Why do Americans with Irish-sounding names make asinine comments on issues they have no understanding of?

Bob, Belfast,

TO GERALD O'HARE USA:
-i lived through the entire toubles in NI - living in Belfast as still do.
it saddens me that in 2007 after all of worldwide mistakes that american's have made in history that they still think they know best.
-im guessing that Mr O'hare popped over to visit a tiny part of nationalist west belfast for a very short time and INSTANTLY knew it all - problems and solutions.
**the way he describes the soldiers is how we see american soldiers now in iraq.
-mr o'hare must remember that the finanical backers of terrorists have blood on their hands forever. those americans who gave money to NORAID have blood on their hands.
-mr o'hare must also remember that NI is still part of the UK, still run by protestant controlled Stormont, and the vast majority still vote for pro-unionist parties.
-the IRA seem to have spilt into two groups, drug dealing thugs and politicans. its the Nationalist cause that has lost, mr o'hare.

hugh harte, belfast, ulster

Hi Gerald,

If we lost, why are we still there?

Why will 5,000 British troops remain in Northern Ireland indefinitely?

Why does every law passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly have to be given Royal Assent and be signed into law by the British Monarch?

Why have the people of the South voted overwhelmingly to remove the territorial claim to Northern Ireland from their constitution?

Gerald you just have to accept that Martin McGuinniss and his Sinn Fein colleagues are now "Ministers of the British Crown" and subjects of that same Crown.

And the winners out of all this? They're the Northern Irish people, British every last one, along with the people of the mainland of Britain and the South of Ireland, who no longer have to put up with the IRA (or the supposed "Loyalist") terrorists trying to bomb and shoot them.

As a result of this the British Armed Forces ("Forces of the Crown" if you prefer) can concentrate along with the US Armed Forces in fighting Al Qaeda and its ilk.

Paul, London, UK

How on Earth do you work that one out? Let me give you some quotes from the IRA's General Army Orders.

"No member of the IRA may be a member of a political party which recognises the partition institutions of government as sovereign authorities for the Irish people."

"A Volunteer shall not swear or pledge himself/herself in any way to refrain from using arms or other methods of struggle to overthrown British rule in Ireland." "Participation in Stormont or Westminster and in any other subservient parliament, if any, is strictly prohibited."

"The IRA will…support the establishment of, and uphold, a lawful government in sole and absolute control of the Republic (of all Ireland)."

Sounds like a big u-turn on their behalf to me as Sinn Fein are sitting in Stormont as a UK administration and support the police and courts of law and British army is now normalised meaning operation banner is finished and those troops have left leaving a normal peace time troop level of 5000 men in Ulster.

Alan, Ulster,

The headline bears no relation to this article.

Mike, Kuala Lumpur,

Gerald,

"The British lost and that is a fact."
Funny, I don't see a united Ireland or anything else that the IRA murdered in the name of. Some victory.

Still, nice to know our American "friends" are still on the side of the terrorists, when it suits them.

Steve, Lincoln,

Dear Mr O'Hare, the people of Northern Ireland ARE British. How did they lose? The people of Northern Ireland can now live in peace to as great an extent as the bigoted will allow. Surely that is a victory for the ordinary people?

Jeremy Gunner, Lincoln, UK

The Brits have learned nothing or at least they won't admit to their misbehavior and mistakes in the Six counties. Of course 'shoot to kill' is not a term that is used by the Brits or British newspapers. As a visitor to Belfast so many years ago I remember how scared the Brit squaddies appeared to be. Little children taunted them openly in the streets and nobody seemed to fear the British army. Police stations looked like Fort Apache in the old American West, the RA controlled the night and during the day children threw stones at the Brits. To quote a British writer, " Oh what fools these mortals be!" Now people sing, "Go on home British soldier, go on home..." The British lost and that is a fact.

Gerald O'Hare, Woodbury , NJ, USA

Having read many of Peter Taylor's writings, I had always appreciated his usually even handed reporting of events. This piece seems a bit skewed and is a bit surprising. To say that only the IRA were responsible for murderous attacks is a bit short sighted. I will not say they didn't do terrible things, but he neglects the numerous attacks and deaths (and if memory serves me right, more Catholics died than Protestants or soldiers combined in the conflict) perpetrated by the Protestant paramilitary groups. Yes, I know they were in response to the long-standing IRA, but Protestant factions are not without blame for the presence of the military as well.

