Belfast Bank Job - It Was The IRA Whodunnit

Brian,

I have no problem with Orde passing on whatever information he has to the British and Irish Governments, and I have no problem with the British or Irish governments interpretting that and pronouncing that the IRA were, in all probability, responsible, or to fudge it and use the information within the negotiations, if they so wish. But for the Chief Constable of the PSNI to come out with a statement that pretty much destroys the nationalist negotiation stance is not on, especially when the PSNI already have credibility issues with the nationalist community.

BTW, I've never really been an innocent until proven guilty sort of person. I just believe the leader of the PSNI should be.
 
Brian, it certainly would be in Ahern's interests if, as has been rumoured, Fianna Fail are thinking about entering Northern Irish politics directly. Anything that helps destroy Sinn Fein's position and weakens their popular mandate will facilitate that.

Melendez is right - it's simply not Orde's job to proclaim who's guilty. There's a whole judiciary that is supposed to keep that job safely away from the police.
 
Are we to assume that the "other" side are all law abiding folk?

There can be no distinction between the IRA and the Protestant PMO's.

Unless,of course,you believe that the IRA are respnsible for the terrorising of the Foreign Business workers in Northern Ireland as well.

Who robbed the Bank is a feeble excuse to ostracise a substanial part of the Northern Irish Community.

D.A. Corp.(inc)




Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain
- and most fools do. -- Dale Carnegie
 
The conspiracy theory to end all conspiracy theories, apart from the one that says the US and the Israelis conspired to fly planes in to the World Tradecentre towers in order to legitimise the invasion of Iraq. How I interpret some of what is being said is that Orde, Blair and Ahern have sabotaged the peace talks for their own ends by claiming falsely that the innocent IRA were behind the bank robbery!

And I'm supposed to be a cynic.

"Are we to assume that the "other" side are all law abiding folk?"
Click to expand...
Derek, you have an occasional habit of being "off the wall". If I say in a posting that, say, Manchester United played a crap game, it doesn't mean that I think Chelsea, at home to Scunthorpe, played well.

I haven't seen one posting on this thread or anywhere else defending the loyalist paramilitaries in any way. I doubt whether this forum has a member who is not aware that both sides are as bad as each other. As for believing that "the IRA are responsible for the terrorising of the Foreign Business workers in Northern Ireland" let me tell you that it is not just foreign business workers who have been subject to such threats. I have previously posted about my own involvement in the province when young Irishmen, whom we had employed, were the subject of death threats because we would not pay money to a loyalist group (who had, in fact, gone freelance at that time).

As for the bank robbery being a "feeble excuse", how about this? The IRA during the negotiations on weapons decommisioning refused to guarantee that they would give up "all criminal activity". That's a fact. If, as the Taoiseach claims, and I accept that we have only the word of the politicians and the policemen for this, that Sinn Fein were aware of the bank robbery - which involved the terrorising of families of bank employees - while they were negotiating over power sharing then which party has actually caused the breakdown?
 
Hi Brian,
" occasional habit of being "off the wall".

Not one of your more sensible comments,i'm afraid.

If you were present at the talks,come out and say so.Otherwise your comments are an opinion and nothing more.

My comments were not aimed at you,more of a general nature.

On a more serious note.

Can i take it that you have it on record that the the Unionists have made the same guarantees,ie,to stop all criminal activities and destroy all weaponry and allow photos to be taken of it being done,etc


D.A. Corp.(inc)

PS: are you on KICASSO today?




Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain
- and most fools do. -- Dale Carnegie
 
"Are you on KICASSO today?"
Click to expand...
Sorry, just got back so late responding. No, though I understand that he might have won given a different ride.

No, I wasn't at the talks. They said that they already had enough different opinions and refused me entry.
 
Brian, the peace talks didn't need sabotaging. They're over, nothing's going to happen unless the DUP or the IRA budge on the evidence question (and indeed the criminality issue), and everybody knows that's never going to happen. What we're seeing now is politicians fighting for the best position in the aftermath, and part of that is Fianna Fail making sure that they weaken Sinn Fein's position because it benefits them politically to do so. That is not a wacky conspiracy theory, it's what politicians do.
 
Ahern had to confront this matter for political reasons down south as much as in the north. Sinn Fein have been touted as potential coalition partners for Fianna Fail, a perception which could become very damaging for FF after these developments.

The raid itself was no doubt very good for IRA morale. It gave the "volunteers" something to do and a success to cheer.

Politically it looks like a blunder, however... unless the Shinners have never intended the peace process to work anyway. Their espionage inside Stormont, which forced Trimble to give up, and now this lead me to seriously think this could be the case.
 
Honest Brian's book on which organisation the bank robbers has the privilege of including the bank robbers:

The IRA (or any of its spin-off branches) - 1/14

The UVF (or UDA or any other red-hand madmen) - 12/1

Ken Noyes and his Boys - 50/1

In Memoriam, Friends and Family of the Twins - 200/1

Kieren Fallon and John Egan - 500/1

The Final Furlong Racing Forum - 1,000/1
 
just getting back to the INLA, they are still operating ina nd around dublin, rackateering etc, they are nasty work.

I read alll about the ballymount blood bath in paul williams new book, very interesting, and it shows them up for what they are. I think the last bit of bit of work they did for "the cause" was taking out billy wright, since then its just drugs and terror.

BTW you would be very hard pushed to find any drugs up in the falls, a big no-no with the IRA. They wouldnt warn you twice, i went to college up there, and saw it first hand
 
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