Courage under fire

The definitive line taken by the British media - the tabs anyway - following the Real IRA attack on the Antrim army barracks and the murder of the PSNI officer in Craigavon is that the men who carried this out are cowards.

They are not.

Let me repeat here that I do not support what they did. No-one wants to see that part of the world return to a savage cycle of violence.

But the guerillas who launched those attacks must be seen for what they are: a small isolated unit of guerillas fighting a battle that has minimal public support. But it does have some public support, otherwise they wouldn't exist.

To misquote Mao, the water these dissidents swim in cannot be very deep, but it is there.

And to launch a full frontal attack on a British Army base, or even on another trained and armed officer like the PSNI man, takes courage. It also takes planning and dedication. Similar to 9/11. Again, a reprehensible thing, but to call someone willing to hijack a plane with glorified stationery and then fly said craft into the World Trade Centre a coward is simply moronic. Its an unbelievably courageous act carried out to further a vile goal and with horrendous results.

Talk to British military types who went up against the IRA and they'll tell you that they were - and still are as this latest event showd - tough, gutsy, smart and ruthless.

Exactly the qualities we like to associate with OUR soldiers.

And when a bunch of goddam beardy Muslims turned up yesterday to point out that from THEIR point of view, the actions of the 'Coalition', like say bombing a village from a fighter jet at 20,000 feet on the 'suspicion' that the 'enemy' may be there, were cowardly, all hell broke loss.

Ah well. Luckily most of us know that war is a racket fought by poor people to further enrich already rich people and only scoundrels are lured by the patriotic lies issued by every side, be they the lies of The Cause, or Our Boys, or Jihad.

Or do we?