Originally Posted by
NutLoose
You could say the ultimate culpability lies with the Irish poplulation that took up arms in the belief it would solve their problems.
No weapons on the street killing each other, no need for the army to be there.
You need to learn some history. Then you will probably understand why that comment is so ignorant.
The British Army were initially sent to Northern Ireland to protect the minority population who were being beaten and killed by the majority (mainly Protestant Unionists). The BA were welcomed in as saviours. Several major errors of judgment by the BA led to the complete turnaround in the attitudes of the Catholic population. In particular, the slaughter in Derry on Bloody Sunday by the Parachute Regiment (January 1972) plus the brutal introduction of Internment carried out by soldiers, inexperienced in the art of confronting often innocent civilians, has a huge amount to answer for.
To understand what happened later in the 80s and 90s, it is essential to learn the history that led up to those dreaded decades.