Funferal

Tariq Ali on Iraq / Me on Ireland

Tariq Ali spent a short time in Urbana last week with Allen Hall and the Center for Advanced Studies (CAS/MillerComm). I went to see him talk on Thursday, on what he described as the ‘echoes of history’ in Iraq. He provided some useful and interesting background information on the history of Iraq, which informed his thinking on the subject. As he puts it “the insurgents who pushed out the British, are now grandfathers, so their stories, the songs they sang/sing, etc., are still present in the communities, so it is no surprise that the resistance emerged as it did.
On a related note, I want to agree with the comments of Michael D. Higgins, who argues that the terrorist groups – I have no problem using the term – are damaging the cause of Iraq and its people with actions such as the capture, and ritualistic humiliation of Margaret Hassan, as earlier with Ken Bigley. The I.R.A. in Ireland like to claim that they were never miliatarily defeated, that they ‘won’ – or could have won – the war. The truth, however, is that they realised that they were losing the battle for ‘hearts and minds.’ Although there is a certain disturbing erasure of history going on – particularly among those too young to remember the almost daily news headlines about another bombing, another missing person, another family ripped apart – bombing shopping centres and Memorial Day gatherings, or placing ‘sniper at work’ road signs [1] had eroded any support on the basis of their being ‘defenders of civil rights.’ There was no choice but too go on ceasefire, because it was the only possible tactic to advance their aims.
Incidentally, latest reports are that violence is continuing at a disturbing level – especially involving ‘deterring’ young offenders by shooting out their knee-caps, or pronouncing sentences of exile on individuals and families, and similar, ‘merely’-criminal, activity. Sinn Féin and the IRA view the current cease-fire as a purely-tactical move, and the only solace for many of us is that the couldn’t, practically, return to violence, could they? The public relations disaster – and so much of it comes down to public relations – that would ensue is all we really have (because just giving in to any and all of their demands just isn’t an option). There is, however, no deep change of heart. Their non-lethal violence [2] continues, since it doesn’t attract the same level of media attention and approbation.
There is no need for me to labour the connection I see between the two situations (Ireland and Iraq). Nor, obviously, am I the only one to see connections. Though when Sinn Féin speakers talk about the situation in Iraq – as at the anti-Bush rally in Galway last July – they tend to laud the ‘insurgency’, implicitly giving their support to the violence and killings.
[1] The warnings were, of course, genuine, as they also had snipers working in those areas. Now the Sinn Féin shop is selling t-shirts with the graphic and slogan on them. Because they really are, you know, peace-niks now.
[2] I missed any post-event coverage there was of the conference on non-lethal weaponry that took place in Dublin, so I don’t know how the protests went. I didn’t hear of any Sinn Féin related protests, so perhaps their cynicism has some bounds. Who knows….