An amazingly detailed and profoundly disturbing examination of the
"dirty" covert war between Northern Ireland's paramilitary groups
and British security forces. Investigative journalist Dillon
focuses on the chaotic years of 1969-90 to describe how British
security forces attempted to infiltrate and destroy the Provisional
Irish Republican Army (IRA). The two sides fought a deadly,
no-rules war with spies, informers, assassination, misinformation,
and wholesale coverup. While the IRA tried to destabilize Northern
Ireland by bombing, compiling weapons, and murdering British
troops, British security forces established their own "unofficial"
hit squads to identify and murder IRA operatives. Dillon
brilliantly illuminates the deadly, murky underworld of spies and
informers, meticulously describing how British intelligence would
arrest "vulnerable" IRA members and "turn" them with threats of
imprisonment, blackmail, torture, and monetary rewards. Dillon also
reveals how the IRA systematically searched out and eliminated
informers within their midst - usually with a bullet to the head.
Dillon fully understands the devastating political and cultural
implications of Northern Ireland's "dirty" war. He repeatedly
points out that governmental counterterrorism, waged in secrecy and
thus lacking accountability, "raises serious issues for a
democracy." He cites the brutal murders of Andrew Murray and
Michael Naan, two suspected IRA members killed by British soldiers.
Although dozens within the British army knew about the murders, the
crime was systematically covered up for eight years. Dillon's
account of the Murray/Naan murders makes for shocking and
fascinating reading. The "dirty" war in Northern Ireland has
created a diseased culture of silence, betrayal, and selective
memory. Though a decade old (it was a bestseller when first
published in Ireland), Dillon's book is investigative journalism at
its relevant best. He's put himself in harm's way to get at the
dark truth, gaining access to both British intelligence sources and
the IRA. A seminal, if dated, study of Northern Ireland's
nightmarish legacy of official and unofficial violence. (Kirkus
Reviews)
___________ 'This excellent book demands the attention of anyone
concerned about civil liberties in the United Kingdom' Guardian
1969 was a year of rising tension, violence and change for the
people of Northern Ireland. Rioting in Derry's Bogside led to the
deployment of British troops and a shortlived, uneasy truce. The
British army soon found itself engaged in an undercover war against
the Provisional IRA, which was to last for more than twenty years.
In this enthralling and controversial book, Martin Dillon, author
of the bestselling The Shankill Butchers, examines the roles played
by the Provisional IRA, the State forces, the Irish Government and
the British Army during this troubled period. He unravels the
mystery of war in which informers, agents and double agents
operate, revealing disturbing facts about the way in which the
terrorists and the Intelligence Agencies target, undermine and
penetrate each other's ranks. The Dirty War is investigative
reporting at its very best, containing startling disclosures and
throwing new light on previously inexplicable events.
General
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