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No love was lost on either side. “Grab ’em by the balls and hearts and minds will follow,” was a sentiment I heard from soldiers on the streets. “Chris” gave me a graphic description of what that meant after he had interrupted a gunman who had tried to kill him: “I did give him a good thumping. His genitals were black and blue for a while. I think I must have cracked a couple of his ribs. But that was the way you treat terrorists.” Many of these early mistakes and abuses the army now recognises and puts down to a long and difficult learning process. This is only one side of the story. The problem is that it’s the side on which Sinn Fein concentrates as it airbrushes the IRA’s own history. What about “Bloody Friday” in 1972, when IRA car bombs in Belfast killed nine? The Kingsmill massacre in 1976 when an IRA unit in south Armagh gunned down ten Protestant workers returning home in a minibus? The La Mon restaurant bombing in 1978 when an IRA incendiary bomb killed twelve Protestants? Enniskillen in 1987 when an IRA bomb killed eleven Protestants during a Remembrance Day ceremony? And these are but a few. I ended my drive up the Falls Road at the Whiterock community centre on the fringe of the once notorious Ballymurphy estate where soldiers used to patrol at their peril. I had come to take part in a BBC Radio Ulster Talk Back discussion on the final withdrawal of British troops. The new normality hits you between the eyes. Unarmed officers of the RUC’s replacement, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, stood at the door, smiling in the sunshine. Inside was Gerry Kelly, Old Bailey bomber from 1973 and Maze escapee ten years later, sandwiched between two former British soldiers. All were chatting without animosity as they reminisced about the “war”. Although republicans would vehemently deny it, the army did play its part in helping us to reach this year’s historic political settlement. At its most basic, the army prevented the IRA achieving its original goal of driving the “Brits” into the sea and reunifying Ireland. This was its agenda when Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams were part of the IRA delegation that met William Whitelaw, the Northern Ireland secretary in 1972 for secret talks in London. Then there was no hint of compromise in the air. The critical point in the army’s campaign were the years that followed the IRA hunger strike of 1981 when ten prisoners died. Sinn Fein was on the political rise and the IRA had more arms than it could handle – 130 tons courtesy of Colonel Gadaffi of Libya. That was when the SAS and other undercover units made it clear that the Brits were not prepared to let the IRA win. In 1987 the SAS ambush at Loughgall wiped out eight members of one of the IRA’s most experienced units. I remember Sir Robert Andrew, permanent undersecretary at the Northern Ireland Office at the time, telling me of his satisfaction that “we had won one”. The SAS killing of three members of another IRA unit in Gibraltar the following year drove home the message. Both operations were the result of vastly improved intelligence from penetration of the IRA. Overall the army’s special forces kept the IRA at bay, with the result that both sides privately accepted that there was a military stalemate. Such were the necessary conditions that preceded the long and tortuous peace process that culminated in the historic agreement at Stormont earlier this year. What of the cost? More than 3,500 people lost their lives in the conflict and Britain put civil liberties on hold in the name of defeating terrorism. All sides suffered horrendously before peace finally came. (Peter Taylor, The Sunday Times ; adapted) 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 c) Briefly summarise the article and the author’s opinion. Discuss how the author presents the aims, arguments and methods on either side. What’s the role of the British army? d) Catholic or Protestant? Match the boxes below. Unionist Sinn Fein (political wing) Republican Ulster Defence Association (UDA) IRA (military wing) Useful phrases At the beginning of the article the author describes … . • Then he takes a look at/ focuses on … . • He presents/explains/ highlights/analyses/gives reasons … . • The British army has been criticised … , but … . • Neither side … . • furthermore • to result in • to lead to • to add to • to aggravate • to deteriorate/improve P 13 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv