It is important to get to the issue here, which is perhaps why this seems inconsistent.

The issue is not whether or not the IRA did it, the issue is:
- it is now as clearly determined as it possibly could be that the IRA did it; and therefore
- whether it was right for Orde to be as specific as he was.

It should be noted, in answering that second point, that he and his predecessor have been just as specific on many occasions.

The real issue behind all this is whether the political process can move away now from the fatal mistake of negotiating basic principles of democracy and rule of law. Irrelevant of what has gone on before, the basic principles of democracy and rule of law must provide the foundations for any future settlement, not form part of the negotiation process.