Violence Hits Northern Ireland

A dissident group calling itself the Real I.R.A. claimed responsibility for killing two British soldiers and wounding four others on Saturday night.

It was the first deadly assault on the British military in Northern Ireland since a soldier was killed by an IRA sniper in1997.

We’re following perspectives from the New York Times, the Times of London, the Belfast Telegraph and NBC News.

First, the New York Times noted that the assault near Belfast “raises the specter of brutal days” when 3,700 people were killed in 30 years of political violence in Ireland.

“The attack had echoes of the harsh tactics used during the province’s most violent years by the I.R.A., which made a policy of killing not only soldiers and policemen but also civilians whose work supported them.” (The New York Times)

In its coverage, Times of London focused on Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams.

Adams had stopped just short of blaming the attack on the recent deployment of undercover British army units to Northern Ireland.

“Mr. Adams was today asked to defend why the party failed for 14 hours to put out any statement of regret at the deaths of the two British troops…The statement that the party did finally put out, which described the killings as wrong and counter-productive and as an attack on the peace process, has been described by some analysts as cold and grudging.” (The Times of London)

The Belfast Telegraph said that, based on past history, condemnation simply wasn’t enough to keep the peace in Ireland.

“It takes cross-community commitment to isolate gunmen and bombers. It takes political determination as well as security force endeavour to beat terrorism and it requires all of us to play our part and not to equivocate or find excuses for not joining in the battle against evil.” (The Belfast Telegraph)

After noting that Northern Ireland leaders pledged to keep the peace after the fatal event, NBC said:

“British terrorism experts have recently warned that while this country’s security services have been concentrating on Islamic extremists, older known groups like the Real IRA have been ignored. They have also cautioned that Northern Ireland is still a flashpoint of anti-British sentiment.” (MSNBC)

Do you think this attack could threaten the peace in Northern Ireland?

Do you think the focus on Islamic terrorists has distracted countries from focusing on other, homegrown threats?

Check out our sources. We’d like to know what you think.