Gavin Casey ✍ I spent my early childhood in Lisnahull, Dungannon a few doors away from Paddy Kelly’s house so references to the IRA concern Paddy Kelly’s IRA.

Infiltration and criminalization have always held back the Republican struggle. Perhaps the most-stark example is in the criminal Free State where Fascist reactionaries directed the extra-judicial murders of former comrades.

Britain’s Kitsonian kitbag contained and inspired much of the ‘social engineering’ and ‘conflict management’ strategies which would be deployed against the 6 Counties when social unrest made the statelet ungovernable. Britain knew it was easier to control armed militancy than feet on the streets and with that in mind sent king Charles’ own Parachute Regiment into Ballymurphy and Derry. The result was a polarizing and traumatizing nightmare from which we have yet to awaken.

With all the resources at its disposal the IRA proved to have limited immunity from infiltration. The fates of Caroline Moreland and Freddie Scappaticci starkly contrast. The nature of armed militancy provided Britain with both a liquidation mechanism and a means with which to exert if not assume control.

Criminalization, Ulsterisation, Normalization was a prison policy with the entire captive audience in mind and it hasn’t gone away you know. Modern attempts to recreate the IRA are doomed to failure before they start. Armed militancy provided the mechanism for the catastrophic misdirection at Omagh. Forces so easily misled should not be putting public safety at such peril and yet there are those who persist.

You would think the catastrophe of the Omagh bomb would resonate with those planning armed actions but all Tyrone roads lead back to Omagh and more specifically Beragh it would appear. Ronan Kerr was from Beragh and he suffered a particularly public and gruesome death. The ‘propaganda’ result was universal condemnation, a well-observed minute’s silence at Tyrone’s next match and both Tyrone Manager Mickey Harte and Tyrone Captain Brian Dooher acting as pall bearers at Ronan Kerr’s funeral. John Caldwell is from Beragh as are the McClean family members whom the state accuse of involvement in Caldwell’s attempted murder.

The charges over the Caldwell attack suggest an overlap between what Saoradh reportedly described as ‘republican revolutionaries’ and a criminal drug gang. Considering the criminal degeneracy in the history of The Workers Party it’s certainly possible that so-called ‘republican revolutionaries’ could have been demoralized to such an extent.

And then there came a bizarre threat apparently from a relatively anonymous ‘organisation’ styling itself ‘Arm Na Poblachta’. They apparently consider the families of crown forces personnel to be ‘legitimate targets’. I’m unaware of any statement disputing what sounds like something Billy Wright would have come out with.

The persistence with failed tactics by armed militants provides a managed ‘dissident threat’ which is the media-massaged pretext for the 12 ½ thousand strong and growing Loyalist paramilitary membership. The real recruitment motivator is more likely the license to commit crime that comes with dues payment.

The obvious impotence and apparent degeneracy of contemporary physical force Republicanism is as glaring an argument as is needed. Those involved should cease and desist as there is no moral or strategic justification for the persistence of failure. Given the lack of justification one must question the character and motivation of those who persist.

The IRA was a dynamic force world-renowned for their ingenuity and improvisation and they still failed in a war against insurmountable odds. ‘Tribute acts’ a miniscule fraction of the IRA’s size and organizational capacity are exponentially more-corruptible as a result. There is irrefutable evidence that armed groups are involved in ‘criminal mediation’ described as ‘de-escalation’ of disputes between criminals but this is in effect facilitation of organized crime which will sully all participants.

None of the tribute acts have shown a capacity for ingenuity or improvisation that in any way compares with that of the IRA. They increasingly appear to be victims rather than exploiters of technology, wedded to failed 20th Century tactics.

Contemporary opportunities to enhance operational technology have not been lost on Loyalists it would appear. The much-publicised presence of convicted terrorist Clifford Peoples in Ukraine attests to that. I don’t fear a future Loyalist terror campaign on the level of the 1990s. Freely-available, contemporary technology will ensure there are no untouchable war lords in urban fiefdoms. Mutually-assured destruction will hopefully deter mass-murder proponents.

Time and demographics are on the side of those who strive for Irish unity. Unpopular and unjustifiable acts of violence can only serve to temporarily stem the tide. Firebombing toyshops in the mouth of Xmas or shooting people in front of crowds of children cannot by any measure be considered propaganda-positive actions. The individual behind the firebombs was apparently exposed as an agent provocateur but how much of the activity logs of tribute acts looks like anything different.

There is no place for armed tribute acts or legacy organizations in the current socio-political-strategic climate. The conditions for offensive operations do not exist nor will they. Advances in surveillance methods and equipment only increase the stupidity of persistence in failure. It is obvious from their actions that none of the tribute acts have people of the intellect and ingenuity found in the IRA’s technical departments. Those type of people exist in the wider community across all generations and many will step up in future should the need arise. One can only hope such an escalation never happens.

Gavin Casey is an independent Republican from
County Tyrone who has also lived in the USA and Asia.

