WEDNESDAY, MAR 9, 2011 13:57 ET Does Peter King know the IRA killed an American? A London car bombing by the Irish terrorist group -- backed by the now-congressman -- left one young American dead
BY JUSTIN ELLIOTT
After a decade of U.S. politics dominated by blanket denunciations of terrorism, Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., has given several media interviews about his longtime support for the Irish Republican Army and revealed that he believes some forms of terrorism are acceptable.
King is in the news right now because he's holding a hearing Thursday on "radicalization" of U.S. Muslims, and many people have pointed out the contradiction between his defense of Irish terrorism and his opposition to Muslim terrorism.
Now, King's standard of good versus bad terrorism seems to have a lot to do with whether King supports the cause in question, but has also specified some characteristics of acceptable terrorism. Here's what he told the Times:
Of comparisons between the terrorism of the I.R.A. and that of Al Qaeda and its affiliates, Mr. King said: “I understand why people who are misinformed might see a parallel. The fact is, the I.R.A. never attacked the United States. And my loyalty is to the United States."
It may be that the IRA never attacked inside the United States. But it's not true that the group never claimed any American victims in attacks targeting civilians. In the notorious December 1983 strike on Harrods in London, for example, an IRA car bomb was set outside the department store in the early afternoon during the busy Christmas shopping season.
The bomb killed six people -- including an American citizen -- and injured another 90.
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