“I’m sure I don’t need to tell you, Robin, that there’s only ever one way of solving any problem, and that is to remove the cause of it.”
The Cabinet Secretary nodded.
“And the cause of the problem in Northern Ireland,” continued the Prime Minister, “is that the Unionists want to stay part of the United Kingdom while the Republicans want unification, and the British out of Ireland altogether. On the face of it, two irreconcilable requirements, which mean, we have always assumed, that the cause of the problem cannot be removed. All that consecutive British Governments have done is play for time. We have given too many concessions over the years, and sacrificed too many lives. Now, public opinion is swinging towards cutting loose from Northern Ireland, getting rid of the problem - the eternal thorn in our side - one way or the other, even if, some say, it means granting unification. The fact that civil war would inevitably follow does not seem to bother many people, say some of the pollsters. But it bothers me, and I believe there could be another possible way ahead, if we initiate three areas of action simultaneously. All three areas of activity would have to be very closely co-ordinated and effected over a very short period of time if they are to work at all, either on their own or together.”
“First, there would have to be what I shall call a military offensive, where we clear out the terrorist leadership and hardliners, both nationalist and republican, and those terrorists masquerading as politicians, while at the same time getting rid of their arms and weapons. In parallel, we launch a major financial effort to empty their coffers totally, so that they cannot re-arm. And thirdly, we negotiate a political solution acceptable to all the parties involved, including the British public. This, I believe, is where America has a major role to play, having agreed the overall strategy. Hence my need to see President Minton privately.”
To the Prime Minister’s obvious annoyance, the office intercom buzzed.
Sir Robin Algar stood to deal with it. “Shall I?” he asked.
“If you would. But I thought Jane knew not to interrupt”.
“It’s probably the file you asked for - you remember? The technician from the COBR?”
The PM nodded.
“Yes, Jane?” Sir Robin bent over the machine on the desk.
“Sorry to interrupt,” she said, “but you did ask to be told when Jack Bennett’s file arrived. I’ve got it here now.”
“I’ll come and get it,” said Algar.
On his return, the Cabinet Secretary asked, “Do you want to look at this now, Prime Minister, or later?”
“Later - when I’ve explained a few more details about this proposed strategy. You will see then why we need a careful look at that man’s background. But you can tell Jane that she can go home when she’s ready, once the night duty staff are all in - there’s no need for her to hang around.”
“Very good, Prime Minister.”
With the door firmly shut behind him again, Sir Robin Algar returned to his chair with the folder. “You were going to tell me about the three-pronged approach you had in mind, Prime Minister, one of which -” he looked anxiously at the man seated opposite him,“- one of which involved ‘clearing out’ - I think that was your expression - the terrorists. You hadn’t in mind internment again, had you?”
“No, certainly not.” Tony Weaver was emphatic. “That didn't work last time, and in fact proved to be quite counter-productive.”
“Exactly.” said Algar. “It proved a great challenge to the terrorist gangs, who simply filled the vacuum as we created it by recruiting more and more members. It was a politically difficult gambit, anyway, in terms of civil liberties, and our international allies were uneasy about the whole episode.”
“They will be even more uneasy about this proposal, let me tell you, if ever they suspect that the ‘clear out’ is a direct result of any official HMG policies.”
The PM frowned. “Which is why we have to be ultra-careful about how we set this up, and who knows about it. As I said earlier, we must ensure the utmost secrecy about the whole affair, and only the minimum number of the most trustworthy people must know the whole plot. Let me say again what I said a short while ago. Nothing must ever be put in writing about any of this. Which is why I still have your clipboard.” He waved it in the air to add emphasis.
“Any briefings must be given verbally, and face to face whenever possible. We shall need a special and exclusive code for those occasions where something simply has to be put on paper.”
The Prime Minister paused briefly for thought.
“There will be times during this when money has to change hands - expenses, fees, that sort of thing. It will have to be in cash - no cheques, nothing in writing. We’ll need to work out how that is to be done, and sweep up the paper work afterwards.”
