Al, I lived and worked in Northern Ireland for 5 years, between 1987 and 1992. There was a real climate of fear, but the changes we see now were a result of negociations between top brass in both our governments, and paramilitaries on both sides. It was well known that IRA and Loyalist terrorists and sympathizers lived in certain housing estates and areas, eg Crossmaglen, Belfast and Derry. But, apart from 1972 (BLoody Sunday), there was never a large scale military incursion into a civilian residential area to engage in close quarter combat using heavy machinery . The reason was that this would have inflamed the conflict, and for every IRA man (and sympathizer) killed, ten more would have been created. This was precisely the result of Bloody Sunday when 12 people were killed. IRA membership rocketed immediately in the aftermath. I believe Our actions are not eliminating terrorism ,they are creating it.