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Terrorism in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland has been traditionally associated with pleasant concepts standing as a reference to its beautiful landscape, its benevolent people, and the general atmosphere in the country. However, things have changed significantly in recent decades as terrorism has pervaded the nation and as terrorists there have become more determined and more powerful. While the Irish Republican Army's choice to employ non-violent strategies in dealing with the government influenced many in thinking that Northern Ireland should no longer be considered a terrorism hotspot, the Real IRA's recent actions prove otherwise, taking into account that the group's members are resolute about having the whole world accept their thinking regardless of the fact that they have to kill innocent individuals in order to get what they want.
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Ireland has had a long history of political and social problems as a result of English intervention on the island. The fact that the English persecuted the Irish throughout recent centuries is one of the most important factors fueling terrorists to go through with their plans. With problems in the region having much deeper roots related to the 'Catholics vs. Protestants' conflict, conditions were critical during the early twentieth century as it became obvious that the Republic of Ireland was reluctant to allow Ulster to remain a part of the United Kingdom.
While today's Northern Irish terrorists are primarily concerned about making large profits as a result of trafficking weapons and drugs, the fact that their cause was initially justified makes it even more difficult for the authorities to effectively fight them. Many individuals are likely to support the IRA and the RIRA because they feel that it would only be natural for these groups to rise against the government as a result of the fact that it refuses to provide them with the right to unify with the Republic of Ireland. The IRA's success in gathering large numbers of followers played an important role in making it appear that its actions were not necessarily condemnable. "Founded in 1919 as a commando unit against British rule in Ireland, the organization split three years later with the proclamation...
With many of the institutions members being reluctant to accept having a large part of Ireland under British rule, terrorism seemed like the best option for them to put across their point-of-view.
Even with the fact that "Mainland Britain has tried to staunch the flow of dissolution at times deploying 20,000 soldiers together with 8,000 armed police, all at a cost of £3 billion a year" (Whittaker 168), conditions did not improve in the region and the terrorist cell actually experienced progress. Thousands of civilian lives, hundreds of policemen lives, and millions of pounds were lost during recent decades as it seems that the authorities have limited success in fighting terrorism. The government has experienced feeling of inability as the situation continued to remain critical and as none of the strategies it employed seemed to work.
It would only be safe to say that Northern Ireland is facing a more diverse threat in comparison to most developed countries. The fact that terrorists are actually Irish means that they can practically be anyone and that the authorities thus have to keep an open eye for anything that might seem suspicious. The idea of terrorism is very controversial and terrorist groups in Ireland have taken advantage of this concept. By promoting the idea that they are rebels similar to French revolutionaries (Whittaker 168), terrorists in Northern Ireland came to influence numerous individuals in thinking that their actions were actually heroic.
The UK government is largely responsible for providing an effective solution to the terrorist issue in Northern Ireland. However, in order for it to be able to reduce the threat as much as possible it needs to provides the authorities in Northern Ireland with full control of the situation, taking into account that the Irish are more experienced in dealing with the problem and that they actually have a complex understanding of it.
The fact that the IRA and the RIRA have a great deal of supporters means that one of the first things that the authorities need to do is to emphasize their actual intentions today and the fact that they are little more than terrorists who have no interest in…
Works cited:
Whittaker, David J., "TERRORISM READER," (Routledge, 12.12.2012)
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