Saturday, August 07, 2004

1169 AND COUNTING.......

Irish history , Irish politics - from today and yesterday : all 32 Counties !

Looks like we're not gonna post anything today (Saturday , 7th August '04) or tomorrow - our 'Junior' wants the weekends off , at least , for ..eh..an affair of the heart !
.....and meself and Sharon are just too soft for our own good ....

See ya Monday...

Friday, August 06, 2004

Working within British 'law' with a vow NOT to use force against the British....... :

DANIEL O'CONNELL -1843 ;

THE PROVISIONALS -1994 TO DATE .


.......huge outdoor meetings , known as 'Monster Meetings' , were held throughout the country to promote Daniel O'Connell and the 'Loyal National Repeal Association' ; 150,000 people in Mullingar , County Westmeath , 400,000 people in Mallow in County Cork - the Brits were getting worried with the level of support .......

A third 'Monster Meeting' was held in Lismore , County Waterford - again , a crowd estimated at 400,000 people attended . At each meeting , the 'Young Irelanders' were recruiting , having made their position clear in the pages of their newspaper , 'The Nation' , in leaflets , and by word of mouth - ie ' we get back whatever we can by O'Connell's methods , but will not confine ourselves to those methods alone...'

The British were perplexed at what to do regarding the 'Monster Meetings' - were they a 'safety valve' at which the 'agitators/rebels' could let off steam in a more-or-less harmless fashion , or were they a possible recruiting exercise at which the more militant element could 'plot and plan' ?

However , after the 15th August 1843 , the Brits decided to take action ; for it was on that date that between 800,000 and one million people gathered on the Hill of Tara in County Meath for a 'Monster Meeting'.......

(MORE LATER).


WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

BURNINGS.......

".......myself and Donal Og were trapped in the loft of the barn - the Brits did not know we were there , but they were determined to get in to search . We were armed , and watched from the inside as the door was viciously attacked by them ......."

"....the door was 'bending' in its middle , but there was much to spare . The torchlight supplied by the British troops on the other side of the door was obligingly being held for our benefit ; it showed us the distance the bolt travelled in the staple and this was the measure of our time and opportunity . Again the enemy changed method - this time there appeared to be no doubt about its ultimate success . The rifles were discarded and men's shoulders substituted ; under their timed impact the door warped about the middle and the bolt slid alarmingly near to the edge of the staple .

With each successive effort the distance lessened ; I believe that not one sixteenth of an inch was left between the end of the bolt and the edge of the staple . A sudden silence fell : the last blow did not come . We moved a little to the left behind the wall , expecting a shot through the lock to break it . The shot never came . Instead came the clatter of iron-shod boots on the stone steps of the stairs , as the British soldiers descended . We heard them pass through the gateway and with others assemble on the road .

As they marched off the rain stopped and the wind died down . I believe it was these elements saved us by hastening the enemy's departure from the exposed stair landing . We unlocked our good door and soon we were hastening to the hilltop . The grey of dawn had passed ; we saw the column of British soldiers returning to Macroom . What of our house , a short distance away .....? "

(MORE LATER).


THE CIA : REAGAN'S SECRET ARMY .......

Since 1947 , the CIA has been a powerful force in covertly executing American internal and foreign policy . A major book detailing the workings , methods and sometimes incompetence of the secret service - 'The Agency ; The Rise and Decline of The CIA ' , by John Ranelagh , has recently been published .

Gene Kerrigan examines the books findings and assesses the importance of 'The Agency' and the role it has played over the last 39 years .


First published in 'The Sunday Tribune' newspaper , Dublin , 24th August 1986 , page 11.

Re-produced here in 21 parts .

(7 of 21).

Britain and France , in a last gasp of Empire , were conspiring with Israel to take Egypt's Suez Canal , which had been nationalised by Nasser , who was now being frowned on by the West because of his friendship with the Soviet Union . The nationalisation was legal under agreements made between Nasser , Britain , France and America in 1950 and 1954 .

The plan was that Israel would invade Egypt - and Britain and France would take military control of the Suez Canal in order to "protect" it . Israel attacked on 29 October ; the next day the British and the French bombed Egypt and took the Canal . The Americans were furious - they did'nt like Nasser but they believed they could handle him , and they did'nt want a resurgence of the old empires .

They froze oil supplies from Latin America and withdrew support from the British 'Pound' and the French 'Franc' ; the conspiracy collapsed .......

