Sir, - As a British Irishman I cannot be alone in these islands in being curious as to what the Irish and British Governments propose to do about the IRA in our two respective territories given the increased worldwide realisation of the dangers of terrorism.
Will the Irish Government adopt a more robust attitude towards seeking out and destroying the illegal terrorist arms dumps in its territory, given that Sinn FΘin/IRA clearly has no intention of doing so? Where does ultimate responsibility for these dumps lie - with Sinn FΘin/IRA or the sovereign government of the Irish Republic? Is the Irish Government to remain neutral in the fight against terrorism? Would such neutrality be acceptable to the international community in the new situation? No.
If it is unable to secure the decommissioning of the terrorist arms dumps on its own territory, will the Irish Government seek international assistance to do so? If not, why not? If the Irish Government continues to tolerate the presence of such terrorist arms dumps in its own territory, then ultimately it must surely come to be considered to be an enemy by Britain. Would the Irish Government, in this new international situation, have any defence if British armed forces were deployed to address a task which it itself either cannot or will not? As one British Irishman I think not, and probably many others agree.
The Irish Republic will be unable to maintain a neutral position in this "new" war, so it had better decide what it proposes to do about the IRA. Yours, etc., -
Cllr Peter Doyle, Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, England.