Essay On Terrorist Violence

The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) was formed in 1969. The Official IRA declared a cease-fire in the summer of 1972, and subsequently the term IRA began being used for the organization that developed from the 'Provisional' IRA. Organized into small, tightly knit cells under the leadership of the Army Council the IRA has remained largely unchanged. It is difficult to know the exact number of IRA members because of the political and economic persecution that comes with publicly endorsing the IRA. It is estimated that there are several hundred members, plus several thousand sympathizers, but the IRA's strength may have been affected by operatives leaving the organization to join hard-line splinter groups.

The IRA split into two groups; The official IRA who wanted to achieve a United Ireland, and the Provisional IRA who thought of the British Army as an army of occupation and believed violence was the answer and would achieve their goal. The Provisional IRA shot Gunner Curtis. He was the first British soldier to be killed in the Northern Ireland.

After the first world war the leaders of europe came together to discuss the boundaries of europe. British rule decided to separate ireland into two sides. North Ireland was created when the british government of Ireland Act in 1920 divided Ireland into two areas; the Irish Free State and the Northern Ireland Roman Catholics, who made up around one-third of the population of Northern Ireland, were largely opposed to the separation. The British took over , but only after many revolts and riots against them from the people of ireland. In 1969 the IRA (Irish Republican Army) was formed. They were a Catholic Irish nationalist group that used guerrilla tactics like bombings and assassinations to oppose British rule and oppression in Ireland. Their main goal was to fight the british that took over their home. The IRA would Fight using guerilla and terrorist tactics including bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, punishment beatings, extortion, smuggling, and robberies. But over time the IRA became more of a dangerous militia then patriots defending their home.

The Irish were promised the Home Rule Act, but it was taken away at the start of the Ester Uprising. “This modest promise was swept away the Easter Uprising of 1916, when a small band of rebels paralyzed the city and the Irish Republic was proclaimed from the steps of the GPO” (Hegarty). Padhraic Pearse led about 2000 people into the Easter Revolution, only a small fraction of the people that had lived in Dublin at the time. Most of the Irish were involved in World War I. “They had little support – many Irish volunteers had joined the war effort and the rebels were perceived to be traitors to the great cause” (Hegarty). It would take more violence and rebellion against the British to bring attention to their cause both locally and abroad.

Arthur Massacre) and comparing these with acts committed in the name of a “cause” (terrorism) by

National terrorism has been the focus of attention since September 11. But now domestic terrorism is becoming increasingly common among hate groups across the nation. Domestic terrorism can be defined as visible crime, or “street crime.” These acts would consist of violent crimes, (acts against people in which injury or death results) property crimes (acts that threaten property held by individuals or the state) and public order crimes. (acts that threaten the general well-being of society and challenger accepted moral principles) It can also however be described as political crime, (criminal acts by or against the government for ideological purposes) which would include the 9/11 and the Oklahoma City bombing.

The conflict in Northern Ireland has persisted because of religious affiliations, their identities and the struggle for overall power. The morals and identities of the people and organizations of Northern Ireland

Years of British occupation and oppression led to a sustained campaign to regain freedom from Britain beginning in the early twentieth century. Both the loyalist (supporters of the Union with Britain) and the republicans (supporters of a united Ireland) were willing to use violence for their cause. This took form in the 1916 Easter Rising, where Irish rebels declared the independence of the Irish Republic and fought in Dublin against the British to regain control of their homeland. The rebels were unsuccessful and were forced to surrender. This lead to the later Irish War of Independence, and the introduction of the Government of Ireland Act in 1920 and the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, which resulted in the partitioning of Ireland into six counties in the North ruled by Britain and twenty-six counties in the south, newly named the Irish Free State. However, a significant minority in the North of around forty percent were Irish nationalists who wanted independence from Britain. “Therefore, from its creation in 1920, Northern Ireland was a state whose citizens differed over their national allegiance.” This situation in the North caused a great deal of tension, as the leaders of the Protestant, unionist majority discriminated against the Catholic, nationalist minority. So, by the 1960s, Catholic nationalist frustration was manifested in a campaign for civil rights, to which the state responded with vicious intensity. Those who were

IRA and Just War theory From 1969 until 1997, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) was engaged in warfare against both British forces in Northern Ireland and the Irish who remained loyal to them. Known for their extremist tactics and labeled as terrorists, the IRA used shootouts, bombings and assassinations in Northern Ireland and in Britain as a means to resist the British occupation of Ireland. While inflicting violence, the IRA killed both soldiers actively in battle, but they also killed many civilians. Although the IRA took great strides to decrease civilian casualties, the extent to which it actually cared was questionable. This paper will focus on specific IRA attacks and whether they uphold the Just War principles.

