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The IRA vs Alkida

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
How come in the days of the IRA and all their bombings not such a fuss was placed on stopping them as compared to alkida

They used to put bombs in London, etc. But we didn't really see the same response as we do today.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/24/newsid_2523000/2523345.stm

What's different about the IRA Vs someone like Alkida?
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Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i personally think the IRA was more of a real and present danger, but because there wasn't an underlying political agenda the response was more in line with the threat, here we've had one attack, albeit a nasty one, and the government kicks off a massive scare campaign, it's all about drumming up support for foreign intervention imo and tightening state control at the same time.......
  • Teh_GerbilTeh_Gerbil Posts: 13,332 Born on Earth, Raised by The Mix
    What's different about the IRA Vs someone like Alkida?

    One is being used as a HUGE excuse by the western powers. And here;s a hint, it's Al-Qaeda and not the IRA.

    Ireland has little in the way of material benefit if we stomp on it some more.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Basically, America wasnt demanding massive clamp downs on civil liberties and basic freedoms when it was psychotic Irish Bombers doing the damage...because alot of America is made up of Psychotic Irish descendants.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think you must have faulty memory syndrome if you think that there was no fuss.

    This ring a bell http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/40166.stm

    The British Government introduced a form of internal exile, where UK citizens who were suspected of being members of the IRA were forbidden to come onto the mainland. We were forbidden to hear the words of Gerry Adams et al on TV for a long period.

    I can remember as a child going over to visit relatives in England for Christmas and the searchers at the airport making my parents open all the presents in case we were smuggling bombs.

    And here's the clincher. The army isn't patrolling the streets of Bradford, it did patrol the streets of Belfast.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    NQA wrote:
    I
    We were forbidden to hear the words of Gerry Adams et al on TV for a long period.

    .
    no ...we were forbidden seeing him speak the words on telly but someone else could speak them.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The IRA are different, they were more reasonable (although they were still coldblooded murders). Al-Qaeda are simply evil and brainwashed. The IRA were effectivly beaten, I cannot see that happening with Al-Qaedia, there is simply too much religious extreamism, plus the US plays a major factor and lets face it, they can't do anything right.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It's benefits Zionism more to get people worked up over Al Qaeda than it does the IRA so their antics in the Middle East can be excused better, and with Zionists having a strong influence over the media, they can do this easily.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The difference between the IRA and Al Quaeda?

    The IRA got more money from Macdonalds.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Maybe people are reading too much into this. I think one of the main reasons is the way the media has changed over the last 20 years or so. Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, there were fewer opportunities for such potential hysteria, because there were fewer media outlets. You had TV news, radio news and the newspapers. No such thing as the Internet. Nowadays, in the age of "news at demand", conventional media has to compete more and more, and that means sensationalising some issues to sell more newspapers, to attract more viewers.

    I'm not saying it's right, I'm merely saying the media's changed.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The difference between the IRA and Al Quaeda?

    .
    one huge difference ...the IRA were cowardly and criminal ...AL QUIDS ...are extrememly brave and are willing to die for their cause.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    How come in the days of the IRA and all their bombings not such a fuss was placed on stopping them as compared to alkida

    They used to put bombs in London, etc. But we didn't really see the same response as we do today.
    There was arguably a greater police operation in the aftermath of IRA bombings. The checkpoints of the City of London and extensive CCTV surveillance of all vehicles in that area is just one example. A lot went on behind the scenes and discoveries of Semtex and weapons stores were made every other week.

    I think the comparison is apt, but the reality is that neither threat has really affected the way ordinary people live their lives. I remember being in London on the day the IRA set a bomb off in 1996, I remember the removal of all the litter bins in London, and the regular bomb scares causing the evacuation of Tube and train stations. But everyone still went to work, and they still do today. People were, and are, vaguely fearful but not enough to change much about how they live.

    I guess the main difference is that there are perhaps more Muslim fundamentalists in the world than there ever were IRA fanatics. And the indiscriminate nature of the attacks with no intention to damage infrastructure or government operations, rather to intimidate the population at large. And the phenomenon of the suicide bomber, which was alien in this country until a few years ago.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    one huge difference ...the IRA were cowardly and criminal ...AL QUIDS ...are extrememly brave and are willing to die for their cause.

