Eras and Mavericks

Why the era of 9/11 and not the era of Iraq?

Dear Madam,

In today's Irish Times Deaglán de Bréadún refers to George Galloway as a 'maverick MP'. Given that a politicians responsibility is to serve the interests of his or her constituents and the public in general, in this case the constituents of Benthanal Green, do you consider the term 'maverick' an appropriate description? The majority of people in Britain do not support the war in Iraq, they do not support the continued occupation of a foreign nation and they do not support many of the present British policies in the middle east. In light of this well established information, would it not be more accurate to refer to Tony Blair and Jack Straw as the 'maverick MPs'? Since they are the principle proponents of dissent within the only important political group, the British voters.

Yours sincerely,

Plane hijacker turned politician disapproves of today's 'terrorism'

Palestine: Leila Khaled, who, in another era, was the symbol of the Palestinian struggle, makes her first visit to Ireland, writes Deaglán de Bréadún, Foreign Affairs Correspondent

In the era of 9/11 and bombs on the London underground it may be hard to believe there was once a certain glamour attached to people who carried out what would now be widely condemned as terrorist actions.

Nobody epitomised that more at one time than Leila Khaled, a member of the People's Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), who hijacked two passenger aircraft in 1969 and 1970. Far from incurring universal outrage, this elegant young woman became a media icon, wearing a kaffiyeh on her head and a ring on her finger made from a bullet and the pin of a hand grenade.

continued... The Irish Times