have benefitted from the very violent struggles of revolutionaries past, to criticize all use of arms without distinction. I believe that view is neither realistic nor fair nor intellectually honest, and I refuse to be so judgmental when I’m living the compartively easy life thanks to their fights and sacrifices. Like you, I don’t know what McBride would say today, but I would guess he would not renounce his earlier struggles against the empire.

    Thanks for listening.

  45. Sean MacBride did in fact, emphatically, oppose the British-imposed system in Northern Ireland during the course of the Troubles, and he lent his name and support to our efforts here, specifically to the MacBride Principles for Fair Employment, which were a major focus of Irish-American activists from the early 1980s up to the beginings of the peace process.
    He was the Keynote speaker at a national convention of the Irish American Unity Conference in Washington in the mid-1980s, and supported our efforts to fight human rights abuses by the British government in Ireland and more generally, against the oppressive and essentially undemocratic system in the six counties. He did not endorse the armed struggle, but like Pete and the rest of us, pointedly declined to condemn it while that system remained in place.

  46. Sean MacBride did in fact, emphatically, oppose the British-imposed system in Northern Ireland during the course of the Troubles, and he lent his name and support to our efforts here, specifically to the MacBride Principles for Fair Employment, which were a major focus of Irish-American activists from the early 1980s up to the beginings of the peace process.
    He was the Keynote speaker at a national convention of the Irish American Unity Conference in Washington in the mid-1980s, and supported our efforts to fight human rights abuses by the British government in Ireland and more generally, against the oppressive and essentially undemocratic system in the six counties. He did not endorse the armed struggle, but like Pete and the rest of us, pointedly declined to condemn it while that system remained in place.

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