    Actually they are all twats to me! But thats just my opinion!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    subject13 wrote:
    Actually they are all twats to me! But thats just my opinion!
    :yes:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    turlough wrote:
    It's benefits Zionism more to get people worked up over Al Qaeda than it does the IRA so their antics in the Middle East can be excused better, and with Zionists having a strong influence over the media, they can do this easily.

    Nice tactic. Replace Jew with Zionism and the fantastical discredited anti-Semitic Jewish conspiracy is no longer anti-Semitic in the eyes of the naive and gullibe.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The difference between the IRA and Al Quaeda?

    The IRA got more money from Macdonalds.

    Could we lay this one to rest. There's plenty of reasons why people can slag of McDonalds, but they do not and never have supported the Irish Republican Army.

    http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE7DB1739F933A05752C1A96F948260

    A bit of common sense should have squashed this one. If they funded the IRA they're actually breaking UK law (and even in the US direct funding of the IRA is now illegal) and I've not seen any senior McDonalds executive carted off to jail. You might also think some senior UK politician, policeman or soldier might have also mentioned the fact they funding the IRA sometime in the last thirty years.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I had never heard that one until I read this thread.

    Shame. I like pinning stuff on McDonalds ;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Aladdin wrote:
    I had never heard that one until I read this thread.

    Shame. I like pinning stuff on McDonalds ;)
    Me to... It's an old joke. Let's go for an IRA burger.
  • Teh_GerbilTeh_Gerbil Posts: 13,332 Born on Earth, Raised by The Mix
    And of course.... not forgetting the US funding of the IRA.


    Either way... I bet it was actually McDonalds who organised 9/11.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Didnt a bunch of McDonalds get bombed though over the years?

    Or were they Burger Kings?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    There are a number of reasons. The IRA had a clear purpose. What is Al Quada's purpose? What do they want? Do they want changes in foreign policy? Everyone to become Muslims? Kill all non Muslims?

    Al Quada is a worldwide threat. 'They' or people with similar mentalities, have carried out bombings in the USA, England, Egypt, Bali, Jordan. The IRA only did stuff in England and Northern Ireland. Also, numbers of casualties were lower. Also suicide bombers were not in use. They appear to be exclusive to Islamic extremists.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    PussyKatty wrote:
    There are a number of reasons. The IRA had a clear purpose. What is Al Quada's purpose? What do they want? Do they want changes in foreign policy? Everyone to become Muslims? Kill all non Muslims?

    Al Quada is a worldwide threat. 'They' or people with similar mentalities, have carried out bombings in the USA, England, Egypt, Bali, Jordan. The IRA only did stuff in England and Northern Ireland. Also, numbers of casualties were lower. Also suicide bombers were not in use. They appear to be exclusive to Islamic extremists.

    If you asked Islamists I'm sure they'd tell you they have a clear purpose, but thats not really the point.

    The IRA of the 70-80's, the anarchists of the early 1900's, virtually every other terrorist group or AQ are all the same, just slightly different methods. You disagree with us, so we'll shoot/bomb you till you change your mind or die. Simple really.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ??ngbudda]If you asked Islamists I'm sure they'd tell you they have a clear purpose, but thats not really the point.

    The IRA of the 70-80's, the anarchists of the early 1900's, virtually every other terrorist group or AQ are all the same, just slightly different methods. You disagree with us, so we'll shoot/bomb you till you change your mind or die. Simple really.[/QUOTE]


    But they didn't change their minds did they? And the bombings have stopped.

    I would like to know what the purpose of Al Quada bombing is. Has Osama ever actually said what they want?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    PussyKatty wrote:
    But they didn't change their minds did they? And the bombings have stopped.

    I would like to know what the purpose of Al Quada bombing is. Has Osama ever actually said what they want?

    The downfall of America, Muslims not oppressed in Russia, Israel and Kashmiere.... plus a few other bits and bobs.