“But I’m drifting into detailed tactics before I’ve outlined the major aspects of the strategy.”
Weaver sipped his whisky.
“Let me brutally frank about this, Robin. When I say ‘clearing out’, I mean removing them permanently out of harm’s way. In a word, execution - nothing less”, pronounced the Prime Minister. “And without a formal trial. I don’t plan legislation to re-introduce the death penalty, or anything like that.”
“But my dear sir,” exploded the Cabinet Secretary, “You cannot possibly be advocating such a course of action as official Government policy. That would be simply outrageous!”
“Now you just listen to me, Robin,” interrupted Weaver, leaning forward and jabbing the air with the clipboard. “This sort of thing has been done before as you well know, and not just by those to whom democracy is a foreign word, but by British Governments, by American administrations, and by others who have felt sufficiently compelled by the need to be able to justify the means. And it is still done from time to time. What I have in mind differs only in scale, and in the way it will be carried out.”
“I shall need some convincing of this,” Sir Robin Algar looked deeply worried. He was certainly not expecting such a Wild West approach from such a level headed and sophisticated politician.
“And I shall need to convince many others, too, as I in turn was convinced by James Anchor and Major Clayton. But don’t you even begin to feel sorry for these people, Robin. They entered into their life of terrorism and violent crime quite willingly and fully knowing the risks, without a second thought for their victims or even their own families.”
Weaver looked closely at Sir Robin Algar.
“But you are my litmus paper, as well as my most trusted colleague, inside or outside of politics. If you do not agree to the whole plan as I shall outline it to you this evening, then nothing further will happen, and I shall have no further convincing to do. You may think that places an unfair responsibility on your shoulders, Robin, but the ultimate responsibility for all this rests with me, and I simply cannot canvas these ideas too widely. Can you imagine putting this to a Cabinet Committee for recommendation?”
“Perhaps not!” agreed Algar, with a grin. “And I appreciate your trust and confidence.”
“But you are right to show such concern,” continued Weaver. “It’s a concern I shared when I initially discussed the outline of this in the Officers’ Mess in Belfast. And I can tell you that I am still concerned, but now rather more of the consequences of failure than the consequences of proceeding.”
“You talked about justifying this. Take me through that,” asked Sir Robin.
“The authorities here, and across the water, have enough evidence against most of the terrorist leadership, from both sides, to convince anyone of their involvement in murder, explosions, rioting and no end of other criminal activity. But they simply cannot get them into a court of law because of the power and the level of influence the terrorists gangs wield, together with the degree of intimidation they are able to exercise against any possible witnesses - not to mention a few leading lawyers, barristers and policemen, as well. So justice as we know it is not available to us to rid society of these scum. Justification for ridding society of them, on the other hand, we do have, in spades.”
“Major Bill Clayton is a most interesting man,” continued the Prime Minister. “And he is probably one of the most knowledgeable men in the Province - certainly about the main players in and supporters of the various terrorist groups. He knows who they are, where they are, what they have done in the past and, in many cases, what they plan to do in the future. He has been able to infiltrate every one of the terrorist organisations, and in one or two cases their political wings as well, either by getting members of his own team into them, or by turning existing members. The dangers which these people face and the risks they take simply do not bear thinking about.”
“I well remember the case of Captain Robert Niarac some years ago,” mused Algar.
“Exactly so,” continued the PM. “His cover was blown, and he paid the ultimate penalty. It was a very public affair, too, but there have been others who have not been so exposed to the glare of publicity. Special Branch and MI5 know only some of Clayton’s sources, he tells me. There are others known only to him. He does not necessarily share all his intelligence sources or information with others, either - even within his own service - for fear of betrayal.”
“But he has entrusted some of this intelligence to you, has he?” asked Sir Robin.
“No, he hasn’t. And neither will he. What he will do, though, and in one or two cases already has done at our subsequent private meetings at Chequers, is to present us with sufficient evidence to convince us of the guilt of known terrorists and others in the political wings of the terrorist organisations. Much of this would readily stand up in court if ever presented in evidence. Some of it, however, is more circumstantial in the absence of witness statements and so on. But I am convinced that he is well enough informed to be able to bring forward adequate evidence to prove, to any reasonable man, the guilt of most of the top people in all these organisations. In other words, he can provide the moral justification for the elimination of sufficient people to leave their organisations totally leaderless and impotent.”
