Sunday, April 09, 2006

Blog Spotlight: Mike on Ireland

Last week, Irish-American Mike took on the conventional wisdom that if peace breaks down in Ireland, then the IRA must be responsible.
 

Ireland

Good evening, let's get started with Democracy Now!

Sinn Fein Member Who Spied for British Found Dead
In Ireland, a former Sinn Fein member who spied for the British government has been murdered. The man, Denis Donaldson, admitted last year he spied on fellow Irish nationalists. Donaldson's murder comes as the Irish and British governments are attempting to relaunch stalled peace negotiations. Both the Sinn Fein and the Irish Republican Army denied involvement in the killing.



C.I. was all over this topic this morning. Here's what I want to know? Why is the Associated Press quoting another British spy? Or "turncoat"? Shawn Pogatchnik is the writer of the fairy tale. Here's the turncoat: "It was certainly an act of revenge by Irish republicans." It was? Certainly? Were you there? Maybe he was.

Because maybe this wasn't the IRA, maybe it was British intelligence trying to halt a peace process AGAIN.

This is Donaldson confessing in public to being British spy:

My name is Denis Donaldson. I worked as the Sinn Fein Assembly group administrator in Parliament Buildings at the time of the PSNI raid on the Sinn Fein offices in October 2002, the so-called Stormontgate affair.
I was a British agent at the time.
I was recruited in the 1980s after compromising myself during a vulnerable time in my life.
Since then, I have worked for British intelligence and the RUC/PSNI Special Branch. Over that period I was paid money.
My last two contacts with Special Branch were as follows: two days before my arrest in October 2002, and last night, when a member of Special Branch contacted me to arrange a meeting.
I was not involved in any republican spy ring at Stormont.
The so-called Stormontgate affair was a scam and a fiction. It never existed. It was created by Special Branch.
I deeply regret my activities with British intelligence and RUC/PSNI Special Branch.
I apologise to anyone who has suffered as a result of my activities as well as to my former comrades, and especially to my family who have become victims in all of this.

So do you get what happened? British intelligence created a phoney scandal in 2002 to thwart the peace process. Why wouldn't they attempt to do the same again? We do realize that Ireland's had to fight for self-governance, right? Call it a colony or an occupied territory but they have had to fight for their rights.

So maybe an angry IRA killed Donaldson. But why now? His location was revealed months ago. (And I doubt that the IRA wouldn't have known where he was before the press did.) Why kill him now? Who gains?

People who don't want peace gain. Who worked to destroy the peace in 2002? That would be British intelligence.

From December to now, people he betrayed waited to kill him? And who did he betray when he got honest? Read his statement because he's outing British intelligence. So why the assumptiong that it has to be the IRA? British intelligence was probably pissed at his confession.

I'm not saying that happened but I'm saying no one knows. But the press wants to run with "It was the IRA!" And they tell you, at the same time, that this might derail the peace process. Who derailed it in 2002? British intelligence. So why aren't they mentioned in all the speculation?

I'm sure Gail Collins will prove herself to be the neoliberal lapdog once again by slamming the IRA with no evidence. She did that last year. She went to town on them, on Gerry Adams and on Sinn Fein. She never apologized for that nonsense. I don't think the Times like Irish readers. It's real funny how Brian Lavery can report on violence at a parade if it's Irish-Catholics doing the violence but the parade right before where they were the victims didn't get a single mention.

Instead of attempting to shade with rumors, reporters should report the facts. If they're going to pass off speculation from one side, they better be prepared to do the same for the other side.

22 Killed in Iraq Violence
At least 22 people were killed in violence around Iraq on Tuesday. The deadliest incident came in Baghdad, when ten people were killed in a car bombing.


Violence continues in Iraq and Elaine and me wanted to note it. She's covering Iraq tonight so go check out Like Maria Said Paz.

This is late going up because Blogger went down in the middle of me writing. I'm going to stop here.







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