Reading Room - Killing Rage

I've just finished reading Killing Rage by Eamon Collins.

This book is the personal account of Eamon Collins – an IRA man during the worst of the troubles, then turned state's witness, who is now dead, assassinated as he walked his dogs. Early on in the book a key formative event occurs that send Collins from by-stander to terrorist. A sniffer dog get excited during a search of their farm mistaking the small of creosote for explosives. The army (some of whom Collins claims had been drinking) then moved to arrest him, his dad and also his brother in a violent and protracted assault. Here is a sample of the account:

“They told me to lie on the floor [of the jeep] as three soldiers got in on either side of me. They began to hit me with their rifle buts on my legs arms, back and buttocks. I could hear my mother screaming hysterically. One of my guards shouted, 'fuck off you old whore!' as the jeeps drove off.”

During the journey and back at he army base, the torture and humiliation – akin to what we've seen in Guantanamo – continues until the army finally realise they've make a mistake and arrested 3 innocent men and release them...

“Other times I would feel a surge of rage whose power would unbalance me: I would sit alone in my room and think with pleasure of blowing the heads of those para[chute regiment] scum.”

A threat he would later make real as he proceeds to join the IRA and run intelligence operations targeting soldiers and cops. Other points he makes that are vial to understanding how a terror group operates are that without the support of committed and sizable groups of civilians to hide, provide intelligence and recruits, to finance and assist the IRA, they would simply not exist. Put simply while some of the ordinary people felt that the army and police were not there to protect them but to oppress them, they will support groups like the IRA. Here's that writ large in a reported discussion between Collins and a British intelligence officer, after he had turned against the IRA:

“One of his most interesting questions was: 'If I had unlimited resources to fight the IRA, how would you advise me to use them?' I had a simple answer: Support, encourage and make possible at every turn the development of Sinn Fein...once the Republican movement got sucked into the constitutional political system they would eventually be waving goodbye to the armed struggle.”

Which is exactly what happened. This is why the west should be taking to Hamas and the Taliban. There is simply no other choice and this book lay out why this is the case from an 'insider' point of view. Collins is also blunt about the damage the armed struggle does to the communities that support it, on how it forces the most aggressive and militant to the fore and how all involved- from the IRA to the British army – becomes locked in a military struggle of ever-descending depths.

This book should be read by all those making policy for the failing War of Terror. It gives the tactical - never mind moral – importance of why our human rights matter – more so during a time of war than in peace.

Reading Room: The Eliminationists - How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right

So what is Eliminationism? It is the view that your political opponents are so far beyond the pale that they need to be eliminated (politically growing into physically...) for the health of the body politic as a whole. The book starts with the true and chilling story of a guy going into a church and going postal - shooting people at random - until the congregation there wrestled him to the ground. The shooters justification? The church was full of liberals and liberals are trying to destroy America. It's a powerful opening and the author traces the ideas that motivated the shooter back though right-wing talk radio to far-right groups and conspiracy theorists - where they were born. What he argues is that the far-right has become enmeshed into the Republican Party to such a degree that crazy wacky ideas - the the global warming conspiracy or the 'reconquista' theory (where immigration is part of the plot to take back Texas from the US) - are now not fringe, but mainstream. In effect he is arguing that the kooks are running the asylum. It's a convincing argument and other that a slight diversion into the history of US slavery in the middle (less about Eliminationism and more about white-supremacy) is a well evidenced argument. What the book also lays out is how these crazy-ass ideas become the fertilizer for what the author calls proto-fascism - witness looney anti-Jewish ideas being the glue of the Nazis's rise to power. So what can we do about it? The author argues that we need to be robust is defending our ideas, to not back down. Yes we need to respect the average political opponent, but not in a craven way - and when the talk conspira-loon ideas (from left or right) call them out on it. It is also important to not allow ourselves to be type-cast, as that allows them to place us in a box. I enjoyed the book and it is good on the problems of US media (and to an extend the UK too) but there is not enough on solutions...

Reading Room: No Retreat

Next book - is one I read a while ago - No Retreat by Dave Hann and Steve Tilzey. I get suggested lots of books with political content and often they are worthy in the sense the topic being covered is worthwhile but often a bit depressing and/or argue a case that you agree with. When I first got this book, I was worried about that; I was wrong - it's a great book - even people who don't like political books will enjoy it - the two authors' stories within are fast moving accounts with lots of action that means the reader really enjoys the ride.

This book is about the need for, and accounts of, street fighting against the far-right from the late 60s to the early 90s in the UK. It is in two parts, one by each of the two authors; Dave Hann (who sadly died last year of cancer) and Steve Tilzey. There has been speculation and counter speculation about the authors and what they might have or might not have done. I'm going to suggest that you read their own words; they are clear about what they are doing and why....and they make a strong case.

This is a great read - not only is it a fast-paced and gripping action story, but also carries political weight both in the people the take on and the in-fighting within groups they were part of. Highly recommended.

(PS. There is some audio of one of the authors speaking online here.)

Reading Room: The Carhullan Army

I love reading. I read a lot. This year will be no exception (I hope!). But I also thought I'd like to share my reading list with others and hope that people share their back with me (either by emailing me - please put 'reading room' in the title so I can spot it in the spam, comments or blogging your own reads..) both fiction and non-fiction.

So to kick things off - I've read The Carhullan Army by Sarah Hall. It's a sort of post-apocalyptic novel set in the UK after the collapse of today's civilisation to the twin forces of climate change and peak oil. Out of the collapse, a far-right fascist feudal state controls most of the UK's population centers. Outside their control are the 'badlands' of the countryside. The novel is the narration of a woman who lives in one of these population centers who runs away to join a group of rebel women who live in a refuge established before the fall. The refuge, Carhullan, has evolved into a self-sufficient world of it's own. The novel follows her journey to Carhullan and struggles with the two paths open to the women - to fight the feudal state or sit it out and wait and see.

It is a short, but powerful novel with has echoes of the Handmaiden's Tale. It is well written in the sense the use of language is both evocative but well paced so the story is not buried in prose. The characters and the world they inhabit are believable and well-rounded. It is also powerful stuff - taking on the issue of violence and what it means on a personal level and on a larger stage. The ending (which I won't spoil) is very powerful. In short - a good read.