Comments - 'Barley' Writer Paul Laverty Brands CIA 'Terrorist Organization' - The Wild Geese2024-03-28T11:12:46Zhttps://thewildgeese.irish/profiles/comment/feed?attachedTo=6442157%3ABlogPost%3A42366&xn_auth=noThe first thing Paul Laverty…tag:thewildgeese.irish,2014-07-09:6442157:Comment:1049232014-07-09T18:54:15.540ZAlannah Ryanehttps://thewildgeese.irish/profile/AlannahRyane
<p>The first thing Paul Laverty said to me, after I was introduced to him on the set of 'Jimmy's Hall' last September, was 'thank you wild geese for publishing my comments in the Leitrim Observer'! I was enthralled with his response to my question about how James Gralton would react with what's going on today on my video.</p>
<p>The first thing Paul Laverty said to me, after I was introduced to him on the set of 'Jimmy's Hall' last September, was 'thank you wild geese for publishing my comments in the Leitrim Observer'! I was enthralled with his response to my question about how James Gralton would react with what's going on today on my video.</p> Mr Cosgrove,
It should be not…tag:thewildgeese.irish,2013-10-14:6442157:Comment:566302013-10-14T09:32:36.035ZKieron Punchhttps://thewildgeese.irish/profile/KieronPunch
<p>Mr Cosgrove,</p>
<p>It should be noted that Paul Laverty is not a member of the Irish Intelligentsia. Laverty is Scottish. He was born in India to a Scottish father and an Irish mother.</p>
<p>Of course the loss of some 3,000 people on 11 September was an horrific outrage, but it should be remembered that at least ten times that number died during the war in Nicaragua in the 1980s, in which the CIA supported the terrorist Contra guerrillas against the deomocratically elected government. The…</p>
<p>Mr Cosgrove,</p>
<p>It should be noted that Paul Laverty is not a member of the Irish Intelligentsia. Laverty is Scottish. He was born in India to a Scottish father and an Irish mother.</p>
<p>Of course the loss of some 3,000 people on 11 September was an horrific outrage, but it should be remembered that at least ten times that number died during the war in Nicaragua in the 1980s, in which the CIA supported the terrorist Contra guerrillas against the deomocratically elected government. The Contras waged war by murdering civilians, destroying hospitals, assassinating doctors and aid workers, kidnapping, raping etc. They financed this "warfare", to a large part by drug trafficking and were aided and assisted in this by the CIA. By the mid-1990s, 60% of the 2 million people in US prisons were there because of drug offences, with much of that due to the cocaine/crack cocaine epidemic caused in part by the CIA backed Contras. How many American citizens died as a result of that drug epidemic? It should be remembered that Nicaragua is just one of the many countries that the CIA has interfered with.</p> And just in case anyone think…tag:thewildgeese.irish,2013-08-28:6442157:Comment:431622013-08-28T13:31:48.453ZJohn W. Hurleyhttps://thewildgeese.irish/profile/JohnWHurley
<p>And just in case anyone thinks that I'M guilty of making exaggerated claims in reponse to Mr. Laverty's exaggerated claims : ) here is a link to the article "<span>British war strategy, the SOE and the IRA</span>", that was NOT written by me:…</p>
<p></p>
<p>And just in case anyone thinks that I'M guilty of making exaggerated claims in reponse to Mr. Laverty's exaggerated claims : ) here is a link to the article "<span>British war strategy, the SOE and the IRA</span>", that was NOT written by me:</p>
<p><a href="http://current-magazines.atholbooks.org/readers/full_article.php?article_id=71&&title=British%20war%20strategy,%20the%20SOE%20and%20the%20IRA">http://current-magazines.atholbooks.org/readers/full_article.php?article_id=71&&title=British%20war%20strategy,%20the%20SOE%20and%20the%20IRA</a></p> Thanks Gerry for clarifying t…tag:thewildgeese.irish,2013-08-28:6442157:Comment:431612013-08-28T13:29:22.211ZJohn W. Hurleyhttps://thewildgeese.irish/profile/JohnWHurley
<p>Thanks Gerry for clarifying that. I remember one time being in England near the 20th anniversary of the Mai Lai massacre. Now I completely agree that it was a horrendous act but the stories on the front page of the British papers highlighting the deaths of innocent Vietnamese civilians at the hands of crazed American soldiers seemed sadly ironic given that, at that same time in Northern Ireland, innocent civilians were being killed at the hands of "civilized" British soldiers. Given the…</p>
<p>Thanks Gerry for clarifying that. I remember one time being in England near the 20th anniversary of the Mai Lai massacre. Now I completely agree that it was a horrendous act but the stories on the front page of the British papers highlighting the deaths of innocent Vietnamese civilians at the hands of crazed American soldiers seemed sadly ironic given that, at that same time in Northern Ireland, innocent civilians were being killed at the hands of "civilized" British soldiers. Given the media censorship enacted by Conor Cruise O'Brien and others of the Irish State, it seems that in Britain (which has now influenced Ireland so much), you have this strange situation where you do have certain people that hate America and (the PIRA for that matter) for doing precisely the same things that the British government and/or military do but whom they do not hate and never seem to question. So for example Mai Lai is an unquestionable massacre but somehow Bloody Sunday in Derry was just well you know, those rowdy Irish Catholics bringing it on themselves, there is always an excuse for the actions of their soldiers. I'm just tired of hearing it from people like this, I wouldn't mind if the criticism was fair or even handed but the biases they expose are just laughable.</p> Interesting points from all,…tag:thewildgeese.irish,2013-08-27:6442157:Comment:432462013-08-27T23:15:04.947ZThomas M. Maher, IIIhttps://thewildgeese.irish/profile/ThomasMMaherIII
