Northern Ireland: The Troubles: From The Provos to The Det, 1968–1998 (History of Terror) - Softcover

Lesley-Dixon, Kenneth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1526729172 ISBN 13: 9781526729170

Publisher: Pen and Sword Military, 2018

Synopsis

It is, of course, no secret that undercover Special Forces and intelligence agencies operated in Northern Ireland and the Republic throughout the ‘troubles’, from 1969 to 2001 and beyond. What is less well known is how these units were recruited, how they operated, what their mandate was and what they actually did. This is the first account to reveal much of this hitherto unpublished information, providing a truly unique record of surveillance, reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, collusion and undercover combat.

An astonishing number of agencies were active to combat the IRA murder squads (‘the Provos’), among others the Military Reaction Force (MRF) and the Special Reconnaissance Unit, also known as the 14 Field Security and Intelligence Company (‘The Det’), as well as MI5, Special Branch, the RUC, the UDR and the Force Research Unit (FRU), later the Joint Support Group (JSG)). It deals with still contentious and challenging issues as shoot-to-kill, murder squads, the Disappeared, and collusion with loyalists. It examines the findings of the Stevens, Cassel and De Silva reports and looks at operations Loughgall, Andersonstown, Gibraltar and others.

About this title

About the Author

Kenneth Lesley-Dixon is a writer on local British history and military history. He has recently started writing for several Pen & Sword military history series including ‘Cold War 1945–1991’, ‘Military Legacy’ and ‘Architects of Terror’.

Review

"This book focuses on the British government’s counterterrorism’s response measures, discussing how its military, police and intelligence special units were formed, their mandates, how their operatives were recruited, how they operated and their most significant operations." (Joshua Sinai, Ph. D Perspectives on Terrorism, Volume 12, Issue 5)

“What is less well known, and is one of this book’s major contributions to understanding the full nature of the warring groups responsible for the province’s protracted conflict, is how the British government’s responding military, police and intelligence special units were formed, their mandates, how their operatives were recruited, how they operated and their significant operations.... highly informative account” (Joshua Sinai The Washington Times)

About this edition

• Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1526729172
• ISBN 13: 9781526729170
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 128