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Japan was occupied after WWII, some parts of it physically up until 1971, and even today over 47.000 U.S troops still remain in Japan (more than in Afghanistan), but it's not occupied... of course not... shhhh don't tell anyone anyway.

There is no global support for them from Christianity...

The IRA have had contacts with foreign governments and other illegal armed organisations.

Libya has been the biggest single supplier of arms and funds to the IRA, donating large amounts (three shipments of arms in the early 1970s and another three in the mid 1980s, the latter reputedly enough to arm two regular infantry battalions) of both in the early 1970s and mid 1980s.[81]

The IRA has also received weapons and logistical support from Irish Americans in the United States, especially the NORAID group. Apart from the Libyan aid, this has been the main source of overseas IRA support. American support has been weakened by the War against Terrorism, and the fallout from the events of 11 September 2001.[82][83]

In the United States in November 1982, five men were acquitted of smuggling arms to the IRA after they revealed the Central Intelligence Agency had approved the shipment (although the CIA officially denied this).[84] There are allegations of contact with the East German Stasi, based on the testimony of a Soviet defector to British intelligence Vasili Mitrokhin. Mitrokhin revealed that although the Soviet KGB gave some weapons to the Marxist Official IRA, it had little sympathy with the Provisionals.[85] The IRA has received some training and support from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). In 1977, the Provisionals received a 'sizable' arms shipment from the PLO, including small arms, rocket launchers and explosives, but this was intercepted at Antwerp after the Israeli intelligence alerted its European counterparts [86]. In the 1980s, the Provisionals also had some contact with Hezbollah.

The IRA has been alleged to have had a co-operative relationship with Basque militant group ETA since the early 1970s. In 1973 it was accused of providing explosives for the assassination of Luis Carrero Blanco in Madrid.[87] In the 1970s, the ETA also exchanged a quntity of handguns for training in explosives with the IRA [88]. In addition, the leaders of the political wings of the respective Irish Republican and Basque separatist movements have exchanged visits on several occasions to express solidarity with each others' cause [89]. Prominent former IRA prisoners such as Brendan McFarlane and Brendan Hughes have campaigned for the release of ETA prisoners.[90][91]

In May 1996, the Federal Security Service (FSB), Russia's internal security service, publicly accused Estonia of arms smuggling, and claimed that the IRA had contacted representatives of Estonia's volunteer defense force, Kaitseliit, and some non-government groups to buy weapons.[92][93] In 2001 three Irish men who became known as the Colombia Three were arrested after allegedly training Colombian guerrillas, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in bomb making and urban warfare techniques. The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on International Relations in its report of 24 April 2002 concluded "Neither committee investigators nor the Colombians can find credible explanations for the increased, more sophisticated capacity for these specific terror tactics now being employed by the FARC, other than IRA training".

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Do you call what the allies did to Dresden 'benevolent'? Give me a break.

As for benevolent Islamic conquests, let's start with Makkah. After years of oppression, torture, expulsion and confiscation of their possessions, the Muslims conquered Makkah peacefully, and forgave all the bitterest enemies of Islam, most of whom embraced Islam upon seeing it's mercy and forgiving spirit.

How about Jerusalem? Constantinople? How about Salah'ud-deen's benevolence towards the Christians? This is well known throughout Europe.

Errr, Dresden, err, it was war zone.

The Nazi Holocaust was among the most evil genocides in history. But the Allies’ firebombing of Dresden and nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were also war crimes... We are all capable of evil and must be restrained by law from committing it.

Yes abu, i often visit that great Christian cathedral in Istanbul, Turkey.

And don't get me started on the 'benevolent' ISLAMIC conquest of Jerusalem.