US targets Northern Ireland dissidents

BBC News ^ | Tuesday, 1 January, 2002, 09:10 GMT | BBC News

[colette_g]

Tuesday, 1 January, 2002, 09:10 GMT

US targets NI dissidents

The UK has always urged action against the groups

The US has frozen the assets of four loyalist groups and one republican paramilitary group as part of its war on terror.

Officials designated the groups as suspected terrorist organisations but said it was too early to tell if any of them have financial assets in the US.

The loyalist groups targeted were the Loyalist Volunteer Force, Orange Volunteers, Red Hand Defenders, and the Ulster Defence Association, also thought to cover sister organisation, the Ulster Freedom Fighters.

The republican Continuity IRA has also been singled out.

Paramilitary gangs

The EU imposed financial sanctions against the same groups, as well as other organisations last week.

Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble called in October for the US to crack down on the profits of paramilitary gangs in Northern Ireland.

He was spurred on by the murder of investigative journalist Martin O'Hagan who had uncovered paramilitary gangs responsible for organised crime.

And Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith has also expressed his belief that the US war on terror in the wake of 11 September should include Northern Ireland.

The five paramilitary groups were posted on the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control Web site on Monday.

International co-operation

Secretary of State Colin Powell decided on the list in consultation with Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and Attorney General John Ashcroft.

State Department spokesman Philip Reeker applauded the EU's decision to sanction the groups.

"We have consistently said that the fight against terrorism requires international co-operation in the fullest measure," he said.

At the same time, a sixth organisation, Spain's First of October Anti-fascist Resistance Group, has also been targeted.

[KantianBurke]

Bout time. Maybe when the world is finished exterminating all the scumbags throughout the earth will there be more room for jello

[xclusiv1]

The IRA are not muslim terrorists. The New World Order is just trying to eliminate everyone opposed to them.

[BunnySlippers]

Good. Deserves a bump to eliminate terrorists of all sorts!

[BunnySlippers]

The IRA are not muslim terrorists.

Our stated objective was never to get rid of terrorists who were Muslim ... but rather "terrorists" and "terrorism". The IRA qualifies. (Didn't you love the picture of Gerry Adams hugging Fidel Castro last week).

[river rat]

I guess we can expect the U.S. Irish "mafia" in Congress to get all upset about this... If Ted is sober when he reads this --- the fat slob might just have a coronary.

A terrorist or criminal of any stripe - should be hammered, regardless of ethnicity, race or religion....

I believe in Equal Opportunty bastard stomping or killing, when needed..
Semper Fi

[colette_g]

Of course, non-muslim terrorists are so nice, a completely different breed. It's not as if they go around blowing up and murdering innocent people . . . . .

[Norn Iron]

They seem to have overlooked the UVF and the IRA (probably Europe's largest international terrorist organisation). Both these organisations are in breach of the regulations just laid down by the Council of the European Union.

"For the purposes of this Common Position, "terrorist act" shall mean one of the following intentional acts, which, given its nature or its context, may seriously damage a country or an international organisation, as defined as an offence under national law, where committed with the aim of:
(i) seriously intimidating a population, or
(ii) unduly compelling a Government or an international organisation to perform or abstain from performing any act, or
(iii) seriously destabilising or destroying the fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures of a country or an international organisation:(a) attacks upon a person's life which may cause death;(b) attacks upon the physical integrity of a person

Hundreds more exiled by Ulster death threats

[Norn Iron]

Which, if any, of the loyalist and republican terrorists do you expect George Bush to invite to the White House on St Patrick's Day, 2002?

[tom paine 2]

Teddy and the rest of his clan should be arrested as terrorists. They have supported this nonsense for years.

[piasa]

We never said we were going against just 'Islamic' terrorists. We said terrorism. Since the US has a long tradition of opposing communism, the IRA and its Stalinist-left habits fit the agenda well enough. Communists tend to be the leading promoters of terror, and terrorists tend to hold dear to some variant of communism-socialism-group- rights philosophy. It isn't always that way but the rule holds most of the time.

