RS
I am sure that the people of Northern Ireland are pleased to hear that we now hold no truck with terrorists. You are obviously a fan of TB, and when it came to our reactions in Kosovo, Sierra Leone and more recently Macedonia I am behind him all the way. However, as someone once said, the irony is so thick you can choke on it. Why is it that when these events occur elsewhere we are quick to condem and react with military force. Yet in our own backyard we appear to be following a policy of appeasement (see Neville Chamberlain for explaination of the consequences) and peace at all/any cost? What about the thousands of British citizens who died over the last 30yrs from terrorist action in NI?
"If you promise not to murder and bomb again (unless you decide to, because we haven't acceded to all of your demands), then we will let you all out of prison and we will make one of you education minister (you won't need your IRA bodyguard anymore, we will give you a govt one); as an after thought we will disband the rather effective police force that locked you all up in the first place. Now please, please don't car bomb London again its not helping the economy. By they way if you could hand over a couple of guns that would be great, but if you don't want to we won't say a thing about it".
If it wasn't so heartbraking it would be comical.
I don't believe that was being a Statesman or a leader when he made his comments, just a politician. So in answer to your poser, TB is where he has always been, strong abroad because he loves the influence and profile it gives him, and weak at home because he is afraid of bombs in London and any thing that will keep the bombers and murderers quiet is fine by him.
Cynical yes, but also very sad that the world is in this state.
Despo