“How many are we talking about,” asked the Cabinet Secretary.
“I can’t tell you that, because I haven’t yet asked the question myself. All Clayton has said so far is ‘enough’. There is an interesting twist to this, incidentally. Clayton is convinced that, on past experience, the terrorists’ organisations themselves will help us in this task of elimination, particularly of the lower level members, by mounting tit-for-tat operations of their own. A little black propaganda from the Psy. Ops. people will help to get that under way, he is convinced, and the police should be able to control it. You can imagine how important that will be in diverting attention and countering any allegations that might start flying around about the Government having instituted a ‘shoot to kill’ policy.”
“Neat”, commented Sir Robin. “Very neat. But how will this part of the plan be executed, if I may use the word? And by whom?”
“I think the ‘by whom’ part is probably the easiest. We have plenty of Special Forces about who are highly trained and well able to put such a plan into effect. We shall - Clayton’s suggestion this - take a leaf out of the IRA’s book, play them at their own game, and operate with very small, self-contained units, who will be unknown to one another. Once their task is completed, they will return to their normal duties, or, if necessary, be given another, seemingly unrelated, task. They will have no clue that they are or have been a part of a much bigger operation, although some may later guess at it. But they will never be able to prove it. Nothing in writing, remember. And - again Clayton’s idea - no bodies, if we can manage it. No bodies, no post-mortems. Either that, or natural causes where that can be arranged. People are either seen to have died naturally, or they disappear, or they are killed off by their opposite numbers as part of a tit-for-tat operation.”
“And we only act against those where there is judged, in normal circumstances, to be sufficient evidence to have brought a conviction in court?” queried Sir Robin.
“Right,” said the PM.
“So who takes the decision? Who decides that we are morally justified in taking the lives of these people?”
“You do,” replied Tony Weaver.
The Cabinet Secretary blanched, and picked up his now empty whisky glass.
“Have another,” said the PM, reaching for the decanter. “You look as if you need it.”
“That was below the belt,” complained Algar. “I certainly wasn’t expecting that reply when I asked the question.”
“Your responsibilities in this affair will be more than just allowing it to proceed if I convince you of its practicality,” said the Prime Minister. “I will underwrite your recommendations if you wish. You will work with one other, a law officer of your choice, in whom you must have absolute trust. But there will be much to be done, and it must all be done by the minimum number of people, for the sake of security if for no other reason.”
“What else do you have in store for me?” queried Algar.
“To answer that, perhaps I should move on to brief you about another phase in this operation. To my mind, although perhaps not to yours, this is almost more tricky than the area I’ve already touched upon, not least because the risks of leaks are greater.” responded the Prime Minister. “And you will have a pivotal role to play, certainly in the planning of it, because of your many contacts at high level. I’m talking now about money.”
“Right,” said Sir Robin. This was certainly an area where he would feel more at home - he hoped, anyway. “You talked earlier of a major effort to ‘clear their coffers.’ Tell me more.”
“Well,” said Tony Weaver, “it will be no good trying to get international agreement to freeze their assets, even if I thought for a minute that such agreement would be achievable, or bring the required results. For a start, it would be a very public step to take, which would in itself not make much sense as a stand-alone policy. So people would become suspicious and start to speculate about our real motives. No, our efforts here need to be clandestine, too, so as not to draw attention to our anti-terrorist campaign and also so as to be more effective than any international effort might be.”
“So what have you in mind?” probed Sir Robin. “Off the top of my head, I can’t envisage any scheme that would deprive all the terrorist organisations of their considerable funds. And surely, we would also need to ensure that their funds are not immediately replaced. How would that be done?”