(MORE LATER).






Thursday, August 05, 2004

Working within British 'law' with a vow NOT to use force against the British....... :

DANIEL O'CONNELL -1843 ;

THE PROVISIONALS -1994 TO DATE .


.......'The Young Irelanders', a group within the Daniel O'Connell -led 'Loyal National Repeal Association' , were not convinced that " moral force " alone would win the day against the Brits.......

In 1842 , 'The Young Irelanders' established a newspaper called 'The Nation' , in which they supported the objectives of the 'Repeal' Movement . The newspaper , under the control of 26 years-young Charles Gavan Duffy , supported Daniel O'Connell in his quest to publicise the 'Repeal' Movement , and helped to organise and promote outdoor meetings (known as 'Monster Meetings') at which the objectives of the 'Repeal' Movement could be advanced .

The year 1843 was promoted as 'The Year of Repeal' , and Daniel O'Connell took his message to the people ; in Mullingar , County Westmeath , he addressed a crowd of approximately 150,000 people . The British 'authorities' were watching these developments with interest and , while no doubt regarding the 'Loyal' Daniel O'Connell as no more than a 'rebel pet' , were presumably more worried by the fact that the huge crowds he drew would be susceptible to the less 'loyal' message coming from 'The Young Irelanders' .

After the Mullingar 'Monster Meeting ' , which was viewed as a tremendous success by the organisers , 'The Nation' newspaper helped to publicise another such meeting - this time in Mallow , County Cork : 400,000 people turned up - the Brits were uneasy .......

(MORE LATER).


WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

BURNINGS.......

"....... the Brits were in the barn , searching it - we were in the loft , aware of their presence . We were dressed and armed ; the door was solid , as was its bolt , but the closing staple was its possible weak-point ......."

" The bolt-staple would be difficult to break but it would either pull-out or spring ; the key was in the inside of the lock - I removed it gently and laid it softly on the floor near the wall . The enemy might see it , or feel for it, in the keyhole, or it might fall out and give us away when the assault on the door began . It was vital to us to keep the Brits ignorant of our presence until the last moment since they could , if they discovered us , riddle the floor with bullets .

The torch lights wandering around the door at length concentrated on the lock ; then started a vigorous assault with rifle muzzles on that region . We watched the bolt as it sprung back and forth under the impact - there appeared to be little danger of failure under that treatment . The small area of the flagstone landing outside restricted the number and movement of the attackers ; they soon tired and changed their tactics ...

...they used the rifle butts on the middle of the door - this method was a great improvement on the first , and the bolt slid back much further in its staple - the door was 'bending' in the middle......."

(MORE LATER).


THE CIA : REAGAN'S SECRET ARMY .......

Since 1947 , the CIA has been a powerful force in covertly executing American internal and foreign policy . A major book detailing the workings , methods and sometimes incompetence of the secret service - 'The Agency ; The Rise and Decline of The CIA ' , by John Ranelagh , has recently been published .

Gene Kerrigan examines the books findings and assesses the importance of 'The Agency' and the role it has played over the last 39 years .


First published in 'The Sunday Tribune' newspaper , Dublin , 24th August 1986 , page 11.

Re-produced here in 21 parts .

(6 of 21).

In the 1950's the old empires of Britain and France were dying and the United States was replacing them as a world power . At Buraimi Oasis , Oman, the CIA tried to use a $90 million bribe to oust British oil interests in favour of the American company , 'Aramco' ; when the case went to the International Court in Geneva , the CIA tried unsuccessfully to bribe the arbitrators ! The CIA aided the Algerian fight for independence from France and flew Algerian revolutionary Franz Fanon to Washington where they paid for his treatment for cancer . Whatever works...

At the end of October 1956 , the American military attache in Israel sent a message home - " Just thought you ought to know that my driver - a reservist with one arm and one leg missing and blind in one eye - has been called to the colours ! " The CIA deduced from the fact that double-amputees were being called up into the Israeli Army that military action was imminent ...

(MORE LATER).






Wednesday, August 04, 2004

Working within British 'law' with a vow NOT to use force against the British....... :

DANIEL O'CONNELL -1843 ;

THE PROVISIONALS -1994 TO DATE .


.......in 1829 , the British relented on the issue of Catholic Emancipation following a six-year campaign led by Daniel O'Connell , amongst others , in the 'Catholic Association' organisation. To the Irish , O'Connell was a hero ; to the Brits , he was becoming troublesome.......

