ENCYCLOPEDIA OF Espionage, Intelligence, and Security Volume ...

Continuity Irish Republican ArmyA consumer information officer with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission demonstrates the danger crib slats can pose to an infant during a pressconference in 2002. AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS.CIRA is a radical terrorist splinter group formed in1994 as the clandestine armed wing of Republican SinnFein (RSF), which split from Sinn Fein in the mid-1980s.”Continuity“ refers to the group’s belief that it is carryingon the original IRA goal of forcing the British out ofNorthern Ireland, and CIRA actively seeks to recruit IRAmembers. CIRA has been active in the border areas ofNorthern Ireland where it has carried out bombings, assassinations,kidnappings, extortion, and robberies. Targetsinclude British military and Northern Ireland securitytargets and Northern Ireland Loyalist paramilitary groups.CIRA does not have an established presence on the U.K.mainland. As of May, 2002, CIRA was not observing anestablished cease-fire and in October, 2001, CIRA officialsstated that decommissioning weapons would be ”an actof treachery.“CIRA is estimated to have fewer than 50 dedicatedactivists, but is said to have recruited new members inBelfast. CIRA is suspected of receiving funds and armsfrom sympathizers in the United States. CIRA may haveacquired arms and materiel from the Balkans in cooperationwith the Real IRA.❚ FURTHER READING:ELECTRONIC:CDI (Center for Defense Information), Terrorism Project.CDI Fact Sheet: Current List of Designated Foreign TerroristOrganizations. March 27, 2003. (April 17, 2003).Central Intelligence Agency. World Factbook, 2002. (April 16, 2003).Taylor, Francis X. U.S. Department of State. ”Patterns ofGlobal Terrorism 2001,“ Annual Report: On the RecordBriefing. May 21, 2002 (April 17,2003).U.S. Department of State. Annual Reports. (April 16, 2003).SEE ALSOTerrorism, Philosophical and Ideological OriginsTerrorist and Para-State OrganizationsTerrorist Organization List, United StatesTerrorist Organizations, Freezing of Assets268 Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security