NO DOUBT there are more perfect illustrations of the 'Emperor's New Clothes' from time to time. But if the IRA was dressed in any new apparel when it decommissioned some weapons, they could hardly have been more scanty. Certainly they came nowhere near justifying the ecstatic cries of "Aren't they grand, aren't they fine,'' that greeted their appearance.

In its "historic" statement, the IRA didn't speak directly of decommissioning. Its exact words were: "To save the peace process we have implemented the scheme agreed with the commission (the International Commission on Decommissioning) in August.'' Precisely what that scheme was, or is, is not known.

Does "the scheme'' require full disarmament? Probably not, since the IRA's statement suggests that whatever action was taken fulfilled the scheme. What types of weapons, and how many, were decommissioned isn't known, and Gen John De Chastelain, the decommissioning chief, has made the admission that he doesn't even know in which country "the event'', as he calls it, took place.

But the British Government not only immediately began dismantling security posts, it has also granted an amnesty to terrorists still at large. So we now have Tony Blair sending commandos into Afghanistan, to root out a terrorist whose organisation has not so far attacked Britain, while offering pardons to terrorists whose organisation has inflicted death and destruction on Britain for more than 30 years.

The Rev Ian Paisley is among the least appealing of Northern Ireland politicians, but when he says he is "astounded'' that the "Prime Minister, Secretary of State and Chief Cosntable are proceeding with the destruction of army installations and providing terrorists with an amnesty on the basis of an unspecified event where an unspecified number of weapons of an unspecified type were put beyond use in an unspecified way at an unspecified location'' - it is almost impossible not to agree.

Even as he spoke, work was continuing on building the latest of the 20-plus "peace walls'' that divide communities in Belfast. And since then, a British soldier has been critically injured by a bomb intended to kill. Yes, led by Downing Street, the "Rejoice Rejoice'' reaction to the IRA's token decommissioning seems more than a little premature.

Last week I suggested the Afghan war might last "four, 14, or perhaps even 40 years''. Almost on cue, Sir Michael Boyce, Chief of Defence Staff, predicted the conflict could last half a century. "We are fighting an idea,'' he said. "The war against Communism took 50 years to win, and I wonder if we shouldn't be thinking of it like that.''

No we shouldn't. Characterising the war as a battle of ideas will confirm the view of those who say we are fighting Islam rather than terrorism. The truth is we don't need to win hearts and minds to win this war. Solving the Israel-Palestine problem would go a long way - removing the main root cause of the terrorism.

Meanwhile, it is astonishing to hear top military people expressing surprise that the Taliban hasn't caved in yet. We didn't cave in to the Blitz, did we? And our troops didn't come out with their hands up when Jerry dropped leaflets raising fears of what wives and girlfriends might be up to back home. We fought all the harder because of these threats.

www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/news/mead.html