Answer the following exam questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Answer the following exam questions - Essay Example and peace process, which led to the spawning of two more radical splinter groups: Continuity IRA (CIRA), and the Real IRA (RIRA) in mid to late 1990s. The IRA, sometimes referred to as the PIRA to distinguish it from RIRA and CIRA, is organized into small, tightly-knit cells under the leadership of the Army Council. The IRA’s militant activities have comprised of bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, punishment beatings, extortion, smuggling, and robberies. Prior to the cease-fire agreement in 1997, the group was involved in terror campaigns in various places in Northern Ireland and England, including senior British Government agencies (and its officials), innocent civilians, police forces, and the Royal military installations. While the rationale for their activities is quite genuine, the group has also attracted criticism for its rigidity. For example, the IRA has not been willing to adopt non-violent methods for pressurizing its oppressive neighbour. For example, the group’s refusal in late 2004 to allow photographic documentation of its decommissioning process was an obstacle to progress in implementing the Belfast Agreement and stalled talks. The IRA is also criticized for funding its operations through criminal means. Every year millions of dollars are added to its coffers through robberies and other crimes. Unless the IRA puts an end to such deviances, its mission is unlikely to succeed. The IRA does not pose a direct threat to Australian citizens or Australian national interests. But in an indirect way, with the refusal of Canberra to detach itself from American and British neo-colonial ambitions, Australia can face a backlash. Already we saw an instance of this in the Bali bombings of 2002. With the IRA’s links with the Palestinian Liberation Organization, ETA and the Colombian militant group FARC, Australia is vulnerable to terror attacks from these organizations, if its foreign policy framework does not change. It is also no surprise