The USA funded terrorism against the UK?

Question

It is a well known fact that certain parties within the US funded the IRA which resulted in acts of terrorism against innocent victims in the UK,
How do you feel about the fact that your countrymen have subsidisied awful acts of terrorism and you have now been the victims subjected to the atrocities that come from such actions?....
I do not wish to offend but for some of us Brits this has been a bone of contention for some time (sorry)

Thanks guys some super responses, I was hoping to excite some responses from the perpetual posters on here that want to go to war against all muslims and show them there are different acts of terrorism that has been going on for years AND in the West

Answer 1

well guy, i think it is truly awful that those things happened. But the thing is that you, along with a lot of other people outside the U.S., seem to think that every one should be totally consumed with guilt over what other people in our country have done. I know I personally can not stop or hinder what other people have done, seeing as most of those guilty parties probably have means of doing this that are way beyond me and my meager powers. My suggestion to you, along with all others who blame a people as a whole instead of just the guilty parties, is to be angry at those who have done these awful things, and not hate on people who just happen to live on the same continent. But yes, I can see why this would be something that upsets you. Just know not all, or even most Americans are like that. Contray to what the popular opinion of Americans is, some (alot) of us know what is going on over there, and most do not like to see what is being done by the IRA

Answer 2

The US government did not sponsor the IRA. It's done a mountain of stupid, mendacious and evil stuff, in Central America, the Middle East and elsewhere, but it didn't do that. The IRA received a lot of funds from ignorant and sentimental Irish-Americans who either didn't know what the conflict was really about or didn't care to find out. I wouldn't blame ordinary Americans for crimes that some private citizens have committed out of bigotry and ignorance. You're not going to make any friends by doing so, anyway.

Incidentally, the people in whose name the IRA claimed to be fighting quite often had genuine grievances that were not being addressed by the government that was responsible for their welfare. And no, that doesn't mean that the IRA never committed atrocities, either.

Anyone who talks like how I'm talking now is liable to be challenged to say how much they know about it. I speak as a half-Irish/Half-English ex-protestant who grew up in the Irish republic, and who has no special allegiance to any party in the matter. I don't believe that I live in an occupied country; I don't like the way that the Irish state still discriminates against non-Catholics; I don't understand what the hell Northern Unionists feel allegiance to. The mutual blindness that still prevails in Irish/Northern Irish communities about the nature of Northern Ireland is matched in its haplessness only, perhaps, by the ignorance that prevails in the UK about the matter, and the very different kind of ignorance that tends to guide Irish-Americans when they start yakking on about it.

Answer 3

Well, I do know that from time to time, they would collect for some kind Northern Ireland something during Mass. They'd make it sound real pretty, like it was for the orphans or something. I know once my mother gave something and mentioned it to my dad when he picked us up. (My dad wasn't Catholic.) My dad got angry and told my mother that she shouldn't have done that because it was going to the IRA. Neither my mom nor I realized that. So some of us were even duped into giving and we wouldn't have if we had realized.

But, yes, I am almost positive that my brother's in-laws gave directly to them at least once. They have Catholic relatives in Northern Ireland and went to a wedding once. As they past a check point, the mumbled something clever like "I hope this day is your last" and bragged about it to us when we first met. All I could think of was that that cop or soldier was just doing his job like my brother, who is a cop, with a family and so forth and I'm sure many feel the same way about my brother.

I don't blame you for being angry about it. I'm not happy about it, either. How foolish people can be. I'm sorry, if that matters. Just remember we didn't do it intentionally, and not all Americans supported them.

Answer 4

Well to be fair the American governement never funded Noraid it was the Irish Americans who gave generously. The American Government were wrong to do nothing about it, however when America has such a large Irish American community all voters it is not unsurprising.

In the end THE WAR IS OVER lets leave it as that.

Answer 5

america of u . s . a . and the united kingdom are the international places are very prepared and taking a lot efforts to eliminate terrorism. they are allocating a lot fund in this remember. so, funding to pakistan is to their u . s .'s progression merely and in no way assisting the terrorism. the wealthy international places may actually help negative international locations by funding. if pakistan misusing the money ability that is the fault of the pakistan and in no way the international places that helped. so, i trust that your arguments don't have any which ability in appreciate of great powers.

Answer 6

The US government never funded the IRA/PIRA but some administrations turned a blind eye to what was going on. It could be said that they have now got their 'comeuppance' but the guilty people never do get it, it's only the poor ordinary person who does all over the world.

Answer 7

Private individuals funded the IRA. There is obviously a lot of Irish Americans.
The IRA is fighting a political struggle. Islamic extremists want to make their brand of religion the only one and they are willing to kill anyone in their path to obtain their goals all in the name of Allah.

Answer 8

Hey.. if you can show who did, they should be prosecuted. I never did agree with allowing the IRA to fund raise while here in the US. Terrorist are Terrorist There should have been better ways to solve those problems.

Answer 9

Thankfully not as much as it did to itself.

The IRA's a tricky one though; it had the cash, it did the job. You can't blame the US for that, it'll fund anyone in the right circumstances.

Answer 10

And Tony Blair was sympathetic with the ANC when they were bombing shopping centres in South Africa!!
Now he is against terrorism??