The Dirty War

Media:	Paperback
Author:	Martin Dillon
Publisher:	Routledge
Release date:	June, 1999
Our price:	$32.95

The Dirty War

Average rating: Stars

Age old problem for a modern dilemma...

In this `whose to blame' world the paradox portrayed by this work are the responsibilities involved in peacekeeping. The conflict in Northern Ireland has been a huge burden for the British, who have little real sympathy for either side.

However, the main thesis of Martin Dillon's The Dirty War surrounds the notion that covert intelligence procedures and operations, which require a greater intimacy between the hunter and the hunted, are sinister by nature. Somehow, to the uninitiated there seems to be a cleansing process associated by not knowing the enemy.

The `dirty' part of The Dirty War centers on the concept of assassination. Because, in an unconventional war much of the fighting and dying is done in the shadows, ambushes and small-unit actions dominate the battlefield. The problem then, seems to be that if the attacker did not know the identify of those killed it was war; if they did, it was assassination. The difference is arbitrary, in as much, as every soldier who responds to the will of those who make policy, and war understands the ugliness and reality of combat.

Herein lies the nexus between the historical struggle between the British and Northern Ireland, and the American forces in modern low intensity conflict. Operating in a democracy, controlled by the rule of law, the overriding principal that governs counterinsurgency warfare tactics is that of minimum force. This self-imposed code of ethics often appears to offer the insurgents an unfair advantage. However, as is the case in Northern Ireland so it is in Afghanistan, Iraq, and future conflicts to come...responsibility comes with power, and the United States and Great Britain, if they want to be treated with global respect, must exercise one with the other.

The Dirty War - Martin Dillon

Best book I have read on Northern Ireland

There are many reasons to buy and admire Martin Dillon's 'The Dirty War,' which is nothing less than a monumental achievement in investigative journalism. Dillon peels the lid off a very large can of worms--two decades of undercover conflict between the IRA (Official and Provisional), British Army, RUC, Loyalists and assorted other players in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 1990. The author's painstaking research (including many first-hand interviews with participants) and scrupulous objectivity should make this book required reading in newsrooms and journalism schools everywhere. But it's not some dry exercise. A lot of 'The Dirty War' rivals the best non-fiction crime and detective writing. Dillon knows how to tell a story. He also has a knack of involving the reader in his exhaustive analysis of individual incidents and themes. When answers aren't evident, his not afraid to admit it; rather, he asks questions and draws us in. This book is an absolute must for anyone interested in the modern British Army and its counterterrorist tactics. But it's not an anti-British book and it's not an anti-IRA book. It IS continually fascinating and, refreshingly, has a strong moral compass in the author's value set to help the reader through the unpleasantness.

Martin Dillon - The Dirty War

Dillon knows his Irish history

A good book by Dillon. He covers all parts of the Northern Irish Troubles, including British Army and security forces undercover actions and the way in which the IRA use devious "honeytraps" to tempt British Army men to their deaths. It also gives a section on the little known Loyalist paramilitary forces. I Liked this book as it was easy to read and gives a good insight into the past 30 years of the troubles. Anyone who is just getting into Irish history and is unsure about what to read, The Dirty War is an excellent starting point as, from the start, it gives you no illusions, even the title tells the truth.

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