Terrorism is a propaganda war where words matter as well as bullets, and those who murdered the British soldiers at Massereene Barracks could not complain at the much of the coverage today. The BBC news, and much of the other news, announced simply that the Real IRA had carried out the attacks. Someone who does not follow the Northern Ireland peace process carefully could well take this statement at face value, and assume the IRA is back. And this is exactly what the terrorists want to convey. An integral part of the “Real IRA’s” mission is to make out as if they are the genuine IRA and that the McGuinness/Adams movement is no more.
They wish to recreate the Troubles, have the army rescale its presence, and have everyone act as if it’s the 1980s over again.
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