Culture and politics forum

The funny part is the Indonesian police were denied access by school administrators and students. Let me see, let's pretend that a private school from the Church of England had an explosion and the students and administrators told police they could not access the site... somehow this isn't working.

SBE
Are you really trying to lecture me on Violent Islamic Organizations? You have a lot of experience working cunter-terrorism do you?

"Maybe yahoo news mentioned Al Qaida because nobody in the States has ever heard of Jemaah Islamiyah?"

Yeah, people in the States are just stupid. Fortunately the world has intelligent people from Europe and Australia to keep us straight.

Don't you find it exhausting to be this consistently condescending?

Sayadian,
You'd be surprised, American intelligence organizations worked with the Brits fairly closely, it was some American POLITICAL leaders (sadly, with IRA sympathies) that were not so cooperative. I come from Boston, and southy was ethnically Irish and sympathies for the IRA there ran strong. But not with me. I despise political violence that is not controlled by the state.
But my objection to SBEs post wasn't specifically about terrorism as it was about her pompous and obnoxious response. It seems that anti-Americanism is the one prejudice left in the west that is politically correct.

"I despise political violence that is not controlled by the state."

So MADMAC, presumably you condone illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan because they are "state controlled". You would also presumably condone the murder of innocents in Ireland by British troops because they were "state controlled".

sayadian, you can call American policy makers what you like (pro-IRA or otherwise). I am grateful to them for helping to bring about some form of peace (though not ideal) on my island.

P.S. I am no IRA-sympathiser but, as usual, when people speak about this they are misinformed and forget the part Britain played in the conflict.

'I am grateful to them for helping to bring about some form of peace'

Yes, they were able to do so because they were the only ones who had any influence over the murdering gangsters known as PIRA. The fact that America experienced the consequences of terrorism (The Twin Towers atrocity ) probably had a lot to do with the cutting of funds to the PIRA which consequently meant they had little choice but to go to the negotiation table.
BTW. It is often forgotten that the British army first entered Northern Ireland in the 60's to protect Catholic communities.Granted,bad thing happened e.g. Bloody Sunday but as Madmac often and rightly points out soldiers are not policemen. Since then I hope lessons have been learned.
Also, don't forget the people who were supposed to be the protectors of the Catholic community were indiscriminate killers whose real interest was to protect their illegal and profitable operations e.g the drug trade. Enniskillen was typical of these barbaric people.Both Catholic and Protestants were killed on that day. The most shameful and damning result is that men like Martin McGuiness and Gerry Addams are now 'respectable' politicians whilst in a just world they would be imprisoned.

Well, surprisingly enough a dislike of McGuiness and Addams does not automatically make me an admirer of Bush or Blair.In fact, I think Blair should share the same fate as the former.Not only did he lie to the British people, he sold out his own country for American (Bush) gold and for that I will never forgive him and would like to see him put on trial.As far as Bush is concerned I agree his actions were perverse at the least.

'Colonial occupiers' is a phrase I've heard many times before and unless we start with the policies of Oliver Cromwell it's a long and complicated argument.From the time of Cromwell Ireland was seen as a back door to 'Papist' invasion and as such it suffered.Obviously 16th century values can play no part in our vision of Ireland now.Times and attitudes were more cruel and Machiavellian.
I also did not support the invasion of Iraq and, to repeat myself, abhor Blair's wicked self-interest when it came to supporting it.
As far as a United Ireland is concerned there are a large majority of Protestants in the North who have and always will oppose it.
The best thing that has happened to this divide has been the creation od a United Europe since it has made sectarian divisions less of a political football. Of course they exist, as they do to a lesser extent in Scotland,.but the EU has made it less relevant. Much has been achieved, such as a non-sectarian police force and hopefully the idiots who are again trying to stoke the fires of sectarian violence will not succeed.