<p>Interesting points from all, and the civility of the exchange is much appreciated and so refreshing. The villians v. heroes topic will always be with us, as will questions about the efficacy and morality of national intelligence organizations. I believe that on balance the United States and its intelligence agencies have been more right than wrong when compared w/ our historical foes, be they Japanese, German, Russian, Chinese, etc. However, we who read Irish history have learned of evil…</p>
<p>Interesting points from all, and the civility of the exchange is much appreciated and so refreshing. The villians v. heroes topic will always be with us, as will questions about the efficacy and morality of national intelligence organizations. I believe that on balance the United States and its intelligence agencies have been more right than wrong when compared w/ our historical foes, be they Japanese, German, Russian, Chinese, etc. However, we who read Irish history have learned of evil after evil inflicted upon the Irish by British intelligence and may have a natural distrust of national intelligence organizations as a result. Nevertheless, I remain unconvinced that Mr. Laverty's commentary withstands any serious scrutiny. Just one fella's opinion. Peace and love to all.</p> Perhaps, Kelly, mo chara..tha…tag:thewildgeese.irish,2013-08-27:6442157:Comment:431252013-08-27T20:28:00.401ZBit Devinehttps://thewildgeese.irish/profile/BitDevine
<p>Perhaps, Kelly, mo chara..that is because one person's hero may be another's villain...</p>
<p>Perhaps, Kelly, mo chara..that is because one person's hero may be another's villain...</p> Fascinating, John. Really sh…tag:thewildgeese.irish,2013-08-27:6442157:Comment:430502013-08-27T19:55:41.208ZKelly O'Rourkehttps://thewildgeese.irish/profile/KellyORourke
<p>Fascinating, John. Really shows the complexity of history, and the difficulty of naming heroes and villains.</p>
<p>Fascinating, John. Really shows the complexity of history, and the difficulty of naming heroes and villains.</p> John, thanks for this perspec…tag:thewildgeese.irish,2013-08-26:6442157:Comment:429722013-08-26T22:01:52.710ZGerry Reganhttps://thewildgeese.irish/profile/ger_regan
<p>John, thanks for this perspective. For the record, Paul Laverty was born a British citizen, in India, of Irish-born parents. I guess he's eligible for an Irish passport, but unclear if he has one.</p>
<p>John, thanks for this perspective. For the record, Paul Laverty was born a British citizen, in India, of Irish-born parents. I guess he's eligible for an Irish passport, but unclear if he has one.</p> I do agree that the CIA has e…tag:thewildgeese.irish,2013-08-25:6442157:Comment:426402013-08-25T18:46:30.130ZJohn W. Hurleyhttps://thewildgeese.irish/profile/JohnWHurley
<p>I do agree that the CIA has either been responsible for the deaths of many innocent people or backed organizations that have done so (including for example, Catholic nuns in Latin America). But there is a real irony here. The OSS, predecessor to the CIA, was created by Colonel "Wild Bill" Donovan, whose grandfather was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, (which later became the IRA). While Donovan does not seem to have been a member of any Irish nationalist organization, he did…</p>
<p>I do agree that the CIA has either been responsible for the deaths of many innocent people or backed organizations that have done so (including for example, Catholic nuns in Latin America). But there is a real irony here. The OSS, predecessor to the CIA, was created by Colonel "Wild Bill" Donovan, whose grandfather was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, (which later became the IRA). While Donovan does not seem to have been a member of any Irish nationalist organization, he did have close personal and professional ties with a number of Irish nationalists including Eamnon DeValera and the pro-Irish Republican film director John Ford. The CIA and other Special Forces type organizations trace their methods of unconventional and guerrilla warfare directly back to the methods used by Michael Collins and the IRA during the Irish War of Independence. In fact you could argue that without the IRA, the CIA would never have come into existence. The British SOE deliberately copied the IRA's methods against British forces in the Irish War of Independence, while waging their own guerrilla warfare against the Nazi's in France during WW2. The OSS involvement with the SOE in this was the<span> Jedburgh Groups operating in France. Many Jedburgh veterans went on to distinguished careers in the CIA and in Special Forces, including Jedburgh Aaron Bank claimed by many to be</span> <span style="font-size: 13px;">the founder of the US Army Special Forces or</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> "Green Berets". So while I understand Paul Laverty's leftist hyperbole against the CIA, I do think it is ironic that the people whom the CIA learned from - the IRA - are the heroes of Laverty's film "The Wind That Shakes The Barley".</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px;">Now personally, I think that the IRA were heroes too - but Laverty's comments, so popular in modern Ireland, seem to demonstrate the schizophrenic thinking of many in Anti-America Ireland who condemn anything the United States does (simply because it's the United States doing it) while at the same time condoning the same or similar behavior of virtually any leftist group. To show how inept his argument is Laverty does not seem to be aware that through Operation Cyclone the CIA virtually created <span>Osama Bin Laden when arming and financing the Afghan Mujahideen against the communist Russians during their invasion of Afghanistan. Sadly, like so many of his ilk in Ireland, Laverty seems so enraged and quick to condemn that he hasn't even gotten his facts straight.</span></span></p> Good points, Thomas.tag:thewildgeese.irish,2013-08-25:6442157:Comment:425742013-08-25T15:49:18.163ZRyan O'Rourkehttps://thewildgeese.irish/profile/RyanORourke
<p>Good points, Thomas.</p>
<p>Good points, Thomas.</p>