The Provisional RA was a terrorist organization. Its atrocities are well-documented: deliberately murdering civilians at random, using human bombs, extortion, murder of “informers”, knee-capping, bank robbing, drug dealing… the list goes on. There is no doubt whatsoever that this group engaged in intrinsically evils acts of the most grave kind. (As an aside, the many Irish-Americans who contributed money to Sinn Fein or associated groups were unquestionably engaged in formal cooperation in evil). At the same time, the IRA and its political wing (Sinn Fein) enjoyed a core base of support within the nationalist communities of northern Ireland (though never in the Republic). It relied on a large number of safe houses and a calculated silence from within the community. And when Sinn Fein announced its “armalite and ballot box” strategy, Sinn Fein achieved striking electoral success in Northern Ireland, at a time when IRA atrocities continued unabated.
During the Lebanese war in 2006, and more recently in relation to Gaza, many supporters of Israel argued that the “terrorists” (Hezbollah and Hamas, respectively) were operating from within population centers, often with the tacit support of the community, and were using human shields. This of course was to give the green light to military actions against civilian centers. But imagine if the British army had done this to west Belfast in the mid-1970s or early 1980s, during the worst phases of the IRA’ atrocities? Imagine that the British government had inculcated at atmosphere of fear, and declared a war against “Catholic fascism.”? (After all, the threats of IRA bombs in London was far graver than what most Americans faced.) Would that have been justified? Or would it have been disproportionate not only by recklessly killing non-combatants but by actually bolstering the popularity and legitimacy of the very organizations that the act was supposed to destroy? I think the answer is patently obvious. Yes, the UK authorities did sometimes over-react (internment in the 1970s, colluding with loyalist death squads in the 1980s)– but each time they did, they paid only made the terrorists stronger.
One more lesson: at the height of the IRA’s evil campaign in the mid-1980s, John Hume (a constitutional nationalist politician) opened talks with Gerry Adams. He was roundly attacked by all sides for doing so at the time. Remember, during this period, Sinn Fein was so despised in the Republic of Ireland that it was even illegal to broadcast the voice of Adams (leading to the slightly comical situation whereby Adams on TV had his voice dubbed by an actor who sounded exactly like Adams). But Hume was right. Today, Sinn Fein has endorsed the peace process and the age of terrorism has passed. Doing such a deal meant looking beyond the simple desire to exact justice and instead deal with the legitimate grievances that spurred the violence in the first place. Make no mistake: what Adams and his ilk did was still gravely evil. But sometimes, we need to leave those judgments to God.
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