[Shasown]

Originally Posted by setanta

Yes, but he had been planning guerilla warfare if the bombings didn't work out as planned, gaining funds from the Soviets among others, who hardly are the type to be giving out free advice to people who weren't about to attack. He would have followed that train of thought had he not been imprisoned. McGuinness was never imprisoned for such a length of time. That's the difference.

We are talking South Africa of the 60's pmsl. Mandela wasnt found fuilty of murder, or conspiracy to cause murder, he was found guilty of charges of sabotage and also plotting to cause the invasion of South Africa.(the equivalent of treason). Leading workers on an illegal strike and being a member of the ANC.

McGuinness on the other hand was found guilty of being in possession of a very large amount of explosives and a few thousand rounds of ammunition in the Irish Republic. If Mandela had of been caught with that lot back in South Africa when he was arrested he would have been hung, no ifs or buts.

And PIRA sent people to Libya and the Lebanon, they even trained alongside Hezbollah. The stickies sent people to Russia as well. At the time the USSR financed lots of organisations and offered lots of training to them too, in the hope they would spread the good word of communism.

McGuinness was responsible for a lot of deaths, believe me. He is no folk hero. Now it is politically expedient to deal with him in the political arena. Although being a murderous Ba**ard, like Adams he had the sense to realise the way to acheive their aims either partially or in full was not through bomb and bullet but through the ballet box.