The British security force’s propaganda machine, otherwise known as the RUC/PSNI press office, grabbed international headlines this week when they declared they had found a “warhead” in west Belfast. Implying that they had found a device akin to a weapon of mass destruction, or a missile left over from the cold war era.

As with the ‘justification of the illegal invasion of Iraq there was no such thing, rather it turned  out to be an old rusty relic from 30 years or more.

IR News talked exclusively to a prominent Independent republican from West Belfast who said laughingly “It was either planted or was being handed back to their MI5 handlers. It probably even had a post-it, informing the ‘security’ forces, ‘Please return to sender’!

The west Belfast search was one of a string of unusual police actions this week as tensions mounted within the British state forces ahead of the summer marching season and the G8 summit of world leaders in County Fermanagh this June.

The “warhead” was eventually revealed to have been an old RPG rocket supposedly linked to the old Provisional IRA. It was found along with a rusted rocket launcher dating from the 80s both of which appear to have came with a metal ruler.

More than ten homes on Hawthorn Street, off Springfield Road in west Belfast, were evacuated in the incident.

However, ‘security sources’ claimed the mystery device had fallen into the hands of one of the breakaway IRA groups, but had lain dormant for over a decade. A small explosion was reported in Larne on Wednesday, which reportedly damaged a fence. It provoked the RUC/PSNI to call for an evacuation of homes, but only the following day!

Also on Wednesday, the PSNI/RUC said a “very crude device” had caused an explosion outside a house in east Belfast.

In Newtownabbey, a suspect device was reported in the O’Neill Road area on Thursday evening. Earlier, the M5 motorway in the town was closed in both directions last night after “a suspicious object” was discovered. The PSNI also claimed that a device had been left on Shore Road, and evacuated homes in the Altnacreeva Park area on Wednesday.

All three alerts turned out to be hoaxes and in a fashion similar to the fictitious horizontal mortar not found on the Glen road in West Belfast, seemed designed only to disrupt the lives of local people and not as an attempt to engage the ‘security’ forces in military activity.

Although it is important to remember that these same ‘security’ forces could not make up their minds as to whether or not a ‘device’ found in Larne was as the result of a domestic feud, a criminal dispute or Republican activity!! These same ‘security’ forces also had some difficulty finding the body of a missing person even though it was within 40 yards of the area he went missing from.

Likewise these same diligent ‘security’ forces had difficulty making up their minds what was the distinction between a parade, a march, a protest or merely a dander into the town. And even after the chairman of the parades commission explained at great length what the difference was, the ‘security’ forces seemed to be in a bit of a quandary as to what was the legal constitution of a parade, a march, a protest or merely a dander into the town, with Will Kerr feeling that all of the above was outside of legislation and therefore none of them were/are illegal!!

However, Mr Kerr is only an assistant chief constable and should not be expected to know the law, so it was no real surprise when Mr Kerr’s initial assessment was overturned and both Willie Frazier and Jamie Bryson were arrested for taking part in parades, marches, protests or dandering into the town which, apparently are now considered illegal due to the parades commission not having been notified and permission sought.

All of this is a lengthy explanation as to why the reader ought to be circumspect when dealing with ‘information’ coming from the RUC/PSNI press office due to the fact that the law is now not only governed by legislation passed in parliament but also the RUC/PSNI’s view of how many people are taking part, who they are, where it is coming from and presumably what side of the bed Matt Baggot gets out off.

This time of the year, on almost as regular a basis as orange parades, tends to see a spate of mystery hoaxes and reports of dire consequence for the future of civilization as we know it emanating from the ‘security’ forces. No-one is ever charged and no new method of determining the veracity of reports is ever developed which when one looks at the amount of surveillance applied to charge Stephen Murney with having a, wait for it, computer shock-horror. Coupled with the amount of technology used to describe his ownership of a stencil promoting legitimate political party, eirigi, as an ‘act of terrorist destruction is quite surprising.

One wonders then what possible motivation there could be for such a ham fisted approach to ensuring our ‘safety’ and ‘security’? Could it be that the ‘security’ forces are now putting in their budgets? Or perhaps a suitably dangerous back ground needs to be created to ensure that the way is cleared to force in the new intelligence agency, the NCA? Or is Mr Baggot preparing his pitch for additional resources for the G8 conference? Or does Mr Baggot even know what his allies in the ‘intelligence’ services are doing?!

You don’t need to be a Republican to to know this is a total sham of a force, a couple of brain cells would suffice.