The articles, however, serve a useful function in that they illustrate the deficiencies in intelligence available to the British in assessing the 'enemy' which, following the breakdown of the cease fire, they continue to face. It is interesting that a magazine conglomerate such as Janes retains the services of an outside journalist to furnish this assessment. The Defence and Intelligence publication is known for the close links its regular staff have to both British and overseas military and intelligence sources. The failure of those sources to deliver first-hand knowledge is indicative of the difficulties the British face in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the Irish Republican Army. The article sets out both the structure of the Republican Army and a brief assessment of those intelligence units ranged against it.
Some obvious deficiencies exist in respect of the latter.
We are told the Garda Special Detective Unit is the counter-subversive unit of the Irish Police. Operating from its base at Harcourt Street in Dublin, it can also call on detectives 'outside' Dublin who may also carry out a Special branch role. This brief analysis understates the nature and extent of the Irish Police operation against both the IRA and fringe republican movements. It under-rates the ability of the IRA to stay one step ahead of a formidable police machine in the 26 Counties over thirty years. This position, more formalised in the recent years of 'Anglo-Irish cooperation', may be potentially politically embarrassing but none the less is a fact.