The sect of the IRA known as the 'Real IRA' are known to get along with Baltic and Balkan terror groups and also are linked to ETA, a Basque separatist group. Through ETA they have ties to al-Qeada. These various groups tend to carry water for one another, sharing resources and offering other assistance.

As for the IRA (in all its assorted sects), they are native tyrants, like John Walker and Timothy McVeigh. It's not like the IRA doesn't have a history of car-bombing or mail-bombing people, is it? They might be a bit pickier about their targets than al-Qeada but not much pickier. The ETA and the IRA have sent personnel for training in Libya. (Now that's not where good guys go to train- you aren't getting trained in how to avoid killing 'too many' people there, I guarantee it.) Moammar and his ilk the sort of folks I'd want to hang around with. The IRA wasn't learning to be 'freedom fighters' while they were there; if anything their politics have little to do with 'freedom,' since their goals are to have an Ireland to the left of even England.

However legitimate the original cause, once it has been swallowed up in a communist agenda it ceases to be legitimate. The original freedom movement had already petered out when the more recent IRA in all its red glory picked it up in the 60s. If the Irish want to be rid of the British, fine. But don't replace foreign 'tyrants' with native tyrants, much less worse native tyrants.

Don't confuse a quest for 'group rights' or 'ethnic rights' or even so-called 'liberation movements' with 'individual rights,' for they are not neccessarily the same thing. If anything, the pursuit of separatism is pointless if the result is a form of communism, if the result impairs individual liberty, most notably in the area of property rights. Fans of Stalin and Marx or Fidel and Quadaffi aren't going to provide more individual liberty even if they do oust perceived invaders from their soil, because such people's beliefs, being communist, run contrary to permitting people to have much in the way of individual property rights. The track record for Stalin-fans hasn't been too good for other individual liberties, either. Why would the IRA be any different?

I see nothing in the IRA to indicate its ideology would would make individual Irish citizens any more free than they are now. Quite the opposite.

If we keep this line up with the IRA and their friends, we might even impact Kennedy's wallet. ; )

[MetalHeadConservative35]

brits the good guys is a joke - they have been brutal to the irish for years - and they expect them to take it without any comment - why doesnt england just get their ass out of there

exactly im irish american and it hurts to see what goes on in ireland...I dont approve of the IRA but in any case all i would like to see is peace in ireland without british control

[Doctor Stochastic]

Perhaps we will begin profiling those who look Irish.

[muawiyah]

Norm, regarding just the "IRA" - just those initials - there are lots and lots and lots of "IRA" organizations. You just saw in the lists in the article preceeding this thread that one of them had its finances frozen.

It is my impression that the focus of this article are the Unionist organizations that have been cut off. No doubt a number of other IRA groups have been affected earlier. You can go to the Treasury Department website to take a look.

So, what is your question?

[B Knotts]

This is a good sign, as they have targeted groups on both sides of this stupid dispute. The answer, in my rather uninformed opinion, is pretty much what they've attempted to set up: a self-governing state, separate from both the U.K. and the Irish Republic.

I hope and believe that most people there just want to live in peace; it is only a small group of radicals on each side which are trying to prevent that.

[triumph69]

I wish the Brits would just cut the North loose and let the Irish finally settle their differences once and for all!

[MetalHeadConservative35]

Perhaps we will begin profiling those who look Irish.

perhaps i didnt word it right

what i meant was i want to see peace without british control without any bloodshed if possible

[cake_crumb]

"The IRA are not muslim terrorists."

This war was never specifically against on;y Muslim terrorists. It is against all terrorists. That means eliminating all terrorist groups, whether Muslim or other.

"The New World Order is just trying to eliminate everyone opposed to them."

Tin foil hat alert...those groups can use the court of international opinion in order to achieve their goals, rather than blowing people up.

[cake_crumb]

"I believe in Equal Opportunty bastard stomping or killing, when needed.
Semper Fi"

Right back at you! BUMP