A Tangled Web

LET THEM ALL TALK



Day three of the epoch-making seismic-shifting Northern Ireland "peace talks" at Leeds Castle in England. I am amused by the baby-talk analysis of this event by certain prominent political commentators. For instance, we are constantly being told that "the deal" is close, that a "breakthrough" is possible. But what does this language ACTUALLY mean?



What, for example, is meant by the term"a deal" in the context of these discussions? It seems to me that "a deal" can only mean a further deconstruction of democracy to please a gang of murderering IRA scum and help them find ways to access the levers of executive power. So let's discard the nuance and cut to the chase - there should be NO deal.Democratic Government cannot contain terrorists' proxies. That is a absolute bottom line and it SHOULD be what the DUP sticks to. That said, I wonder if they will.



We can also wonder what is meant by the repeated use of the term "a breakthrough" in the context of these discussions.It strikes me that "a breakthrough" can be reduced to the DUP cravenly accepting a choreographed sequence, a la Trimble and his bunch of losers, that ensures Sinn Fein/IRA get what they want - an irreversible thrust towards a United Ireland - in exchange for the DUP getting a few strategic fig-leaves to keep them ahead of the UUP at the next General Election. A "breakthrough" is in fact a breakdown of ordinary political decency.



The punchline is this; LET THEM ALL TALK. When all the talking is done we still face the same question; Is devolved Government in Northern Ireland conditional on the IRA being accommodated at any price? I think I know the answer..do you?