They've Missed Hating

[B Whale]

Good piece in the Times today from Aaronivitch. Pretty much sums up the last few days in NI for me.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/david_aaronovitch/article5877219.ece

[LeftishBrit]

1. Good article

Fortunately, most people on all sides *don't* want all the hate and violence to come back.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

2. The vast majority of republicans don't support the CIRA or the RIRA

There is no groundswell of support backing these groups like which supported the OIRA and PIRA.

Aaronivitch is correct to say that the purpose of the attacks was to bring the British Army back to Ireland. To do so would have seen the collapse of the Peace Process and the return to war. It's a relief that Sinn Fein, the wider republican movement and the British government saw the political nature of the attack as well as the human tragedy around it.

Had the British government caved in to the temptation of escalating a military presence, it would have been politically impossible for Sinn Fein to continue power-sharing and that is what CIRA/RIRA hoped to achieve.