“Preventing the funds from being replaced might not, in the end, be as difficult as it sounds”, claimed the Prime Minister. “Much of their money has traditionally come from overseas supporters, like NORAID in America, from Libya and, to a certain extent Iran and Iraq. The IRA has also been earning an income from training other terrorists, for instance in Colombia. But they have all increasingly been raising their own funds through their own activities.”
“I’ve seen a few intelligence documents about this,” said Sir Robin. “I wish now I’d read them more thoroughly before passing them in to you.”
“We all have too much to read,” said the PM. “but at present Northern Ireland’s terrorist groups are raising some £20m a year through organised crime, and this is far more than they need for their day to day operations, particularly since bombings and other explicit acts of terrorism have decreased since the cease fires were declared. But they spend a lot supporting their own victims, prisoners’ families, training and so on.”
“What sort of crime raises that sort of money?” asked the Cabinet Secretary.
“Armed robbery, smuggling, counterfeiting, drug dealing, social security fraud, extortion, you name it. A major source of income,” continued Weaver, “is fuel laundering, made possible by the large differences in fuel duty between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. Even the small terrorist organisations, like the Loyalist Volunteer Force, which has a tiny membership, raises some £2m a year, while the four main loyalist para-military groups raise about £4m a year between them.”
“So they’re all earning more than they need,” said Algar.
“Considerably more,” said the PM. “They have countless millions stashed away in accounts all round the world.”
“I begin to see why stopping their fund-raising might be easier than tracing that lot,” said Sir Robin.
Tony Weaver grinned.
“Bill Clayton already knows where most of the major accounts are,” he said.
“Does he, by Jove?” exclaimed Algar.
“He does. And what you have to do is find a way of getting the money and closing the accounts!”
“Is that all!” said Sir Robin. “And even if it did prove possible to get at it in some way, what’s to stop this annual flow of £20m, or more perhaps, replacing it almost at once.”
“Several things,” said the Prime Minister. “First of all, the groups will be leaderless. There will be no-one left of any significance to go about the fund raising business. The income from crime will dwindle, as the gangs get broken up, foreign support will also fall away very quickly, especially from the States, when word gets around that terrorism in Northern Ireland is collapsing, and finally, Robin, there will be nowhere for supporters to deposit any cash even if they wanted to, because you will have closed all the known accounts.”
“I will?”
“I certainly hope so. It’s crucial to the whole operation that their funds are denied them, otherwise, they will, in time, simply re-group and re-arm as they have in the past. And, incidentally, as they are now. Decommissioning has achieved nothing, in effect. The IRA in particular, and the smaller loyalist groups, are simply using their wealth to replace all the weapons which the decommissioning body thinks it has put beyond further use.”
“I was going to ask you about that,” said Algar. “You mentioned earlier that part of your grand plan was to get rid of their arms. If the decommissioning body can’t do that, how can we?”
“Easily.” replied the PM, confidently. “Probably one of the easiest parts of the whole thing - except, perhaps, for the brave souls who will actually have to do it.”
Tony Weaver got up, stretched, and walked across his office to switch on the table lamp.
“Let me remind you what’s been happening so far,” he said, topping up their glasses from the decanter.
“The IRA has by far the largest stock of arms, ammunition and explosives. Loyalist stockpiles are relatively insignificant, although the Republicans would like to see them decommissioned, in the same way that everyone else wants to see the IRA’s put beyond use. So the gallant Australian General, who is now heading the international commission formed to get rid of these arms, concentrated his efforts on republican weaponry, egged on by the Unionists, who made all kinds of threats against his failure. But the republicans were never going to give up their main - if not only - source of power and influence. That would be too much like surrender. However, after considerable procrastination, some arms dumps were eventually ‘decommissioned’, to the General’s satisfaction, and to the delight of the Unionists. Only a few small dumps, however, containing a relatively insignificant number of weapons, were actually sealed permanently, but their contents were almost immediately replaced from abroad - usually Libya. In all the other cases, the terrorists had been busy during their years of apparent inactivity, secretly tunnelling alternative entry points to all their major dumps, normally disused bunkers or nuclear shelters in the Republic. Once completed, these dumps had then been ceremoniously decommissioned, usually by the immediate sealing up of the entrance with tons of concrete after a final inspection by the General and his team. Within days, the weapons had been moved out via the new tunnels to freshly developed sites or other existing dumps.”
