tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post5428135265838016352..comments2024-03-29T13:37:11.174+00:00Comments on TPQ: Children Are Not CombatantsAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-75058801351220116292021-05-01T13:11:13.252+01:002021-05-01T13:11:13.252+01:00there is a consistency to that perspective and I w...there is a consistency to that perspective and I would find it hard to object to someone holding that across the board view. <br />Then there is the fact that some people who have killed children have also been guilty of heroics. Whatever Bomber Harris might have ordered from the safety of his London office, the people who manned the planes displayed huge courage. <br />Best for a society not to AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-42183256903542694452021-05-01T12:52:31.427+01:002021-05-01T12:52:31.427+01:00It sticks in the craw when people who kill civilia...It sticks in the craw when people who kill civilians are lauded as heroes, be that Bomber Harris, Soldier F or Dessie Grew. Some will argue they did what they had to do. Fair enough,it's a greyish area, but lauded? It's just not right.Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15027470398152153427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-71402784192877446142021-04-30T10:32:28.960+01:002021-04-30T10:32:28.960+01:00the one thing we can be certain of Henry Joy is th...the one thing we can be certain of Henry Joy is that if by ultimate bind you mean ultimate dilemma, it is that.AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-54531153683495362722021-04-30T10:27:31.224+01:002021-04-30T10:27:31.224+01:00Peter - I have no problem with war criminals facin...Peter - <i>I have no problem with war criminals facing justice and being removed from rolls of honour</i><br /><br />Presumably that means you think the Bomber Harris statute should be removed. <br /><br />The IRA perpetrated many horrendous things and if you are right it has committed war crimes in other countries. Yet, the British state has practiced war crimes and atrocity in numerous AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-68623429219998852462021-04-30T10:13:02.206+01:002021-04-30T10:13:02.206+01:00Thanks for sharing that observation from Counterpu...Thanks for sharing that observation from Counterpunch AM. <br /><br />Like the Camus quote I referenced both acknowledge the ultimate bind which exists. It existed for those who participated in the more egregious operations during the conflict, as it exists for those who retrospectively attempt to objectively evaluate those painful events and times.Henry JoYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04161613445053833181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-56261463798433407542021-04-30T10:02:13.621+01:002021-04-30T10:02:13.621+01:00The death of Nivruti Islania was appalling. You as...The death of Nivruti Islania was appalling. You assume you know who did it whereas I do not assume to know. I have read the press reports alleging Dessie Grew was involved but little else. They might be true but having so much experience of them calling things wrong, I would need a lot more. <br /><br />If whoever carried out the attack knew who was in the car and was determined to kill them allAMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-13000195397924962842021-04-30T07:28:24.807+01:002021-04-30T07:28:24.807+01:00I have no problem with war criminals facing justic...I have no problem with war criminals facing justice and being removed from rolls of honour, be that Soldier F or Brian Robinson or anybody else. I don't like them being lauded as heroes. You rightly point out Provo war crimes but don't say what should be done with the war criminals.Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15027470398152153427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-83163615426240007812021-04-30T07:28:16.670+01:002021-04-30T07:28:16.670+01:00There is an observation in a piece on Counterpunch...There is an observation in a piece on Counterpunch about the Armenian genocide that illuminates the difficulty and perhaps the need to avoid being formal or pedantic:<br /><br /><i> Attributing names to the brutal acts humans are capable of inflicting upon each other is never without problems. There are gradations of terror, hierarchies of atrocity and cruelty. In these, the pedants reign. AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-57665648841469244982021-04-30T07:19:13.107+01:002021-04-30T07:19:13.107+01:00Glad you got something out of it Steve.
No party ...Glad you got something out of it Steve. <br />No party had a monopoly om war crimes. <br />As Henry Joy suggested to me has there ever been a war without them?<br />And legally, the war crime band has a very expansive range of activity within it. <br />In my usage of it I tend to employ it for the most horrendous of acts: Bloody Sunday; Kingsmill. For other breaches of the rules of war such as AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-68556641995011007222021-04-30T07:05:48.573+01:002021-04-30T07:05:48.573+01:00I don't remember a piece in particular but I p...I don't remember a piece in particular but I probably have. I took part in a number of documentaries about it. If you mean by impact, am I driven by it? No. I wrote about it this week because it had been in the news and invited some reflection. AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-82834583020150625972021-04-30T02:13:14.608+01:002021-04-30T02:13:14.608+01:00Have you ever written about the attack before, Ant...Have you ever written about the attack before, Anthony? It seems to have had an impact on you.Volmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18151897810454881504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-58751501162180318672021-04-30T01:45:20.110+01:002021-04-30T01:45:20.110+01:00The whole conflict was littered by war crimes on a...The whole conflict was littered by war crimes on all sides. I found this piece poignant. Thanks for sharing it Anthony. Time cools the blood. Steve Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13670990166576346966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-21611352540668641312021-04-29T21:19:58.714+01:002021-04-29T21:19:58.714+01:00Peter - I think you missed an opportunity. Republi...Peter - I think you missed an opportunity. Republicans are reflecting - with a critical eye - on their past activities. You could have done likewise and explored the war crimes of the state forces. That would have been of real benefit and had the potential for good dialogue. We already know what you think of republicans and you have always been welcome to express that view here. <br />If we all AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-75583009219056995302021-04-29T13:53:41.523+01:002021-04-29T13:53:41.523+01:00"Mountbatten...should never have been attacke..."Mountbatten...should never have been attacked while in the company of civilians or children."<br /><br />"She should not be evasive about the targeting of children. The option is there for her to call on the IRA to apologise for a war crime."<br /><br />In 1990 a 6 month old baby was shot dead along with her serviceman father in Europe. The baby was hit in the head at close Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15027470398152153427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-45609244922480849572021-04-28T23:05:23.100+01:002021-04-28T23:05:23.100+01:00Yes Dominic, reflection is part of the process
