Comments on The Pensive Quill: Understanding Terrorism and Political Violence

Moloney's would be an accurate and well resear...

2009-08-28T20:18:21.108+01:00

Moloney's would be an accurate and well researched account. No one book explains the Provisional IRA but if you were to pick one to enhance understanding it would be that one.

Appropos of this most important column and the ins...

2009-08-27T17:11:30.852+01:00

Appropos of this most important column and the insights of the author, which I share in general and rarely find in print anywhere else these days, is anyone willing to help me in learning the facts of the armed resistance in the recent chapter of the "Troubles" in the North? I realize that there is a possibility of actual danger in some levels of comment. Can I start by asking for

I am somewhat contemptuous of most academics who l...

2009-08-08T12:07:13.386+01:00

I am somewhat contemptuous of most academics who look at why people join a freedom struggle, as I have no confidence they are any more independent minded than the rest of us, indeed many are in the pay of the governments we oppose.

There is no mystery why people join organization's like the French resistance, IRA or the Taliban, the Indian write Pankaj Mishra sums up the reason

Interesting post, hard for a dead-brain like me to...

2009-08-08T03:13:48.376+01:00

Interesting post, hard for a dead-brain like me to read, but worth it. What you wrote-

"In the case of the IRA, leaders followed with ideas events that were already happening on the ground."

that rang true to me and coming from someone like you it was good to read.