Yank's question about the IRA's London Bombings in the 1990's

[warmonger82]

I've got a sensitive topic here guys, so please don't bite my fecking head off, OK?

I've been reading this man's, Gary Breecher, blog the "War Nerd" for sometime now and I have found his insights on the PIRA to be fascinating. Namely the London campaign avoidance of civilian death tolls and rather seeking maximum property damage and interruption of government services.

Here's the link WN 38 IRA vs. Al Qaeda: I Was Wrong - By Gary Brecher - The eXiled

What are your thoughts on the the London Bombing Campaign? Was the PIRA actually waging a "nerf war" as the War Nerd supposes, and how effective was it? Finally, how do you feel the Boyos compare to their Protestant opposite numbers in the Emerald Toilet, and how do they compare to the Iraqis and Afghans, in terms of competence, operational and intelligence security, and courage.

As always, thanks for your time and insights guys.

 

[mrrandom]

the IRA and other groups were, are and will always be fisters

 

[RUCFOREVER]

Just read the article, what a load of total shite, go away and read some more objective stuff instead. SAS teaching the Butchers ,someone is posting their republican wet dreams.

 

[TheIronDuke]

I've got a sensitive topic here guys, so please don't bite my fecking head off, OK?

I'll do me best.

Namely the London campaign avoidance of civilian death tolls and rather seeking maximum property damage and interruption of government services.

Yeah, total heroes of Soviet Labour they were. A proper Hearts and Minds campaign, no error. Do a Google on Knightsbridge. See if you can find the name of the guy who was cut clean in half. Extra points if you get the name of his sister? Oh, yeah. Some windows got broken and Hyde Park Hotel had to cancel a buffet. Proper fucked up Government services that did. The Regents Park one made a right mess of the grass. Six soldiers dead and 30 people injured but it took 12 Council workers 3 days to sort the damage to Government grass. The UK almost came to its knees and surrendered.

Whats a Nerf War then? Is it on World of Warcraft? What do you weigh stark naked?

 

[Gobbly wobbly]

Just read the article, what a load of total shite, go away and read some more objective stuff instead. SAS teaching the Butchers ,someone is posting their republican wet dreams.

Wot he said.

 

[countymounty]

It's pretty obvious you didn't live in N.I.,serve here or in any part of the U.K.
I'm NOT appoligising for the Shankill butchers,but not all their victims were catholic.
They are all murderers whatever side they claim to be from,off,and if you were up to date you'd know to quote Adams "they haven't gone away"(pira) that is.

 

[warmonger82]

Duke,

In one of his earlier posts Brecher talks about the the evolution of the IRA's bombings, particularly the Hyde Park bombing that blew up all the horses, and he goes into how the IRA realized it generated bad publicity. Its his point that during the 1990's the PIRA learned its lessons and would then call ahead to announce the bombing to the public. Can you name any mass casualty bombings during the 1990's?

In answer to your question to me I weigh 175 lbs and stand 5'11" (not really sure why you wanted to know, but ok...)

 

[jvb1988]

I hate cnuts like this article editor with a ******* passion I would personnaly like to remove his ******* head with chicken wire.

Its quite obvious from the rhetoric he is pro IRA but he understands **** all about the NI situation so his comments are null and pointless.

The IRA fucked up massivly by steadily reducing their support base. The bombings on Brimnigham Manchester and London isolated them from the Irish communities in the area so in fact the IRA harmed themselves more. and then there were the tortures, kneecapping and deaths they conducted on their own community in a vain attempt to police them. The result is the IRA's support base is tiny consisting of nieve teenagers and stupid retarded thick cnuts from overseas like this writer who have never been or understand the impact of the troubles yet continue to dribble in support of the IRA from thousands of miles away.

The IRA used torture and they executed protestant civilians and catholics to, They brought terror not only on their own communities but on Irish communities elesewhere. They are not to be lauded but wiped from the face of the planet.

This **** says they won? last time I checked it was the Union flag which flew over Stourmount hmm I must be confused

By the way my family is Irish and Catholic before you ask.

 

[cheese_tits]

Duke,

In one of his earlier posts Brecher talks about the the evolution of the IRA's bombings, particularly the Hyde Park bombing that blew up all the horses, and he goes into how the IRA realized it generated bad publicity. Its his point that during the 1990's the PIRA learned its lessons and would then call ahead to announce the bombing to the public. Can you name any mass casualty bombings during the 1990's?

In answer to your question to me I weigh 175 lbs and stand 5'11" (not really sure why you wanted to know, but ok...)

Omagh, Saturday 15 August 1998

 

[Horridlittleman]

........Was the PIRA actually waging a "nerf war" as the War Nerd supposes..........

You are having a ******* joke aren't you? You honestly believe that a decades long period of murders carried out by terrorists can be compared to a ******* game played with foam darts!

 

[warmonger82]

Just read the wikipedia article on the attack. The article mentioned a splinter group, the "real" IRA, I've heard of them before who are the in relation to the Provos?

 

[cheese_tits]

The "real" IRA were those Provo's who didn't and still don't believe in the Peace Process.

 

[Horridlittleman]

.......the Hyde Park bombing that blew up all the horses.......

Yes, the horses. Of course don't worry about the 3 servicemen killed instantly and another who would die of his wounds, nor the injuries amongst civilians and other servicemen.

 

[BrandySoured]

Looks like somebody has OD'ed on the Guinness.

 

[warmonger82]

You honestly believe that a decades long period of murders carried out by terrorists can be compared to a ******* game played with foam darts!

Well, the article focuses on the London campaign of the 1990's. It does seem that if the Provos wanted to they could have killed hundreds by simply not phoning in the attacks ahead of time.

