Representative Peter King, a Former Supporter of the Terrorist IRA, Claims WikiLeaks a Terrorist Organization
Peter King (R-NY) penned a letter to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton urging WikiLeaks be declared a terrorist organization. What many don’t know is that King was a long-time supporter of the Irish Republican Army, a terrorist organization.
Representative King requested in the letter:
“I am writing to request that you undertake an immediate review to determine whether WikiLeaks could be designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in accordance with Section 210 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). In addition, I urge you to work with the Swedish government to determine the means by which Mr. Julian Assange can be brought to justice for his actions while recognizing and respecting Swedish sovereign law.”
According to a New Republic piece (which referenced a New York Sun article), in 1980 King joined Senator-elect Alphonse D’Amato on a trip to Belfast, Ireland on a fact-finding mission. It would be worth knowing which facts they were in search of in Belfast, just out of curiosity. According to the Sun article:
“Mr. King’s support for the IRA was unequivocal. In 1982, for instance, he told a pro-IRA rally in Nassau County: ‘We must pledge ourselves to support those brave men and women who this very moment are carrying forth the struggle against British imperialism in the streets of Belfast and Derry… By the mid-1980s, the authorities on both sides of the Atlantic were openly hostile to Mr. King. On one occasion, a judge threw him out of a Belfast courtroom during the murder trial of IRA men because, in the judge’s view, ‘he was an obvious collaborator with the IRA.’ When he attended other trials, the police singled him out for thorough body searches.”
Apparently, Mr. King — like most politicians — has entered into the hallowed land of hypocrisy and moral relativism. It should be noted that Irish terrorists (or freedom fighters, depending on one’s point of view) are quite different than Islamic terrorists. That, however, is not the point. Mr. King’s vocal support of the IRA on American soil and his association with Noraid (which British and Irish intelligence believed funneled guns and money to the IRA) certainly helped the IRA’s cause: a terrorist cause.
King only disavowed the IRA when it would have been politically suicidal to continue to do so following the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Maybe the attacks brought the violence home for Representative King, or — what is more likely — he sensed, like any calculating politician, he’d be finished politically if he didn’t renounce his support of the IRA.
So, what moral authority does King have in pressing for Assange to be declared a terrorist, when he so closely associated himself with declared terrorists? And how ironic is it that King sits as Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee–a terrorist sympathizer within an anti-terrorist bureaucracy.
Maybe someone should return the favor done to Assange and declare Representative King a terrorist.
November 30, 2010 at 7:42 am, Gimmick said:
Pathetic. First and foremost, rather than remembering that, oh yeah, these are confidential documents which could compromise counterintelligence and military operations, and thus the lives of US citizens, you attack the man who correctly identifies Julian Assange as a terrorist and WikiLeaks as a terrorist organization. What an excellent start. Second, you fail to point out just who labeled them as a terrorist group- the UK and the Northern Irish government. Unsurprising, considering THAT'S WHO THEY WERE RESISTING. Third, you fail to point out that the PIRA only attacked the British military, with the goal of causing support for the occupation to diminish. Civilians were never targeted.
A bad article from a worse writer on a terrible site. Gasp.
November 30, 2010 at 8:07 am, D. J. Pangburn said:
Defining Assange as a terrorist is a matter of perception. Many millions of people worldwide wouldn't consider him a terrorist; but, I suppose since Peter King thinks Assange is one, then his perception is transcendent?
You miss the larger point of my article. I guess I'm not surprised, really.
Though I should note that you've proved my point: those who label certain individuals or groups 'terrorists' are engaged in a matter of perception. Terrorism often depends on how one looks at the matter.
Indeed, American clandestine actions often have the flavor of terrorism, but they are defined quite differently for public consumption.
And it doesn't what the PIRA's goals were and who they were targeting, because many hundreds of civilians still died in the Troubles. I'm sure the families of those dead civilians would define the PIRA as terrorists, while the PIRA's families would largely consider them freedom fighters.
Reply when you're better-equipped.
November 30, 2010 at 4:58 pm, Saoirse said:
The I.R.A. are not terrorists. They are people fighting against British foreign occupation in N. Ireland much like the Americans did here for their independence. This is a completely uninformed piece literature, do some research DJ Pangburn.
March 03, 2011 at 9:23 pm, Jack said:
And if Native Americans started a bombing campaign in the US demanding that the “foreign occupation” ended you would feel the same way? Would you like it if the Native Americans started killing American Soldiers and their family’s? Would you like the Native Americans to go into schools with guns and “ethnically cleanse” them of white kids like the IRA did protestant kids? Would you like it if British politicians supported the killing and called those responsible “freedom fighters”? maybe you’re the one who needs to do the research Saoirse, till then keep quiet.
March 03, 2011 at 9:23 pm, Jack said:
And if Native Americans started a bombing campaign in the US demanding that the “foreign occupation” ended you would feel the same way? Would you like it if the Native Americans started killing American Soldiers and their family’s? Would you like the Native Americans to go into schools with guns and “ethnically cleanse” them of white kids like the IRA did protestant kids? Would you like it if British politicians supported the killing and called those responsible “freedom fighters”? maybe you’re the one who needs to do the research Saoirse, till then keep quiet.
