[ljf]

I've heard it said that what finally helped bring an end the prolonged violences of 'The Troubles', was not the political process put in place by Blair, but the fact that after 9/11, many Americans suddenly felt a bit bad about sending money back to the IRA (no that they had experienced terrorism on their doorstep). With their main source of funding removed, the IRA was unable to keep up their armed resistance. I'm sure the situation was far more complex, but it's a fact that bars and clubs that once publicly collected money to send over, now no longer do.