Bars in Boston sold drinks called 'Car Bomb' and 'Kill a Brit'

Until Sept 11^th (11/09 to 90 per of the planet) when it came to terrorism American was largely driven by political agendas and the belief it was exempt such attacks on its own soil.  

Then after Sept 11^th the country mobilised and sort to take the war directly to those it felt threatened its safety. 

Largely the CIA, FBI, Homeland Security etc care little to nothing about say the war in Chechnya and the bombing campaign undertaken against Russians, because it wasn’t Americans getting their limbs blown off.   

They do take notice about home-grown terrorists, Al Qaeda etc but only because they posed a threat to Americans and not say New Zealanders.   

And when it comes to Americans funding terror campaigns overseas – hey no problem.  

The inconsistency of the U.S’s myopic policies on terrorism is starkly portrayed in its handling of the Irish Republican Army’s terror campaign of the British Isles (approx. 1971 to 2001)   

The U.S likes to portray Great Britain as an ally when it comes to both diplomacy and military intervention yet when it came to supporting the terrorist group IRA the U.S Government did little to nothing to stop its citizens arming the group.  

Indeed after Libya, Americans of Irish decent were the largest supporters of the IRA.

Bars in Boston use to sell drinks called 'Car Bomb' and 'Kill a Brit'.

 

You can still buy an Irish Car Bomb T-Shirt (per above)  

I wonder how those bar owners, patrons feel now after recent events?  

In another irony that hasn’t escaped me in 1988 six off-duty British soldiers were killed by an IRA bomb just after they had completed a half-marathon run for charity. 

Sound similar?   

So why doesn’t the U.S pursue its own citizens that funded, continue to fund terrorism?  

Act with a modicum of consistency? 

Clearly the U.S Government has the resources but not the will.  

Americans funding terrorist organisations is ‘hunky dory’ as long as the terrorism happens somewhere overseas where Americans don’t frequent.  

To this day Americans support ‘the real’ IRA.  

 

 

Has it escaped the U.S Media that citizens from Massachusetts openly funded terrorism for decades?

Less than 100 miles north of Bridgewater is the port of Gloucester, MA. 

In 1984 the fishing vessel Marita Ann departed its shores bound for the south coast of Ireland.  

On-board the vessel was seven tons of weapons, explosives destined for The Irish Republican Army.  

The vessels ‘feeder’ was intercepted, crew captured. 

I remember its capture clearly because at the time I was living in London. 

People in the pubs wanted the crew shot and feed to the sharks.    

As background the IRA had recently bombed Harrods and Hyde Park resulting in the same senseless deaths and mutilation we saw at The Boston Marathon.    

Only the IRA’s terror campaign of England lasted decades and was not a random event by two malcontent brothers. 

I was in Harrods two days before it was bombed.

 

 

It was shortly after that the local council ripped-up all the rubbish-bins, a favourite hiding place for IRA bombs.   

I remember my tearful mum pleading with me on the phone to come home to Christchurch.   

To this day I have never told her I was in Harrods that day.    

Oh the irony therefore to see the population of Massachusetts cower under the cosh of terrorism when it was Irish Catholics from the North East of the U.S that had proudly and openly funded, supplied the IRA.  

Yes, it was a minority of radical U.S Irish Catholics that had raised funds for guns and bombs in the same way it is a minority of Muslims that undertake terrorism in the name of their cause.     

Still it’s hard for me to feel any sympathy for the Irish American population of Massachusetts given their sad legacy of funding terrorism.