All that aside, their departure is a wonderful event for whatever reason to have a level of peace in the North that allows, no, requires the absence of the military. I will soon be a citizen of this lovely country and the peaceful situation has made it easier. Hopefully peace will continue to grow without blame laying for past events.

Mary Kennedy, Guymon, , Oklahoma, USA

And you didn't believe 14 Company had a party after the IRA unsuccessfully tried to ambush one of them leaving three dead?

I saw in one your documentaries a 14 Int women saying they went over the 'card' rules every time they went out. In four different Int units I worked in it was never discussed once! :-)

fnu snu, Gen., Switz.

The UK was fighting terrorist organisations inside its own country – N. Ireland. It seems a number of misguided Americans cant grasp this fact. Sinn Fein represented the IRA dictate that they would never take part in governing N. Ireland unless & until it formed part of a united Ireland, yet they’ve capitulated & now peace has returned to this part of the UK. UK soldiers were sent to N. Ireland to try to keep the peace & protect all of its citizens. The IRA & Loyalists decided they were fighting a war against each other & in the case of the IRA against Britain as well. Our soldiers were fighting crime not a war & had to abide by the rule of law – the terrorists didn’t. Each group carried out their murderous campaigns in furtherance of their political & ideological beliefs. Probably, most right thinking people thought it bazaar our government granted prisoner of war status to IRA & Loyalist terrorists during their activity. The conflict is now over & N. Ireland is still ruled by the UK

Lynda Plum, London, england

Gerald O'Hare - I look forward to your reaction to people celebrating the "victory" of Al-Qaeda and their great military victory that was 9/11. Grow up, recognise terrorism for what it is and take pride in the fact that one of your country's greatest allies was able to prevent a terrorist victory in its own doorstep and reach a negotiated settlement. If you are a democrat, then you will reject terrorism and welcome the democratic will of the people. Otherwise Americans will seem to be pretty hypocritical.

Rob, Belfast,

An army of occupation, that murderes it's own innocent citizens is a disgrace. Shame on the UK and the nefarious politicians that supported the neanderthals in unionism.
On the bright side, PeterTaylor is one of the few English men, that tries to be fair and impartial.

Jim Lynch, Staten Island N Y, U.S.A.

There's one dimension missing from this article: what about Loyalist paramilitary violence? The British Army was originally deployed onto NI streets to protect Catholic civilians from the likes of the Shankill Butchers and similar operatives of organisations like the UDA and UVF. In all the rhetoric about the British Army fighting terrorism, the only terrorists every mentioned are the IRA. They weren't the only players on the scene.

Also in making comparison with Iraq, Aghanistan etc your correspondent makes the mistake of viewing NI as a separate, somehow non-British place. Northern Ireland is part of the UK (whether some wanted it to be or not) and NI people paid the wages of deployed British soldiers with their taxes. As such, the Army had a duty of care to them as fellow citizens but they often neglected that duty of care. That is not the same as the Army invading a foreign country like Iraq: NI people were treated as foreigners but please remember that they were not.

MB, Edinburgh,

As a NI native and , once ardent Reoublican a one paragraph mention of an incident in Derry city changed my outlook. A Catholic child had fallen into the River Foyle. One soldier threw off his boots and weaponery while his armed companion covered him, and rescued the child.
It was then I realised that they were there for another purpose than the IRA propaganda would have me believe. It took the IRA a little longer, that's all

TOM MCPARLAND, LONDON, UK

At the beginning of the article, Peter Taylor talks about a gap in the murals on the Falls Road and asks, "if the creative talents of Sinn Fein’s art department were already preparing to fill the space with a fresh mural depicting the withdrawal of British forces". The replacement mural is actually going to be a recreation of the Salvador Dali painting "Guenica". It should be in place within a number of weeks, and will add to what is known as the "International Wall"

Steven Corr, Belfast, Ireland