Dominick e-mails this after making calls to various relatives in Ireland.
Dominick: So the big news will be the report that the IRA has identified some members (now expelled) they claim were involved in the murder of Robert McCarthy. And they have reportedly made an offer to the McCarthy sisters to execute the ones involved. There will be much of clucking over this in the international press.
And as the McCarthy sisters meet with Bush, they claim they want this to be resolved in Ireland and that it's a domestic matter.
But we're looking at this turning into an international matter.
The IRA began to look outdated as everyone grew tired of the violence and the retaliation violence. They weren't needed and they were "old hat."
Their offer is not surprising, despite politicians pretending to be surprised, this is exactly the "old school," outdated response that has pushed them to the sidelines.
As the press attempts to turn this into an international incident, they stoke the flames. On the ground, it's already happening as people who wouldn't have done more than roll their eyes a year ago about the IRA now feel this is becoming yet another case in a long history of outside powers trying to take control of domestic issues.
There is a legal system in Ireland. Despite what the press and international community appear to believe. It's an internal matter, a murder resulting from a bar brawl. Supposedly four of the "at least 15" or "at least 20" were members of the IRA. The IRA's own internal investigation is suspect. But even if the number is doubled, there is no indication that this was an "IRA plan."
The offer of execution was not new. There have been whispers of it for some time. Though your mainstream press over here has ignored it.
The offer was not thought to be serious or that the IRA was seriously interested in this matter.
The offer serves the purpose of announcing that they are serious.
It also bungles public relations internationally which is something the Irish are used to and one of the many reasons the IRA is "out of date."
As people bandy about heated terms, they'd do well to ask themselves what they're hoping to accomplish. If it's justice, justice will be forthcoming (legal justice). If the point is to give the IRA new meaning and glamorize it the way the press in this country has glamorized gangs then they should throw as much fire on the problem as they can. After all, it's another country, so why should they be concerned?
That could also provide cover for the issue of pushing patents for software which is a big issue in Ireland but the New York Times has not seen fit to cover that. (I can guess whom they would side with if forced to publicly.)
One cousin asked me if all the celebrites in the US were killing or molesting children. In the middle of my explanation he started laughing and said he was joking but that this is how the IRA is being portrayed in the media. "Old and fat and suddenly they're all this elite killing force over what some did after a bar fight." He repeated what I heard over and over, if the press wants to turn this into an international incident, the sympathies will turn away from the victims and towards the IRA.
So I'll wait to see who covers it responsibly and who doesn't. I'll assume the responsible people (who print the facts) are reporters and that the ones who omit facts and used heated language like "excutioner" are the ones who are bored stirring up sh*t in their own neighborhood and have decided to go after Ireland.