On April 15th , 1840 , Daniel O'Connell launched the 'Loyal National Repeal Association' (as it called itself from 1841 onwards - at its inception it was simply known as 'The Repeal Association' : O'Connell was back-tracking with the name-change , all but apologising to the Brits for asking them to 'tweak' the system a little more in favour of the Irish.)

Daniel O'Connell made it clear that it was his desire that Ireland should remain under the British 'Monarchy' - saying , if you like - ' ...stay if you want , just treat us better.' The only force to be used , he stated , was "moral force" ; but even this was too much of a demand for Westminster - 'Sir' Robert Peel (Brit PM) replied that to 'grant' O'Connell his way " would not merely mean the repeal of an Act of (British) Parliament , but dismemberment of a great Empire . Deprecatimg as I do all war but above all , civil war , yet there is no alternative which I do not think preferable to the dismemberment of Empire . "

A group within the 'Repeal Association' (or 'The Loyal National Repeal Association' , as O'Connell insisted it be known as) supported Daniel O'Connell in his endeavours but were not convinced that "moral force" alone would win the day ; they were the 'Young Irelanders' , and they viewed their leader "with a mixture of affection and impatience......."

(MORE LATER).


WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

BURNINGS.......

".......myself , my brother Pat and another IRA Volunteer , Donal Og , were 'on-the-run' ; we were sleeping in an old barn , in the grain loft ......."

" The one door of our 'bedroom' opened through a gable on to the landing on top of an outside stone stairs , which was built along the gable wall . A wide gate mounted on the pillar of the stair landing gave entrance from the road to the open haggard . From the opposite gate-pillar the stone boundary fence of the haggard ran away at right angles to the barn .

I awoke to the sensation of the floor shaking under me ; heavy blows from underneath shook me in the bed - they also created a noise that should wake any living man . It was pitch dark and I could not see Donal as I sat up in bed - I could hear , however , his steady breathing as he slept peacefully through all the clamour . The light from powerful torches stabbed upwards through chinks in the floor boards ; I could hear heavy rain blown by strong gusts of wind . The sound of these elements cheered me although I knew that the enemy was upon us , or rather underneath us .

British soldiers would presently be at our door ; my immediate problem was how to wake Donal Og quietly . When a man is awakened , in the darkness, from a deep sleep , his first reaction is to speak , and that perhaps loudly . I could now see him and , bending over , I held my open hand close to his mouth , while I called gently . He awoke without a sound and I quickly apprised him of the situation . We dressed quickly but completely , getting into the bed to lace our boots ; then , revolvers in hand , we stole step by step to the door . Just as we reached it , the enemy arrived on the landing outside - their torches shone through crevices in the walls around the frame and between the frame and door .

The door was sound but opened inwards ; the lock was strong but its bolt went home into a thin square staple driven into the frame . Would it withstand a shoulder .......?"

(MORE LATER).


THE CIA : REAGAN'S SECRET ARMY .......

Since 1947 , the CIA has been a powerful force in covertly executing American internal and foreign policy . A major book detailing the workings , methods and sometimes incompetence of the secret service - 'The Agency ; The Rise and Decline of The CIA ' , by John Ranelagh , has recently been published .

Gene Kerrigan examines the books findings and assesses the importance of 'The Agency' and the role it has played over the last 39 years .


First published in 'The Sunday Tribune' newspaper , Dublin , 24th August 1986 , page 11.

Re-produced here in 21 parts .

(5 of 21).

In 1950 , North Korean prisoners were used in 'Project MK Ultra' , the CIA- backed operation in using mind-bending drugs on enemy forces . There were other experiments in Germany , the Far East and Panama ; in 1953 , LSD was put in a bottle of Cointreau and given to a number of scientists meeting in the Appalachians to discuss their work . One scientist later jumped from a tenth-floor window . It is believed that others also died from such experiments .

There were experiments on animals , attempts to turn them into guided micro-phones and bombs . A cat was opened up , a micro-phone was put in , his tail was turned into an ariel , they took him into the open for a test ....and he was run over by a taxi !

(MORE LATER).






Tuesday, August 03, 2004

Working within British 'law' with a vow NOT to use force against the British....... :

DANIEL O'CONNELL -1843 ;

THE PROVISIONALS -1994 TO DATE .


