Major offensive in Afghanistan...

[max_tranmere]

I think the differnce now is that the most powerful people in Republicanism are now politicans and not militia men. Therefore if the Real IRA or the Continuity IRA get bigger they will only ever grow to a certain size because most people in the Nationalist/Republican community are in favour of what Sinn Fein are about now and don't believe in the Armed Struggle any more.

I agree that arms would be easy to get now, but there is little money coming in. The Provisional IRA got mega money from Irish America, I doubt many of the them are giving cash to RIRA of CIRA now. Also the senior members of the Republican movement all know who the leaders and senior figures within these breakaway groups are, and will only allow them to go so far before 'having a word'. It was always rumoured that Provisional IRA commanders visited the leadership of the Real IRA after the Omagh bombing. No co-incidence that the Real IRA went on ceasefire soon after.

Lastly, I think I'm right in saying that the leader of one of these groups is now in jail - a clue to who he is: his wife is the sister of the IRA's most famous hunger striker. If you know a lot about Northern Ireland you will know the name of this leader who is now in jail. The fact he is doing 25 years inside would have inevitably weakened the organisation.

[justincyder]

Unfortunately Max you are not entirely correct, though actually I wish you were. The powerful people in the 'Old' republican movement are now in polictics. There is a new republican movement in progress, much like the Provo's upstaged the Official IRA way back to replace them as the most powerful.

There's plenty of money coming in as I previously mentioned, it might not be the amount as in previous days, but weaponry as I said is a lot cheaper with easy access to Eastern bloc weapons, ?400 will buy you an assault rifle. Ammuniton is is fact cheaper than chips.

Home made explosives is as ever readily available and in significant quantaties. Numerous large scale devices have been placed ranging from 400lb to 1000lbs.

Todays Sinn Fein leadership are all under death threat from the dissidents, there is no respect towards them from outside there own Sinn Fein supporters anymore.

Dozens of old Provo's have joined the ranks of the dissidents.

The attack on Massarene barracks was conducted but a highly trained ASU conducting move and fire assault tactics.

So a leading dissident is in jail, do you think this has honestly done anything other than minorly inconvenience them.

1. Command structure has deputies for a reason, they take over if someone is removed.

2. Access to mobile phones within prison allows command to continue anyway.

[justincyder]

spelling mistakes due to tiredness*

[RoddersUK]

I think that the "Hereford Hooligans" should be let loose and take out all of the bastards.Then we'd see how many hard core Republicans would come forward to replace the ones taken out. Unfortunatelyy it would take balls to order it and the last politician in this country who had balls was Dennis Heally and Churchill before him. The present bunch of self seeking shits in Parliament wouldn't be able to muster a pair of balls between them.
The only reason that the IRA came to the table was because they knew that they could never beat the SAS who were killing them whenever the bastards came into their sights.

[max_tranmere]

There were some big hits against the IRA. Loughall and Gibralter are the two most well known examples - at Loughall, near Newry, the SAS shot dead 8 IRA men in one go, and it was the biggest loss the IRA had taken in one day for 60 or 70 years; in Gibralter the SAS shot dead three IRA personnel.

I dont think this is why the IRA stopped their activities though, as I said earlier. It was the revulsion over the Warrington bomb by many Irish citizens and the Irish Government, the differing attitudes to terrorism following the massacre the Real IRA carried out at Omagh, and also the changing views of Irish America following 9/11, the IRA's murder of Robert McCartney, and the Northern Bank Robbery.

[justincyder]

Max, seriously all those things may have changed some peoples views, but not all, not all by a long majority, trust me when I tell you that Republicanism outside the control of Sinn Fein is alive, well, and kicking an awful lot.

I feel I can speak with some knowledge on the matter as for one thing I live here.

Rodders, whilst I am in no doubt that the blokes in Hereford are without equal, and yes they may have put the fear of god into the IRA where others failed, even that wouldn't fully eradicate it.

Certainly it would deter the more cowardly elements, but nonetheless there would be others with more bravado and naiivley perhaps with larger sets of balls to step up to the mark.

You'd have to go further than what you suggest, you would have to essentially wipe out everyone connected with them, families, children, friends, neighbours, friends of neighbours and on and then where would it stop. And have you not then become the very thing they claim to be fighting against, oppression etc. Hence I don't see an answer.