Europe's Taliban

Simon Jenkins, in The Guardian, speaks for me on this one:

"Why do rats float while good men sink? Readers may have exploded over the headline on this page yesterday. It read "A fascinating, gracious man", and crowned a eulogy on Northern Ireland's retiring first minister, Ian Paisley, written by his one-time bitterest foe, Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin/IRA.

"Adams described Paisley as variously civilised, good-humoured, respectful, cordial and a man whom "I would like to know better". Funny that Adams, or at least his friends, spent much of their lives trying to kill him or his ilk. As for Paisley's role in inciting violence and tension, it "whetted my political appetite and radicalised a generation of young people like myself". It was almost a thank you. It was sickening."

Comments

[Putzi]

Oliver, do you here compare Ian Paisley to the Taliban? That is surely not a serious point?

Martin Bell was once given some "digs", as you say, by Paisley's supporters. That was wrong, of course. But he wasn't so seriously beaten by these people, was he?

The Taliban way would be: murder him and send the execution-pictures to his family. To me, that seems like a big difference!