.......the rats were feasting on dead Irish people , dying mothers using the last of their strength to try and bury their children , weak and dying people trapped under the weight of dead family members who had died while trying to keep their children warm . But some tried to organise resistance .......

...the 'Repeal Association' , led by Daniel O'Connell in the early 1840's was one of the largest mass movements in Europe at the time ; it had its 'roots' in the 'Catholic Association' which , between 1823 and 1829 , led by O'Connell , and supported by the Catholic Hierarchy , organised the vast majority of the population into a political body seeking emancipation - for at least six years (1823-1829) the campaign was relentless ; civil unrest in Ireland and prolonged agitation in England itself concerning the issue .

The British Prime Minster , 'Sir' Robert Peel , relented in 1829 , and Catholic Emancipation was passed at Westminster . Daniel O 'Connell was a 'God' ; to the Irish , he could do no wrong , and he continued to press the British for more 'reforms' of the system .

...but , to the British , O'Connell was becoming more of a troublesome 'thorn in the side'.......

(MORE LATER).


WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

BURNINGS.......

"....... April 1920 - an IRA Unit had the RIC barracks surrounded , while another Unit were about to set fire to the near-by Courthouse , to draw the RIC out of their barracks ; but things went wrong ......."

" ...I looked at my brother , Pat - his face and hands were terribly burned . He told me to get a doctor as the other lads were badly injured , and to meet them at the old bridge . In a short time I returned with a doctor , and he treated the injured - in a few days we succeeded in getting them into hospital in Cork city . All four had been equally badly burned about the face and hands but , with the strength of youth and the spirit of the times on their side , they quickly recovered and were soon as active as ever .

How they fought their way downstairs from the top to the bottom of that pillar of fire is a mystery ; but again the spirit of those times was irresistible . The burning of the Courthouse had nearly cost us the lives of four of our best men ; I believe the enemy did not get the slightest information that any accident had happened . While the operation was in progress they made no attempt to interfere with it , but kept on sending up distress rockets ; a few nights later , however, they staged a counter attack . A party of RIC from Macroom, with one-hundred-and-fifty of the regular British Army , surrounded our house at Caherdaha ; they inquired for my brother Pat , who at the time was in a Cork hospital .

For two months previously , neither Pat nor I had slept at home - one hundred and fifty yards uphill from our house was a large barn which stood on the roadside , with a wide doorway opening on to the road from the ground floor . This doorway had no door ; inside were a few farm carts and some machinery , and overhead was a grain loft , and there we had installed two large beds . For some time , three of us - Pat , Donal Og and I had slept there . Since the night of the burning , Donal Og and I alone ......."

(MORE LATER).


THE CIA : REAGAN'S SECRET ARMY .......

Since 1947 , the CIA has been a powerful force in covertly executing American internal and foreign policy . A major book detailing the workings , methods and sometimes incompetence of the secret service - 'The Agency ; The Rise and Decline of The CIA ' , by John Ranelagh , has recently been published .

Gene Kerrigan examines the books findings and assesses the importance of 'The Agency' and the role it has played over the last 39 years .


First published in 'The Sunday Tribune' newspaper , Dublin , 24th August 1986 , page 11.

Re-produced here in 21 parts .

(4 of 21).

The same kind of things (ie CIA interference) was going on in struggles to control political parties , unions and students across Europe - $400 million was pumped into Greece and Turkey . In the Middle East , the CIA financed the Nasser coup against King Farouk ; Nasser's colleague General Naguib got $12 million . The mother of King Hussein of Jordan got about the same , and King Saud of Saudi Arabia got $40 million . Minor officials were paid pro rata .

CIA agents were active in China and the Philippines , organising the support or suppression of guerrilla movements according to the interests of the U S . Meanwhile , a project known as MK Ultra was under way ...

...this was CIA jargon for the use of mind-bending drugs - from this came Project Bluebird and Project Artichoke . August Del Gracio , a criminal , was the first unsuspecting experimental subject .......

(MORE LATER).






Monday, August 02, 2004

Working within British 'law' with a vow NOT to use force against the British....... :

DANIEL O'CONNELL -1843 ;

THE PROVISIONALS -1994 TO DATE .


....... Ireland 1843 - 'famine' and emigration ; one million Irish people put on board emigrant ships - from 90 years of age to babe's in arms - no food or medicine , no light , no air , no room . Thrown overboard when death took them .......

