I hear americans saying they deplore terrorism, so why did they support the IRA for so long?

Answer 1

Exactly. At the time the US bombed Libya, I suggested that with the same justification, the UK would be entitled to bomb NORAID head quarters in New York.

PS I have noticed many Americans complaining about the questioners generalisation, protesting that many in the US did not support the IRA. Let me remind them that the US recently destroyed Iraq on their president's personal whim irrespective of the political views of the Iraqi people.

Answer 2

Only a very small group of "Americans" from the Irish emigre' communities in Boston and New York supported the IRA. Being that the protestant majority America has always been hostile to Roman Catholicism I doubt seriously the IRA outside of Boston and New York found any sympathy however good or bad their cause.

Answer 3

as much as I don't like the English because I'm Scottish and as much as I don't agree with the Americans because I live in Canada, I don't think that the U.S. supported the IRA, they just had their blinders on all these years... If it didn't happen in the U.S. they didn't see it... 9/11 was a wake up call to Americans & Canadians, they finally relized that they were nolonger safe from terror because we are sepperated by two ociens from the rest of the world... so when the Americans finally opened their eyes what happened to the IRA? Just my thoughts you can argree or not I don't care :-)

Answer 4

Most Americans really could care less about the IRA and their plight. Many Americans did view them as a terrorist organization. And the very few that may have supported the IRA certainly don't represent the majority of Americans.

Answer 5

Your position is not based in reality. There was not widespread support of the IRA in the United States. The United States government did not condone or fund their actions. There were indeed small pockets of private support within the Irish-American communities and some did provide private funding. Much the same as there are now pockets of Muslim-American support for the actions of Islamic terrorists. A terrorist is a terrorist and you will not find large scale support in the United States for the indiscriminate killing of innocents no matter who the culprit is. To say otherwise is a blanket attempt to indict all for the actions of a few and is devoid of any factual evidence to support such a broad claim.

Answer 6

To be fair to Americans as a hole, it was mainly only the dozy Irish / Americans who live in and around Boston (Mass) that were guilty. If they cared so much for the 'Mother country', why didn;t they f**k off back there to help out.

Answer

Because they're a buch of w*****s. They had a nice life-style, decent wages / salary, good jobs. Go back to Ireland? Run the risk of being killed? Let the indigenous thick paddy's do all that. I'll just pretend I'm Irish because my name begins with O', or Mac / Mc.

All of a suddend, terrorism stricks at thier front door and they don't like it. We put up it for years, funded by hundreds of those scum living in Ameica. Now live with it. See if they like it.

Answer 7

America per se ,did not support the IRA.
However,millions of irish descendants did show some support in various forms ,the most notable supplying funds.

I would say that statistically speaking ,irish americans are the least well educated of white americans and are therefore the most likely to make uninformed judgement.

On that basis , i would not generalise, and say that all americans supported IRA terrorist activity.

Answer 8

America as a government or as a population did not support the I.R.A. Irish charitable organizations were harassed by the D.O.J.,
notably NORAID, which avoided litigation bankruptcy with a court settlement. The judges ruling stated there was NO proof or reason to assume the charity work was in any fashion intended for any enterprise outside civilian humanitarian aid.
www.inac.org Still active today!
Please note that the Good Friday accord which began the now complete I.R.A. voluntary disarming, began long before 9/11.
It is to this day only the English that fail to live up to their word.
No one denies that there were not citizens and individuals that came to America in order to raise funds and arms for the I.R.A.,
and American authorities detected and foiled those activities. You worry over what you perceive as lenght of a disagreeable act? Where do you stand on the 800 plus years the English occupied the land and people of their neighbour, Ireland?
As re-unification talks conclude and the vote this March...With the grace of the Goddess...And a fair election (Blair has promised to remove MI5!)...Ireland will again be whole!

Answer 9

Steve T hit the nail on the head.
The IRA were promoted as Freedom Fighters, supporting the Irish people against the imperialist English. The fact that they bombed innocent men, women and children was besides the point.
*Some* Americans were (and still are) Hypocrites. 11/9 brought a lot of them to their senses, but you could still find a whole shedload of people who would deplore iraqii's killing american troops, but be happy to contribute to the "real IRA" to buy semtex.

{edit} to sassy - quote "
During the heyday of the Irish Republican Army, Representative Peter King (R-NY) was a vocal supporter of it here in the US:

The politician once called the IRA "the legitimate voice of occupied Ireland,"

{edit} - TO HELEN - I dont usually edit so long after a question was answered, but this statement is just idiotic
"For your information the Irish Republican Army never attempted to kill innocent people" MORONIC RUBBISH - UTTER, UTTER CR4P and OBVIOUSLY PROVEN WRONG MANY MANY TIMES, YOU GULLIBLE, BRAINWASHED IDIOT

Answer 10

Because the IRA were not blowing up Americans, they were blowing up British soldiers and people. It is ironic how quickly some people can jump over fences.