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There is no doubting that The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 was a monumental driving force in finally bringing peace to the island of Ireland.
It was a long, arduous road for most concerned – but with the recent establishment of a relatively stable and (one must realistically hope) long lasting Northern Irish power-sharing executive, the future looks bright indeed.Of course all of this was achieved with much cost.
But with Nationaliist rumblings recently resurfacing in the Balkans and civil / ethnic tensions at an arguably historic high from the Middle East to Tibet to Africa – can the Belfast accord and it’s groundbreaking approach to negotiation be looked at as a successful precedent to tackle such complex conflicts?Does the official oft trumpeted “We don’t negotiate with terrorists” ethic still realistically, productively apply to the world of today? One could argue that peace in the Six Counties of Northern Ireland could never have been dreamed of if not for the British Governement’s brave decision making with regard to Republican dialogue.
True, every particular conflict has it’s own unique ingredients and causality, but could Northern Ireland’s particular biting of the negotiation bullet set an example elsewhere?One mans freedom fighter is another mans terrorist. Who are we to say the IRA weren’t fighting for a better life for Catholics within the six counties in so much as who are we to say that successive British Governments didn’t keep the troubles going for political reasons. One thing is for damned sure, the secret services knew the top players in the Provo’s and the UDA.
It has become very apparent in recent years that Government rule by fear. If it isn’t 9/11 it is global warming. Some countries take more irreverence from there Governments than others. The USA lives and dies by it’s government and follows it 100%. In the UK we are more sceptical and we make our own minds up. Thats fine but we aren’t the ‘world superpower’, and that is a worrying aspect for the world when the sheep follow the leader down Pennsylvania Avenue.
So going back to your original point, I don’t see a problem with negotiating with Al Quada and it’s fundemental followers. If it brings the world a step closer to peace then surely it is worth it? The sticking point would obviously be Israel, but as the 51st state of America there is a lot of bargaining power from the west. Unfortunately we have a western superpower that is run by Jews and will not bargain. So who is the bad boy in all this?
no it couldnt every war zone has its own idiosyncrasy ireland as it is today is a testamant to the people for only they can make it work as is the same in iraq afghanistan etc
The powers that be can make it work by removing their arrogance. War happens in a modern world for specific reasons and it isn’t to rule the world. It is for greed.
@sword wrote:
The powers that be can make it work by removing their arrogance. War happens in a modern world for specific reasons and it isn’t to rule the world. It is for greed.
there is a saying
something of the ilk if those that started wars fought wars there would be no warsIf the bullies left the savages alone we would all be happy.
I dont know much about religion but I know that catholicism and prodestation are a lot simpler to understand than islam and the likes. I know they say its not religion and its terrorists hiding behind that name, but at least things in Ireland were a bit simpler to understand.
As for the saying “we do not negotiate” we all know that they do. :wink:
Its great to be a part of the age that saw the violence turn to peace in Northern Ireland.
It would be even greater to see it happen in other places in our lifetimes wouldnt it?
…. like JC for example? :wink: 8) No….. only joking. No chance of that!
In Northern Ireland there was (and is) a genuine dispute between people who want it to remain part of the UK and people who want it to become part of Eire.
Both these causes, though opposed, are rational and not unreasonable in themselves. It’s the terrible and evil things people did in their name that generated the tragedy.In the case of islamic terrorists, the underlying cause itself, the creation of a global islamic caliphate, is totally unreasonable as well as what is done in the name of that cause.
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