It was around this time that a Mr. Nicholas Cummins , a Cork Magistrate , found himself in the village of Skibbereen , in Cork . The account of what he witnessed was published in 'The Times' newspaper -

- " I shall state simply what what I saw there : On reaching the spot I was surprised to find the wretched hamlet apparently deserted . I entered some of the hovels to ascertain the cause , and the scenes which presented themselves were such as no tongue or pen can convey the slightest idea of . In the first hovel , six famished and ghastly skeletons , to all appearances dead, were huddled in a corner on some filthy straw , their sole covering which seemed a ragged horsecloth, their wretched legs hanging about , naked above the knees .

I approached with horror , and found by a low moaning they were alive - they were in fever , four children , a woman and what had once been a man . It is impossible to go through the detail : suffice it to say that , in a few minutes, I was surrounded by at least 200 such phantoms , such frightful spectres as no words can describe , either from famine or from fever . Their demoniac yells are still ringing in my ears , and their horrible images are fixed upon my brain . My heart sickens at the recital , but I must go on ...

The same morning the police opened a house on the adjoining lands , which was observed shut for many days , and two dead corpses were found , lying upon the mud floor , half devoured by rats . A mother , herself in a fever , was seen the same day to drag the corpse of her child , a girl about twelve , perfectly naked, and leave it half covered with stones . In another house , within five hundred yards of the cavalry station at Skibbereen , the dispensary doctor found seven wretches lying unable to move , under the same cloak . One had been dead for many hours , but the others were unable to move either themselves or the corpse ......."

But even still , some tried to fight back .......

(MORE LATER).


WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

BURNINGS.......

".......trying to get the RIC out of their barracks to investigate 'riots and civil strife' did not work anymore ; neither did walking up to their front-door and knocking on it ! A small group of us went out on a 'job' one night ......."

" .....we had the RIC barracks surrounded ; another group of IRA Volunteers got busy at their work of destruction - large quantities of petrol and paraffin had already been hidden near at hand . Since we had no explosives to spare and the building was immensely strong , we had decided on using petrol freely ; at that period of time the danger of handling such fuel was not generally appreciated . Among the IRA Volunteers engaged in the operation , however, it was well appreciated ; all had been thoroughly instructed on its dangers and the utmost precautions against premature ignition were taken . One-hundred-and-twenty gallons of petrol had been sprinkled on the woodwork ...

...in addition , several unopened barrels of paraffin oil stood on the Courthouse floor , one of which had been put in the dock for 'contempt of Court' by the IRA Volunteer on whose toe it had rolled over ! Our men had gone upstairs in the building to open or break the highest windows to create an upwards draught . How the accident happened was never established : with two other IRA men I was standing behind a wall near the gate of the barracks - a dull explosion , and the Courthouse became a fiery torch with every window jetting flame . Other explosions followed as the unopened barrels burst and threw on fresh fuel . In an incredibly short time the floors all collapsed together , and only the thick walls remained . Stout walls they must have been to have survived the intense heat and pressure .

But what of the four men on top of that inferno ? A figure approached from the Lawn Gate ; it was my brother Pat , our Commandant ; I hardly knew him - his face and hands were terribly burned ......."

(MORE LATER).


THE CIA : REAGAN'S SECRET ARMY .......

Since 1947 , the CIA has been a powerful force in covertly executing American internal and foreign policy . A major book detailing the workings , methods and sometimes incompetence of the secret service - 'The Agency ; The Rise and Decline of The CIA ' , by John Ranelagh , has recently been published .

Gene Kerrigan examines the books findings and assesses the importance of 'The Agency' and the role it has played over the last 39 years .


First published in 'The Sunday Tribune' newspaper , Dublin , 24th August 1986 , page 11.

Re-produced here in 21 parts .

(3 of 21).

The (American) 'Office of Strategic Services' (the then CIA) had a proud history of bravery behind enemy lines during the war ; the CIA , established in 1947 , was full of ex-OSS agents and infected with the 'derring-do' tradition . The 'new enemy' was the Soviet Union , the 'new war' was a cold one but a 'war' nevertheless . U S Secretary of Defence James Forrestal had on his desk a card which read - ' We will never have universal peace until the strongest army and the strongest navy are in the hands of the most powerful nation .'

