The 1972 massacre that saw the slaughter of 13 unarmed teenagers and adults in Derry, Ireland by UK army paratroopers shooting at peaceful protesters has at last been exposed. The official report into the event commissioned by Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998 has finally been published. The Saville Report is as damning an indictment of British army and establishment perfidy as can be imagined. It is a stain on the British army that compares with the Mai Lai massacre.
New Prime Minister David Cameron -- just 5 years old at the time -- has confirmed what intelligent, decent people worldwide have suspected since the first reports surfaced on that dreadful day in January 1972. A day that has been memorialized by iconic songs by U2 and John Lennon.
The Saville Report confirms:
• That British troops opened fire on totally innocent children and adults who were posing zero threat to them
• That those troops and their superiors lied and fabricated evidence - and have continued to do so for the last 38 years.
• That the initial tribunal set up by Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath in 1972 presided over by Britain's Lord Chief Justice Widgery was a complete whitewash. Designed to cover up the army's foul and despicable deeds. A quickie version of The Warren report.
• That all those killed were INNOCENT of any crime and posed ZERO DANGER to the paratroopers who murdered them in cold blood.
38 years of outright lies and deception by the British army and establishment to cover up the tragic events that plunged Northern Ireland into 30 years of sectarian violence have finally been exposed.
Why did it have to take so long? 38 years for the truth that so many decent people suspected was the case from Day One.
Justice delayed was not only justice denied. But injustice that directly contributed to three decades of violence and over 3,000 tragic deaths.
That soldiers might shoot innocent civilians without warning or any reason is bad enough. But that they should repeatedly lie under oath about their actions and then receive the slavish, knee-jerk defense of their superiors without objective examination makes the entire British Establishment utterly guilty. Gallons of blood are on their hands.
Still to be investigated:
A memorandum written by General Sir Robert Ford -- The Commander of Land Forces in Northern Ireland at the time -- to his superior on January 7th 1972, just 3 weeks before his troops opened fire on the teenage protesters -- without any warning at all. It included the following text:
"I am coming to the conclusion that the minimum force necessary to achieve a restoration of law and order is to shoot selected ringleaders amongst the DYH (Derry Young Hooligans), after clear warnings have been issued..."
A smoking gun that led to the deaths of over 3,000 people. And 30 years of needless anguish.
• "Is there anyone amongst you dare to blame it on the kids?"
- "Sunday Bloody Sunday" by John Lennon (1972)
• "I can't close my eyes and make it go away. How long must we sing this song?"
- "Sunday Bloody Sunday" by U2 (1983)
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Jesse Kornbluth: An Investigation Confirms It: Bloody Sunday Got It Right
It took almost 40 years. And an investigation that took 12 years, cost $280 million and filled 5,000 pages. But now, at last, we know what happened on Bloody Sunday.
Some things change and some things stay the same.
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/british-fail-to-attend-famine-ceremony-2182551.html”
A completely ludicrous comparison.
The only striking difference I can see is that, at Mai Lai, SOME American soldiers stood their ground against those that were committing the crime. I mean especially a certain helicopter crew. God bless them... that is real valor.
Let's see:
(1) Operating in a foreign country ... no.
(2) Killed between 300 and 500 civilians - mostly women and children .... no
(3) Mutilated bodies ..... no
(4) Finished off the wounded .... no
(5) Herded dozens of civilians into an irrigation ditch and gunned them down ... no
(6) Gang-raped many of the civilians ... no
(7) Soldiers ordered by officers to commit murder ... no
So you see, my friend, any attempt to equate Bloody Sunday with the My Lai massacre is ... ludicrous.
But, hey, don't let facts get in the way of a good argument.
Now admittedly the British Army murdered far less civilians than the US Army did at Mai Lai. But please cut the British Army some slack. I'm sure they would have murdered many more innocent kids if they'd been given a chance. Unfortunately for them, too many of the unarmed kids ran away and refused to hang about waiting to be slaughtered. Bloody cowards!
Bloody Sunday, like the Kent State massacre, shows why the Military, be they National Guard or Paratroopers should NEVER be used as cops.