Britons lump IRA with al-Qaeda as terrorists

Most Britons feel the war against terrorism launched after the attacks in the United States should be waged against the IRA as well as Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, according to a poll.

Nearly 90 per cent of respondents to the Gallup poll said they regarded the IRA and al-Qaeda as terrorists.

Those surveyed were asked whether they thought it was right or wrong to describe bin Laden and his allies as "a terrorist organisation". The same question was asked about the IRA and its allies.

Almost everyone responded that terrorist was the right word to describe bin Laden and the IRA. Eighty-eight per cent of respondents believed bin Laden and his allies constituted a terrorist organisation, 89 per cent thought the same of the IRA.

Given the pledge of the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, that Britain would stand with the US in the war against terrorism, Gallup also asked respondents whether "Mr Blair should or should not take the same stand against IRA terrorists as against those in the Middle East".

The Government has sought to draw a distinction between the IRA and the wider battle against terrorism on the grounds that peace talks were going on in Northern Ireland and that Sinn Fein's leaders were seeking to embrace democracy. The Northern Ireland Secretary, Mr John Reid, told the Labour conference in Brighton on Wednesday that recognising the futility of violence opened the door for dialogue in the province.

But the poll shows that the public remains sceptical about the IRA's commitment, particularly as there has been no decommissioning of weapons despite concessions on policing and prisoner releases.

The Telegraph, London

-- Anonymous, October 05, 2001