Forrestal pushed through a 'National Security Council' directive , 'NSC 4a' , in December 1947 , which authorised CIA covert activities ; he feared a left-wing victory in the Italian elections and the CIA was sent to stop it . Millions of dollars were pumped into the Christian Democrats in a successful bid to win the election .

The same was happening elsewhere .......

(MORE LATER).






Sunday, August 01, 2004

Working within British 'law' with a vow NOT to use force against the British :

DANIEL O'CONNELL -1843 ;

THE PROVISIONALS -1994 TO DATE .


Ireland 1843 - 45 years after the 'United Irishmen' Rising , 5 years before the 'Young Irelanders' were to rise up in arms against British mis-rule , and 15 years before the Irish Republican Brotherhood was founded (on Saint Patricks Day , 1858).

The population of Ireland was in decline - 'famine' struck again and approximately 2 million people were to leave the island ; one million people emigrated and the same number died . A Mr. Stephen de Vere was an eye-witness on one of the emigrant ships -

- " Before the emigrant has been a week at sea , he is an altered man . How can it be otherwise ? Hundreds of poor people , men , women and children , of all ages , from the drivelling idiot of ninty to the babe just born , huddled together , without light , without air , wallowing in filth and breathing a foetid atmosphere , sick in body , dispirited in heart . The fevered patients lying between the sound in sleeping places so narrow as almost to deny them a change of position ....by their agonised ravings disturbing those around them .

Living without food or medicine except as administered by the hand of casual charity , dying without spiritual consolation and buried in the deep without the rites of the Church . " Thus did one million Irish people 'live' on board the emigrant ships .......

(MORE LATER).


WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :

war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.

By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.

BURNINGS.......

".......in early 1920 , an IRA order was issued to launch sustained attacks on RIC barracks throughout the country ; in late March that year , the Brits could no longer hold their bases and evacuated them - in early April we burned them to the ground ......."

" Where the garrisons were maintained they were re-inforced from the personnel of the evacuated buildings and subsequently by Black and Tans . In certain areas , where a large building in the vicinity of the barracks was available , it was occupied by a Company of the British regular Army . Our Intelligence Department gave us timely warning that the British intended to occupy the fortress described above and known as 'The Courthouse , Ballyvourney ' - its distance from the RIC barracks was less than a hundred yards . Once garrisoned , it would forever be a thorn in our side since we had not the means to reduce it ...

...early on the night of 4th April , a small party of us quietly encircled the RIC barracks ; we had little hope that the garrison would come abroad to investigate signs of "riot , commotion , and civil strife ." They had long ago resisted such temptations - indeed , over two years had passed since an IRA Volunteer had , just after nightfall , walked boldly up the avenue and knocked at the front door . At that time it was a war-time regulation that a permit was necessary to sell certain animals ; a voice from within asked who was there and what he wanted - the IRA man gave his name , or at least the name of his loyalist neighbour , and said he had come for a permit . It did not work . Appeals and judicious threats about seeing the RIC District Inspector , an old friend of 'his' , having failed , he was forced to go without having achieved his objective , the opening of the door .

As the IRA Volunteer left , other armed IRA men arose from the shadows and followed him ......."

(MORE LATER).


THE CIA : REAGAN'S SECRET ARMY .......

Since 1947 , the CIA has been a powerful force in covertly executing American internal and foreign policy . A major book detailing the workings , methods and sometimes incompetence of the secret service - 'The Agency ; The Rise and Decline of The CIA ' , by John Ranelagh , has recently been published .

Gene Kerrigan examines the books findings and assesses the importance of 'The Agency' and the role it has played over the last 39 years .


First published in 'The Sunday Tribune' newspaper , Dublin , 24th August 1986 , page 11.

Re-produced here in 21 parts .

(2 of 21).

U S President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and OSS Head , William Donovan also considered building plywood oil pipelines ; and restoring the Habsburgs to the Austrian throne after the war ; and Donovan wanted to send Errol Flynn to Dublin to lobby for the use of Free State ports ! The guiding principle for the CIA has been "whatever works" - the aim would be defending and advancing American interests and the means would be whatever they thought might work , be it dropping dead bats on Japan or live bombs on Libya .

John Ranelagh , a commissioning Editor at Channel 4 , has written a comprehensive and coherent history of the CIA , drawn from a wide range of published sources , declassified documents , documents obtained unofficially and over 200 interviews .

The book is unsensational , conservative , pro- CIA but not blindly so . It is an excellent work of journalism .......

(MORE LATER).