The Intelligence War against the IRA

Rezensionen / Stimmen

'An important and difficult subject, explored with skill and in very impressive, well-researched detail.' Richard English, author of Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA 'Informers and agents are central to insurgencies. They can be devastatingly effective, yet inflict terrible suffering. Meticulously dissecting the intelligence war in different regions, Leahy's analysis of how informers and agents affected the strategic interaction between republicanism and the British state is a major contribution to scholarship on the Northern Ireland conflict.' Huw Bennett, author of Fighting the Mau Mau: The British Army and Counter-Insurgency in the Kenya Emergency 'Thomas Leahy's study of the Intelligence War in Northern Ireland draws on rich new evidence from the archives to provide a well-paced, thought-provoking and richly-textured account of the impact of British Intelligence measures during the conflict. The author makes a compelling case for analysing both military and political intelligence together and offers a fresh new perspective on why it took so long to bring an end to the violence through a negotiated peace settlement.' Niall O Dochartaigh, author of From Civil Rights to Armalites: Derry and the Birth of the Irish Troubles '... sheds new light on how British intelligence used agents, informers, special-forces and surveillance in the city during the recent conflict.' Kevin Mullan, Derry Journal '... this is a well-informed, competent, accessible and engaging assessment of the role of intelligence in the periods before the IRA ceasefires. It will be useful for scholars not just of the 'Troubles' but of the role that terrorist groups and their leadership, state political actors, the security forces and intelligence can play in progress towards peace.' Samantha Newbery, Intelligence and National Security '... an easy read ... this work should be recognised as a valuable contribution to our understanding of the Northern Ireland conflict and a timely disruption of a potentially dangerous consensus.' Patrick Mulroe, History Ireland 'Thomas Leahy's The Intelligence War Against the IRA is an important new contribution to the growing, and changing, interpretations of The Troubles ... a great addition to The Troubles canon. It is a well-researched study with a diverse range of secondary material, a wealth of archival evidence and interviews with significant figures on all sides of the conflict.' Nick Clifton, History@Kingston 'This well-researched and argued study will interest students of Northern Ireland, political violence, and counterinsurgency.' A. H. Plunkett, Choice