November 30, 2010 at 8:38 pm, Mags said:
Peter King forged links with leaders of the IRA and Sinn Fein in Ireland, and in America he hooked up with Irish Northern Aid, known as Noraid, a New York based group that the American, British, and IRISH governments often accused of funneling guns and money to the IRA.
(Yes the Irish government agrees the
I.R.A are terrorists.)
. He spoke regularly at Noraid protests and became close to the group's publicity director, the Bronx lawyer Martin Galvin, a figure reviled by the British.
Mr. King's support for the IRA was unequivocal. By the mid-1980s, the authorities on both sides of the Atlantic were openly hostile to Mr. King.
On one occasion, a judge threw him out of a Belfast courtroom during the murder trial of IRA men because, in the judge's view, “he was an obvious collaborator with the IRA.” When he attended other trials, the police singled him out for thorough body searches.
During his visits to Ireland, Mr. King would often stay with well-known leaders of the IRA, and he socialized in IRA drinking haunts. At one of such clubs, the Felons, membership was limited to IRA veterans who had served time in jail. Mr. King would almost certainly have been red-flagged by British intelligence as a result, but the experience gave him plenty of material for the three novels he subsequently wrote featuring the IRA.
Peter King helped give the IRA a respectable face in America, .
The IRA took its campaign to Britain – where London's financial district was twice devastated by bombs – and to mainland Europe, where British NATO bases were frequently targeted. The IRA nearly killed Prime Minister Thatcher and her cabinet with a bomb in 1984, and it assassinated prominent British politicians and members of the royal family.
The IRA's primary contribution to international terrorist know-how, the car and truck bombs now commonplace in Iraq, and Afghanistan were devised and first deployed by the IRA in Belfast in 1972.
Much of the conventional weaponry and a great deal of the money necessary for IRA violence came from Irish-American sympathizers. Mr. King's advocacy of the IRA's cause encouraged that flow and earned him the deep-seated hostility of the British and Irish governments.
Saoirse/gimmick,
What century are you in?
Not terroriists?! 'Didn't target civilians?!
Warrigton- Blew up a shopping mall the day before mothers day killing two ckildren buying their cards.
Bombed Harrods two days before christmas.
Bombed a church service on Remembrance Sunday killing WW2 veterans with
their medals on..
Omagh- planted car bomb in the centre of this market towm, gave a warning
but gave the wrong location so people where evacuated into the bomb killing
33 people including a women seven months pregnant with twins.
Dragged men from their homes by gun point strapped them into a van of explosives aimed it at the target and then detonated it. The' human bomb.'
I will be here all day.
It was because of ignorance like yours that allowed the above events to happen.
December 13, 2010 at 4:42 am, Jam4f said:
I stopped reading after you started quoting the Sun. FFS – Ridiculous stuff
December 13, 2010 at 6:48 pm, redneckliberal said:
Gimmick, you're a sick, inhuman f-ck. The IRA have killed hundreds of civilians, Catholic and protestant, young and old, military and civilian for decades. They are the epitome of a terrorist organization in that they sought to achieve their goals through terror because they haven't enough support to get anywhere through the ballot box. The Irish government calls them terrorists, the UN calls them terrorists and, naturally, anyone who's ever lost a loved one or had their kneecaps blown off for defying them knows they are terrorists plain and simple. Just because a bunch of misty eyed “Irish” Americans who don't have a f*cking clue what the political reality is in Northern Ireland want to make them heroes, doesn't change reality. Oh and BTW, Republicans (US meaning) you know these guys call themselves socialists? Maybe if murdering little kids doesn't turn you off, that might.
December 14, 2010 at 4:41 pm, Michael Moore Posts Bail for Julian Assange | Death and Taxes said:
[...] is an international criminal, Sarah Palin, who insists he is “anti-American,” and Rep. Peter King, who says Assange is a [...]
December 16, 2010 at 2:01 am, christopher copywriter said:
Peter King. Fool and a creep. Hyprocrasy has to be one of the worst traits of anyone with power or leadership. Sack sack sack him.
December 17, 2010 at 7:44 pm, Magyar said:
http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonath…
March 09, 2011 at 3:38 am, Montana said:
Why doesn’t this Peter T. King investigate the “Home Grown” radicalization of Irish Americans, who support the tradition wing of the IRA (Irish Republican Army), or Noraid (The Irish Northern Aid Committee), and being recruited by “Enemy Overseas” or worse the “Catholic Church ”, where their priests have rape our young American boys, what about that you hypocrite scumbag.
November 01, 2011 at 5:52 am, Heather Kai said:
Peter King now is trying to charm the English Defence League in his quest to demonize the muslim world since 9-11….ironic really he supported those who butcherd English people, now he needs English people, what a laugh if not so tragic.
December 17, 2011 at 2:49 pm, Micky Devine said:
What your article ignores, as do most discussions of “The Troubles”, is that the IRA (especially the Provos) came to prominence because the occupying British State would not defend the members of the, mostly Catholic, nationalist community. In fact they have been shown time and again to be in collusion with numerous Loya;ist paramilitary death squads including the UDA, UVF and LVF. Read the recent revelations about the Miami Show Band massacre.
I doubt very much that Julian Assange would defend the practices that took place, and some still do, in Northern Ireland. Internment without trial, No jury military tribunals, enhanced interrogation(Torture) all sound very familiar, don’t they?