“So the sum total of all those years of negotiation has been virtually nothing,” said Sir Robin. “In spite of what the general public impression might be.”
“Quite.”
“Thus, the time has come for direct action?” asked Algar,
“Quite”, repeated the PM.
“How, exactly,” asked Sir Robin Algar.
“Details yet to be worked out,” replied the PM, “but our learned Major Clayton and others know the exact location of all the major dumps. Spy satellites are wonderful! As a matter of interest, the Dublin Government knows where they are, too, but they’re not about to do anything. So we shall.”
“With their agreement?”
“Or without”, replied the PM. “But I very much hope that when push comes to shove, they will be with us. I also very much hope that it’s the Americans who will be doing the shoving.”
“Ah,” exclaimed Sir Robin. “Now we come to the politics of it all, no doubt, and our mystery visit to the States this weekend. I can see that it might just be possible to get rid of arms, perhaps money, or even people, but how does one create a lasting political solution out of all that?”
“With great difficulty,” sighed Weaver. “But this is where James Anchor has made a considerable contribution to the thinking behind this plan, and he has convinced me that there is a solution, in spite of the difficulties. However, it has to be agreed quickly, at the outset, and be ready to be put in place immediately the conditions are right, and terrorism is finally ridden from Northern Ireland. If we cannot get early agreement to that, then there is probably little point in launching the other aspects of this initiative.”
“What does America know of this plot so far?”
“Absolutely nothing,” said Tony Weaver, “because up till now, there’s been absolutely nothing to know. But the chance came up this afternoon to get us invited to the States, and it was too good a chance to miss. From America’s point of view, the timing couldn’t be better for launching this initiative, as there’s so much in it for them. With Presidential elections coming up soon, and Bill Minton wanting a second term, he can hardly refuse the bait. At least that’s my hope.”
“But we are taking this at a bit of a gallop, aren't we?” asked the ever-cautious Head of the Civil Service. “We’re not leaving ourselves much time at all to think through the details or consult colleagues if the Americans are to be brought in on it this very weekend.”
“My dear Robin, we are not going to consult,” countered the Prime Minister. “If you agree with me that it’s worth the huge political risk to tackle the troubles head on, now, then we’ll do it. The details will look after themselves, and we shall be telling people what to do, not asking them.”
Here was the sharp brain of Tony Weaver at its’ crisp best, thought Sir Robin Algar. He guessed that the PM already had a pretty clear idea of the detail, and knew what needed to be done, by whom, and when.
“But why the sudden rush?” asked Sir Robin again.
“Why not?” countered Weaver. “The sooner we get this thing started, the sooner it will all be over. And I don’t want the whole thing to take forever, either. It must be done at great speed, with every aspect closely co-ordinated, otherwise those who oppose us will have time to develop their own tactics, and thwart our plans. I do not intend that anyone shall have time to work out the end game, until I tell them, by when it will be too late.”
Algar looked increasingly worried.
“Of course,” continued the PM, “we shall need to brief a select few on the whole plan, but others need only know about that part which directly effects them or in which they must get directly involved. You, for instance, will need the help of one of our top criminal lawyers, and you will need to enlist the help of one of your financial friends from the City if we are to break the terrorists’ banks. But your lawyer need not know about our planned bank raids, if I may call them that, any more than your financial advisor needs to know about plans for top terrorists to be taken out of circulation. And almost no-one needs to know about the political solution I have in mind, until I’m ready to make a statement to the House and put the whole thing into operation.”
“You were going to move on to discuss the politics of it all,” said Sir Robin, “but I take the point about people who ‘need to know’ and those who don’t. I suppose you will want to be kept informed about who is taking the lead in various fields, who else is being asked for advice, and so on?”