    Yes, the IRA have changed their minds, and what has changed since the 70's, we now dont treat Catholics in NI like shite. Which is of course a simplistic way of looking at it, but thats what it largely boils down to.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    bongbudda wrote:
    The downfall of America, Muslims not oppressed in Russia, Israel and Kashmiere.... plus a few other bits and bobs.

    Yes, the IRA have changed their minds, and what has changed since the 70's, we now dont treat Catholics in NI like shite. Which is of course a simplistic way of looking at it, but thats what it largely boils down to.

    Why don't they concentrate on bombing those places then if that's what they're bothered about? I don't get why they target USA and UK when Muslims in those countries are treated equally and are not opressed. Why not bomb Russia/Kashmere/Israel? I understand the whole foreign policy thing but even so.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    PussyKatty wrote:
    Why don't they concentrate on bombing those places then if that's what they're bothered about? I don't get why they target USA and UK when Muslims in those countries are treated equally and are not opressed. Why not bomb Russia/Kashmere/Israel? I understand the whole foreign policy thing but even so.

    They do bomb there, but dont make the mistake of thinking all 'muslim' terrorists are part of some big organisation, they're not, they have very vague links if any at all.

    They bomb 'soft' targets because its easier, places like Turkey and Egypt have American and Western tourists, thats easier than getting them in the US.

    They target the US because its big and powerful and us because we're similar.

    I personally wouldn't say that Muslims here and in the US are treated equally.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    PussyKatty wrote:
    Why don't they concentrate on bombing those places then if that's what they're bothered about? I don't get why they target USA and UK when Muslims in those countries are treated equally and are not opressed. Why not bomb Russia/Kashmere/Israel? I understand the whole foreign policy thing but even so.
    Because they know that the US/UK will hit back against muslim countries, and as a result, they'll gain more followers. In particular, they'll gain more followers among people in the US/UK, and it's always good to have insiders.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    bongbudda wrote:
    I personally wouldn't say that Muslims here and in the US are treated equally.

    Muslims here and in the US if not treated equally indisputably are treated infinitely better than Christians, non-Muslims and gays in the Arab world.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Muslims here and in the US if not treated equally indisputably are treated infinitely better than Christians, non-Muslims and gays in the Arab world.

    Yes, but what's that to do with the question?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    bongbudda wrote:
    The downfall of America, Muslims not oppressed in Russia, Israel and Kashmiere.... plus a few other bits and bobs.

    A Palestinian state and independence for Chechnya would only go towards appeasing Palestinian and Chechnyan terrorists - it wouldn't really have any effect on al Qaeda. (Although Hamas and Islamic Jihad claim that a Palestinian state would not change their desire for the absolute destruction of Israel, both have said they are committed to continuing violence and terror even when a Palestinian state materialises).

    It's also interesting actually how little al Qaeda/Bin Laden speak of Israel/Palestine and the 'enemy' according to Bin Laden is more regularly defined as the 'crusading Christians'; the Europeans and the Americans rather than Zionists. Al Qaeda has far more of a gripe with US influence in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan than it does with the US being slightly sympathetic towards Israel – anyway, Europe offsets US sympathies towards Israel by being unashamedly anti-Israel.

    And Muslims in Israel are treated better than Muslims in any other Middle Eastern country. Muslim Israeli citizens under Israeli law have equal rights to Jews in Israel. Muslims in Israel are among the few Muslims in the Middle East who can vote in free and fair elections. Arab-Israelis have their own political parties in the Knesset. Interestingly too the rise in population of Muslims in Israel since 1948 is mainly due to immigration, many Muslims in the Middle East live in Israel by choice. Unsurprising really, many Muslims choose to live in the West and enjoy the right to vote in democratic elections, exercise freedom of religion, free speech and enjoy the benefits of a liberal democracy. Muslims in Israel enjoy all of these rights.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    bongbudda wrote:
    Yes, but what's that to do with the question?

    It wasn't obvious what you made the remark in reference to. If it was as some vague explanation for Muslim terrorism (the West mistreating Western Muslims causing terrorism) well then it raises the question of why Christians, Jews and gays are not bombing Middle Eastern interests to protest against the persecution of Christians, etc in the Arab world.
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