IRA: We’re laying down our arms

The British have their hands full fighting Al Qua’eda and Islamist terrorism; now they won’t have to divert resources in fighting the IRA anymore – if we can believe this:

The leadership of Oglaigh nah Eireann has formally ordered an end to the armed campaign. This will take effect from 4pm this afternoon.

All IRA units have been ordered to dump arms. All Volunteers have been instructed to assist the development of purely political and democratic programmes through exclusively peaceful means. Volunteers must not engage in any other activities whatsoever.

So was it the 7/7 bombings that made the IRA realize that – wait a second – terrorism ain’t cool? That might have motivated the timing of this announcement, but it was probably more of an inevitable end to a struggle that most people in Ireland no longer support. It will remain to be seen whether the IRA actually follows through with this promise – but hey, there’s a chance it’ll happen; after all, they’re not the Palestinian Authority.

Here are some reactions to this shocking announcement.