“I absolutely insist on it,” said Weaver emphatically. “And I shall want to know before they are contacted, formally or informally. We can discuss later the sort of people we shall need with us - the absolute minimum, you understand - but first of all let me try to brief you on what I have in mind as the political solution.”
“Please,” said Sir Robin, wondering if the brilliant man across the table from him really had hit on the kind of workable solution that had escaped so many others before him.
“Let me remind you where we are starting from,” began Weaver. “Years of effort have shown that the gap between the two communities of Northern Ireland is simply unbridgeable, and it is so because we got partition all wrong all those years ago. There never was a balanced community in Northern Ireland, and since then no solution has been found which is acceptable to both. Neither, it has to be said, has a formula ever been found which might, in time, bring a solution. Peace talks don’t bring peace, and therefore something like the Bosnia solution, for all its faults, is not available to us either. The Northern Ireland Assembly has done nothing but buy a little time, and power sharing will never work while each side has a huge arsenal with which to reinforce its demands at the slightest whim. So, without a solution to the problem in prospect, we must try a little lateral thinking, and see if we can’t remove the problem itself.”
“There are those, of course,” interrupted the Sir Robin Algar, “who believe that there is a demographic solution on the horizon. Given that the Catholic population tends to be procreating faster than the Protestants, they will, in time, be in the majority.”
“Yes, but that’s no solution,” countered the Prime Minister, “it simply reverses the problem, and puts the boot onto the other foot, so to speak. When Republicans are in a position to seek union with the south through the ballot box, it will be the unionists who use violence to resist. No, the only solution is to remove the problem.”
“And how on earth do you begin to remove the political problem?” asked a puzzled Cabinet Secretary.
“This is James Anchor at his brilliant best,” replied the Prime Minister, “I asked him exactly the same question, and the answer really is so blindingly obvious that I am surprised it has never been suggested before.”
“It may be an obvious solution,” said Sir Robin, “but is it a practical one?”
“I think it could be. We remove the problem by removing the United Kingdom from the equation,” said the Prime Minister, “and the Republic of Ireland.”
Robin Algar looked aghast. This would never work, he was sure.
“How?” he asked, simply.
“By replacing both nations by a third, acceptable to both the feuding parties.”
“You mean the United States of America?” Robin Algar was incredulous.
“That’s exactly what I mean,” said the Prime Minister. “Think about it. Present British rule is acceptable to one side, but not the other. Similarly, Irish rule would be equally acceptable to one side, but not the other. So no solution rests within the status quo, and no solution rests in giving way to the republicans. That’s the problem. So remove the problem, and a solution becomes possible, given a third party who just might be acceptable to both persuasions.”
“But are you seriously suggesting that we somehow give Northern Ireland away to America?” Sir Robin Algar was now ever more convinced that he had been wasting an evening.
“More than that,” replied Tony Weaver. “I’m suggesting that the Republic of Ireland also gives up its independence, and that the whole island of Ireland becomes America’s fifty-first State.”
Robin Algar slumped back in his chair, and took a rather large swig from his glass. He looked across at the man opposite him - a man who he had always held in the highest esteem, probably the sharpest brained and best Prime Minister he had ever served. He could see from the intense look on Weaver’s face that he was serious about this whole business. He was even now looking to Sir Robin with an almost pleading expression on his face, willing his old friend and ally to agree, or at least give some sign that his idea might at least be worth discussing further. For his part, the Cabinet Secretary could see now why Weaver was so keen for the minimum number of people to be briefed on the whole scenario. This was instant political death if handled wrongly, or indeed, if made public at all until the time was right. ‘Only people who were totally trustworthy’, Weaver had said. Were there any trustworthy enough? Was he, even? Weaver obviously thought he was, so he supposed he ought to be flattered by that. And now that Weaver had dared to share his thinking with him, he had in turn handed Algar enormous power. He had handed the Cabinet Secretary his whole future as a politician.
Could this seemingly hare-brained idea possibly work, wondered, Algar? Tony Weaver obviously thought so. Indeed, in a few days’ time, he was going to share his ideas with the American President, unless Algar could persuade him other