On the same day last week, these two events happened:
*In Eilat, Israel, a Palestinian suicide bomber killed himself and three Israelis at a bakery.
*In London, Sinn Fein, the political arm of the pro-Catholic Irish Republican Army, voted overwhelmingly to cooperate with the predominantly Protestant police of Northern Ireland.
Of course, the geo-political issues – however grounded in sectarian strife – are different. As different as the Middle East and the United Kingdom.
But, still, a terrorist is a terrorist when it comes to innocent lives lost, whether by intent or as collateral damage.
And yet, no IRA member would ever make the case for videoed beheadings, much less the argument that Paradise would be the guaranteed — let alone appropriate — reward for a suicide bomber who actually targets the innocent. Whatever the temporal grievance.
Perhaps the IRA, in its heart of hearts, just doesn’t like the violent, self-determination niche anymore. The evil-doers have ruined it.