The Irish War of independence otherwise Known as the Black and Tan War started in 1919 to 1921 July (Augusteijn, 1996). This was a guerrilla warfare that consisted of 15000 soldiers of Ireland Republican Army that went against British Arm force and constabulary totaling to 42,000(Augusteijn, 1996). The essay explains that the Ireland army had no option but to use terrorism as part of countermeasures against British forces.

The Troubles was a time period of revolt and discrimination in Northern Ireland that lasted from the late 1960s until 1998, beginning with direct British involvement in Northern Ireland and formally ending with the Good Friday Agreement. However, it can be argued that the tension that persisted during The Troubles still exists today. The Troubles stemmed from the dissolution of a long period of peaceful tension between two political groups, the Nationalists and Unionists and by extension two major ethnic groups Irish-Catholic and British-Protestant. The Nationalists were predominantly Catholic and shared their religion with the Irish as such the Nationalists wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of Ireland and felt that Northern Ireland was an affront to their Irish heritage. However, they were a minority in Northern Ireland being about 33% of the population. Alternatively, the Unionists which were predominantly Protestant and were mostly immigrants or children of immigrants from England wanted Northern Ireland to properly establish itself as part of the United Kingdom and saw the Nationalists and Catholics as backwards people against the flow of progress. The Protestant portion of the population was a majority in Northern Ireland and through the Unionist party they established complete control, although not completely through their own efforts which were to simply overwhelm the Catholic minority. The Unionists also came to power because Nationalists became apathetic

The precursor to the IRA was a group called the Irish Volunteers who later transformed in the IRA around 1919. The goal from the start was to create the Independent Republic that was not controlled by Britain. The Sinn Fein was the government wing of the terrorist group, who shared the same exact goal but from a diplomatic standpoint. Not everyone who was a part of the IRA was also a part of the Sinn Fein and vice versa but the membership tended to overlap during the IRA’s inception period. The IRA first used terrorism during the war of Irish independence from 1919-1921 against Britain. At the end of the war, Britain had let go of 26 counties and this resulted in a new free Ireland. However, 6 counties remained under Britains control. The 6 six counties that remained were together named Northern Ireland and to this day, Northern Ireland is still a part of the United Kingdom. The first split of the IRA happened during this time between those who accepted 26 counties being set free (loyalist) and those who were upset that 6 remained under Britain control. Those who were not in favor of 6 counties apart of the United Kingdom were named the Irregulars. A civil war occurred between the irregulars and the new Irish government and the irregulars had lost. This did not stop them from recruiting and training, in hopes that their dream of a unified Ireland. The new Irish government made the organization illegal due to its continued

Lastly, in my opinion, Catholics/nationalists should have their freedom to be united to Ireland and Protestants/unionists in Northern Ireland remain part of Britain. I think the leaders of the both parties should find peace-way to protect their people. The ways that allow their people-the civilians to freely live as people with dignity have the right to vote, the right to own land, houses, practice their faiths and their beliefs without bear arm. They cannot let the connotation “whoever was strong won and gained more power while others were oppressed and persecuted.” They should end the conflict in Northern Ireland, which was between Catholics/Nationalists and Protestant/Unionists because they all believe God. Therefore, why fight? For,

The Irish Republican Army Ideology The Irish Republican Army ideology is still living in Northern Ireland, nearly a century after the organization’s establishment. Although the IRA has since disbanded, the spirit is kept alive by a number of splinter factions, including the Provisional, Continuity, and Real IRAs. Not many terrorist organizations can maintain a campaign this extensive in time. The long history of the IRA campaign of terror leads to many political, social, religious, educational and economic effects.

Another crucial moment of his prime ministership was his role during the Northern Ireland PEace Agreement. Blair recalls his childhood vacations in Ireland, where his mother and grandmother will tell him stories, even advising against marrying a Catholic. This was all due to the Religious Cleavages. The IRA also began to try bombing Britain out of Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Peace Agreement devolved the legislative powers of the Westminister to the Northern Ireland Executive. Though this treaty was extremely beneficial, the passing of this treaty involved, “a certain amount of creative ambiguity” and there were often some stretching of the truth. Tony Blair’s execution of politics isn’t necessarily politically correct. HOwever, he always completes his tasks and this ‘deceit ‘ of his tends to greatly increase legitimacy among the United Kingdom. Many of Blair’s crucial moments in his prime ministership helped improve his image amongst the media, whereas some events did not.