Terrorism is terrorism

BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair has made a mockery of his recent tough talk against terrorism with his bizarre comments on the IRA on July 26.

Mr Blair dismissed comparisons of the IRA to al-Qaida because he did not think “the IRA would ever have set about trying to kill 3,000 people”.

Has Mr Blair forgotten that the IRA has targeted the lives of at least 3,000 innocent people over the past 30 years, and was successful in extinguishing over 1,800 of these lives?

Mr Blair seems to imply that a large number of murders over a long time is less abhorrent than a massacre on a single day, as happened on 9/11.

Does he believe the gravity of terrorist murders can be mitigated by the length of time it takes for them to succeed in their evil aims? Are some methods of murder not as serious as others?

Mr Blair is condemning one form of terrorism while simultaneously appeasing another.

Barry Walsh

96 Brooklawn

Clontarf

Dublin 3