Well, there goes the Good Friday agreement. Although it's touted as a tabloid-friendly attack on asylum seekers and victims of contemporary war crimes (ie, those committed in Iraq and Afghanistan), you can bet they'll also prevent the prosecution of British soldiers for other war crimes - including those committed during the conflict in Northern Ireland.
The GFA specifically rests on the existence of strong human rights laws. This is because before human rights laws existed, the British had a terrible habit of murdering Irish people in the street.
The GFA specifically rests on the existence of strong human rights laws. This is because before human rights laws existed, the British had a terrible habit of murdering Irish people in the street.
Needless to say, this is the stuff of which insurgencies are made.
When I was a kid, IRA bombings and bomb threats were so common that it was a regular feature of urban life to have the bomb squad rock up and cordon off random buildings that had been targeted. Every night on the news you'd see reports on the latest from NI - people shot, blown up, and tortured by the security forces and / or terrorists. It wasn't like the War On Terror - this was normalized, completely routine.
Nowadays, terrorists will be able to bomb us from the air. A couple of drones and that sense of security, of being on the safe side of a wall, will be history. Then the cops will get tooled up and start blasting people again.
It starts with society deciding that certain people don't matter. It ends up with a world where nobody matters.
