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First of all I will say that the attack on New York was as cowardly as any act of terrorism, or act of suicide for that matter. It's easy to fly a plane into a building with delusional promises of martyrdom and an afterlife. In no way is this act to be admired. The loss of life too, in my sister city of New York (I am a Londoner), is deeply deeply sad.
I wanted to start this thread with that because it is an honest human response to the death of fellow humans.
However, I want to briefly add something from a slightly different angle. Many people have said on Barbeith that the US foreign policy has in some way caused these events. The fact that the US has directly sponsored terrorism in many countries of the world stands as a testament to this position. It also cannot be overstated that bin Laden was trained by the CIA and MI6. We can draw our own conclusions about this policy.
What I wanted to mention was something even closer to home. I was raised in Belfast during the 70's and 80's. During that time I was directly affected by shootings and bombings. I have been in two IRA bombs, one when I was 8 and another when I was 16. I therefore, like many people around the world can at least empathise with those caught in Tuesday's carnage.
I just wanted to say that the events that have so shaped my life and psyche, that allowed me to see constant death and chaos in Belfast were funded by Americans. The IRA has killed thousands of people. Few of these people would have met such violent death without the existence of millions of dollars given freely by the American public to sponsor terrorism. The fact that no American government has banned NORAID is also tantamount to yet more state sponsored terrorism on the part of America.
The situation in Ireland, coupled with similar actions by the US in South America, the Middle East and in other parts of Europe, gives rise to the thought that Americans have sanctioned this violence because it was far away. I take no joy whatsoever in saying that they now know what living with terrorism is like.
I hope this will change American foreign policy. I hope this will force Americans to think before giving money to the IRA. I hope this event shocks terrorists themselves to rethink the horror they bring.
I have so much more to say. I hope kids everywhere do not have to grow up seeing the things I saw. Fanaticism cannot affect us without being fed money and arms. |
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