And...Yes Dominic, reflection is part of the process<br />And after reflecting we draw some conclusion<br />Next, based on those conclusions we formulate a plan<br />Then completing the cycle of learning by moving into the activity phase again to test new learnings<br />And so it continues and repeats<br /><br />The ideal which we move towards is to build an accurate map for ourselves so that we might Henry JoYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04161613445053833181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-15808885200543224402021-04-28T22:12:09.864+01:002021-04-28T22:12:09.864+01:00We would only have you wearing sackcloth and ashes...We would only have you wearing sackcloth and ashes to improve your dress style. When you once said to a woman "hey groovy chick, how about a date"? the answer you got was "try 1972."<br /><br />AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-90454258736450171142021-04-28T22:09:53.740+01:002021-04-28T22:09:53.740+01:00Sean - you say that there was an IRA apology for t...Sean - you say that there was an IRA apology for the likes of Mullaghmore. That is right but it was a general apology which did not address the specifics of that operation. I don't think had Mary Lou been aware of that general apology it would have made it any easier for her. <br /><br />Our war in the North would never meet the just war criteria as officially stated. We were often slated AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-58192298182238557562021-04-28T21:55:01.073+01:002021-04-28T21:55:01.073+01:00I never considered excessive moralising to be a tr...I never considered excessive moralising to be a trait of your argument. <br />The only thing that would exempt lining up a group of unarmed civilians and shooting them dead from the category of a war crime would be in a situation where there was no war. We can only invoke that defence if we claim we were not at war. <br />I don't think there is an obligation on people with information about AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-6874415822177131792021-04-28T21:53:11.377+01:002021-04-28T21:53:11.377+01:00Henry Joy sack cloth and ashes might be stretching...Henry Joy sack cloth and ashes might be stretching it a little. Whatever is going on in Joe Brolly's life Im sure it is very personal to him but for Joe wanting to atone for things being done by his neighbours to his other neighbours would be like Paisley looking to atone for things being done by the Pope. Articles like the one that Anthony has written allow people to reflect. In my opinion Dominic Mc Glincheyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05623526207970116912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-75282621951674931612021-04-28T20:26:30.274+01:002021-04-28T20:26:30.274+01:00Óglaigh na hÉireann apologised long ago, rightly, ...Óglaigh na hÉireann apologised long ago, rightly, for deaths such as those of the children on the boat. If McDonald were actually involved in the Republican Movement (she was not and is not and is the leader of what is better thought of as New Sinn Féin) she would have been aware of that. Insightful as ever, Tony, and it is only right that Republicans grapple with issues such as this. Clearly a Sean Bresnahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06842180620284317746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-19310363449736897302021-04-28T20:24:30.668+01:002021-04-28T20:24:30.668+01:00Don't know if you heard your fellow South Derr...Don't know if you heard your fellow South Derry man, one Joseph Brolly on NewsTalk radio with Kieran Crudity<br /><br />Poor Joe had shocking nightmares for years ... an image of a burning child at the bottom of the bed<br />Sounds as if he was surely haunted<br /><br />Then he goes on to say<br /><br /><i>"When I gave a kidney, I wanted to sort of preserve a life <br />I suppose Henry JoYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04161613445053833181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-8931397969258202882021-04-28T18:32:40.071+01:002021-04-28T18:32:40.071+01:00The 'excessive moralising' was a descripti...The 'excessive moralising' was a description of my own stance<br />It was neither descriptive nor prescriptive for anyone else <br /><br />But here's the thing and where to my mind the rubber really hits the road ... if our moral sensibilities are deeply held and if we are to hold an irrevocable position where we define these actions, operations such as Mullaghmore and Kingsmill, as Henry JoYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04161613445053833181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-23898954608381982642021-04-28T17:52:42.008+01:002021-04-28T17:52:42.008+01:00Geraldine - thank you. It will not persuade everyo...Geraldine - thank you. It will not persuade everyone. It would most certainly not have persuaded me back in the day. And as Henry Joy alludes, reflection tends to take place outside the immediacy of conflict. That said, I fail to see how it can be argued logically that the children were not victims of a war crime, unless the war itself is denied. AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-82137549244158495602021-04-28T14:18:28.736+01:002021-04-28T14:18:28.736+01:00Excellent piece, Anthony. Very, very well presente...Excellent piece, Anthony. Very, very well presented. (Geraldine G here, since it says “Comment as: Google Account.”)Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01499284299272654522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4807238897188927967.post-12102528537664053292021-04-28T13:56:18.692+01:002021-04-28T13:56:18.692+01:00Individuals and communities whose needs are reason...<i>Individuals and communities whose needs are reasonably well met will be less likely to deliberately participate in hurting others.</i><br /><br />but does not explain the violence of the rich against the poor.<br /><br />Excessive moralising is one way to look at it, but I think as a concept it only has purchase if the thinking expressed is used for the purpose of pontificating or virtual AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00559413440743290550noreply@blogger.com