IRA is linked to 'axis of evil'*** THE IRA was linked to President Bush's "axis of evil" in Washington last night when congressional investigators revealed that the Bogota authorities believed Iranian terrorists had trained in the same part of Colombia as the Provisionals. Placing the IRA within a global network of terrorism, a report by the House International Relations Committee concluded that Irish, Iranian, Cuban and possibly Spanish groups had probably "been sharing techniques, honing their terrorism skills, using illicit drug proceeds in payment".
In an attempt to limit the political damage, Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Fein, had earlier declined an invitation to appear before a hearing of the committee today on the IRA's relationship with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia [Farc] narco-terrorists. "Colombian authorities assert that not only has the IRA operated in the former safe haven on behalf of the Farc, but also the Iranians, Cubans, and possibly Eta [Basque terrorists], among others," a summary of the committee's report said.
The inquiry was launched last summer after James Monaghan and Martin McAuley, both convicted of IRA offences, and Niall Connolly, Sinn Fein's representative in Cuba, were arrested in Bogota and charged with aiding the Farc. "Colombia is a potential breeding ground for international terror equalled perhaps only by Afghanistan, and the IRA findings are the strongest among these global links because of the arrests of the three Irish nationals and the accompanying evidence," said the summary.***