No Place For Armed Tribute Acts

Gavin Casey ✍ I spent my early childhood in Lisnahull, Dungannon a few doors away from Paddy Kelly’s house so references to the IRA concern Paddy Kelly’s IRA.

Infiltration and criminalization have always held back the Republican struggle. Perhaps the most-stark example is in the criminal Free State where Fascist reactionaries directed the extra-judicial murders of former comrades.

Britain’s Kitsonian kitbag contained and inspired much of the ‘social engineering’ and ‘conflict management’ strategies which would be deployed against the 6 Counties when social unrest made the statelet ungovernable. Britain knew it was easier to control armed militancy than feet on the streets and with that in mind sent king Charles’ own Parachute Regiment into Ballymurphy and Derry. The result was a polarizing and traumatizing nightmare from which we have yet to awaken.

With all the resources at its disposal the IRA proved to have limited immunity from infiltration. The fates of Caroline Moreland and Freddie Scappaticci starkly contrast. The nature of armed militancy provided Britain with both a liquidation mechanism and a means with which to exert if not assume control.

Criminalization, Ulsterisation, Normalization was a prison policy with the entire captive audience in mind and it hasn’t gone away you know. Modern attempts to recreate the IRA are doomed to failure before they start. Armed militancy provided the mechanism for the catastrophic misdirection at Omagh. Forces so easily misled should not be putting public safety at such peril and yet there are those who persist.

You would think the catastrophe of the Omagh bomb would resonate with those planning armed actions but all Tyrone roads lead back to Omagh and more specifically Beragh it would appear. Ronan Kerr was from Beragh and he suffered a particularly public and gruesome death. The ‘propaganda’ result was universal condemnation, a well-observed minute’s silence at Tyrone’s next match and both Tyrone Manager Mickey Harte and Tyrone Captain Brian Dooher acting as pall bearers at Ronan Kerr’s funeral. John Caldwell is from Beragh as are the McClean family members whom the state accuse of involvement in Caldwell’s attempted murder.

The charges over the Caldwell attack suggest an overlap between what Saoradh reportedly described as ‘republican revolutionaries’ and a criminal drug gang. Considering the criminal degeneracy in the history of The Workers Party it’s certainly possible that so-called ‘republican revolutionaries’ could have been demoralized to such an extent.

And then there came a bizarre threat apparently from a relatively anonymous ‘organisation’ styling itself ‘Arm Na Poblachta’. They apparently consider the families of crown forces personnel to be ‘legitimate targets’. I’m unaware of any statement disputing what sounds like something Billy Wright would have come out with.

The persistence with failed tactics by armed militants provides a managed ‘dissident threat’ which is the media-massaged pretext for the 12 ½ thousand strong and growing Loyalist paramilitary membership. The real recruitment motivator is more likely the license to commit crime that comes with dues payment.

The obvious impotence and apparent degeneracy of contemporary physical force Republicanism is as glaring an argument as is needed. Those involved should cease and desist as there is no moral or strategic justification for the persistence of failure. Given the lack of justification one must question the character and motivation of those who persist.

The IRA was a dynamic force world-renowned for their ingenuity and improvisation and they still failed in a war against insurmountable odds. ‘Tribute acts’ a miniscule fraction of the IRA’s size and organizational capacity are exponentially more-corruptible as a result. There is irrefutable evidence that armed groups are involved in ‘criminal mediation’ described as ‘de-escalation’ of disputes between criminals but this is in effect facilitation of organized crime which will sully all participants.

None of the tribute acts have shown a capacity for ingenuity or improvisation that in any way compares with that of the IRA. They increasingly appear to be victims rather than exploiters of technology, wedded to failed 20th Century tactics.

Contemporary opportunities to enhance operational technology have not been lost on Loyalists it would appear. The much-publicised presence of convicted terrorist Clifford Peoples in Ukraine attests to that. I don’t fear a future Loyalist terror campaign on the level of the 1990s. Freely-available, contemporary technology will ensure there are no untouchable war lords in urban fiefdoms. Mutually-assured destruction will hopefully deter mass-murder proponents.

Time and demographics are on the side of those who strive for Irish unity. Unpopular and unjustifiable acts of violence can only serve to temporarily stem the tide. Firebombing toyshops in the mouth of Xmas or shooting people in front of crowds of children cannot by any measure be considered propaganda-positive actions. The individual behind the firebombs was apparently exposed as an agent provocateur but how much of the activity logs of tribute acts looks like anything different.

There is no place for armed tribute acts or legacy organizations in the current socio-political-strategic climate. The conditions for offensive operations do not exist nor will they. Advances in surveillance methods and equipment only increase the stupidity of persistence in failure. It is obvious from their actions that none of the tribute acts have people of the intellect and ingenuity found in the IRA’s technical departments. Those type of people exist in the wider community across all generations and many will step up in future should the need arise. One can only hope such an escalation never happens.

Gavin Casey is an independent Republican from
County Tyrone who has also lived in the USA and Asia.

1 comment:

  1. This is the reality. Republicanism needs to accept that armed action is not going to advance the Republic. This may not suit everyone but it's a fact.

    ReplyDelete