 

[cheese_tits]

If the Provo's wanted to kill hundreds of innocent civilians in London it would be counter productive in their propaganda aims. A bit like September 11th was to sales of the Koran in the US.

 

[jvb1988]

You honestly believe that a decades long period of murders carried out by terrorists can be compared to a ******* game played with foam darts!

Well, the article focuses on the London campaign of the 1990's. It does seem that if the Provos wanted to they could have killed hundreds by simply not phoning in the attacks ahead of time.

Because if they did it would be Challengers and not Landies patroling the streets of Belfast. The IRA wanted to keep British army at a low intensity level and deal one big attack against the Army using weapons such as SAM's against helicopters and RPG's against the lighter vehicles but they never got there ( the SAM's anyway). Large scale killings would have stiffened British resolve ( it always does) and there would be popular support against waging a full intensity war againts the IRA and possibly many calling for the re-occupation of the republic. If that much shit was brought against the catholic community the IRA would have lost their support base ( They did anyway but never realised).


secondary point, most large british cities have significant Irish populations killing them ( which would inevitably happen) would have the effect as stated above.

 

[warmonger82]

If the Provo's wanted to kill hundreds of innocent civilians in London it would be counter productive in their propaganda aims. A bit like September 11th was to sales of the Koran in the US.

And THAT's the point of Brecher's article; namely that, at least in London during the 1990's, the Provos grasped something that other terrorist organizations didn't. Killing people is the object of a terrorist campaign, discrediting the government is.

 

[really?_fascinating]

In London (apart from killing MPs, soldiers, civvies, ExpOs) they were great chaps. Could it be that they phoned in the warnings to achieve two aims - one, to avoid loss of life where possible but also to ensure that each attack got maximum press attention. At the time they were under massive pressure in NI and used the London campaign to keep the fight going. They knew that a mass killing would have caused a reaction from the UK govt that would have defeated them militarily AND got them booted out of the peace process.

So let's not confuse IRA self control with humanity.

 

[RUCFOREVER]

Duke,

Its his point that during the 1990's the PIRA learned its lessons and would then call ahead to announce the bombing to the public. Can you name any mass casualty bombings during the 1990's?

Try this, Shankill Road bombing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Or this Warrington bomb attacks - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

or these ,casualty numbers are pure luck.

1990-199916 May 1990: Wembley IRA detonate a bomb underneath a minibus killing Sgt Charles Chapman (The Queen's Regiment) and injuring another soldier. No one was ever convicted of Sgt Chapman's murder.
20 July 1990: London Stock Exchange, the IRA exploded a large bomb at the London Stock Exchange causing massive damage.
18 February 1991: A bomb explodes in Paddington Station, damaging the building's roof but causing no casualties. Three hours later another bomb explodes at Victoria Station. One man is killed and 38 people injured.
10 January 1992: Small device exploded. No injuries, Whitehall Place, London SW1.
28 February 1992: A bomb explodes at London Bridge station injuring 29 people.
10 April 1992 Baltic Exchange bombing: A large bomb explodes outside 30 St Mary Axe in the City of London. The bomb was contained in a large white truck and consisted of a fertilizer device wrapped with a detonation cord made from Semtex. It killed three people: Paul Butt, aged 29, Baltic Exchange employee Thomas Casey, aged 49, and 15-year old Danielle Carter. Several people were critically or severely injured. The bomb also caused damage to surrounding buildings (many of which were further damaged by a second bomb the following year). The bomb caused £800 million worth of damage—£200 million more than the total damage costs resulting from all 10,000 previous explosions that had occurred relating to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. A new skyscaper was built on the site of the previous historic building.[16]
11 April 1992: A large bomb explodes underneath the A406 flyover at Staples Corner, causing serious damage to roads and nearby buildings including a B&Q DIY store and causing the closure of the junction. The blast was large enough to be felt many miles away.
12 October 1992: A device exploded in the gentlemen's toilet of the Sussex Arms public house in Covent Garden, killing one person and injuring four others.
16 November 1992: the IRA planted a bomb at Canary Wharf in the Docklands. The device was spotted by security guards and was deactivated safely.
28 January 1993: a bomb exploded in a litter bin outside Harrods, injuring four people.[17]
27 February 1993: a bomb exploded in a litter bin outside a McDonalds restaurant in Camden Town, injuring several people[18].
24 April 1993 Bishopsgate bombing: the IRA detonated a huge truck bomb in the City of London at Bishopsgate, It killed journalist Ed Henty, injured over 40 people, and causing approximately £1 billion worth of damage,[19] including the near destruction of St Ethelburga's Bishopsgate church, and serious damage to Liverpool Street station. Police had received a coded warning, but were still evacuating the area at the time of the explosion. The insurance payments required were so large that Lloyd's of London almost went bankrupt under the strain, and there was a crisis in the London insurance market. The area had already suffered damage from the Baltic Exchange bombing the year before.
October 1993: Over eight days, a series of IRA bombs were left in various London locations. On 1 October, four bombs were left on Finchley Road, three of which exploded, causing damage to buildings and several injuries caused by falling glass. On 4 October, pairs of bombs were left in Highgate (where one failed to explode), Hornsey, and Archway, causing significant damage but no injuries. On 8 October, bombs exploded in Staples Corner and West Hampstead, again causing damage but no injuries.
March 1994 Heathrow Airport, The IRA launched a series of mortar attacks on the airport, partially paralysing the capital's main air route.
9 February 1996 Docklands bombing: the IRA bombed the South Quay area of London, killing two people.
15 February 1996: A 5-pound (2.3 kg) bomb placed in a telephone box is disarmed by Police on the Charing Cross Road.
18 February 1996: An improvised high explosive device detonates prematurely on a bus travelling along Aldwych in central London, killing Edward O'Brien, the IRA operative transporting the device and injuring eight others.[20]