“then Stormont remains a mini-model of the old cold war doctrine of ‘mutually assured destruction’.”

BBC NI political editor Mark Devenport picks up on the “outstanding politician” Peter Robinson’s reference to “a clever device” to ensure full compliance on today’s “deal”. From Mark’s BBC report

Such a swift resort to pressure politics belies some of the high flown rhetoric on display at the launch of the Hillsborough Agreement. If this saga started with Martin McGuinness threatening the so called “nuclear option” then Stormont remains a mini-model of the old cold war doctrine of “mutually assured destruction”. No wonder one DUP source resorted to an old Ronald Reagan quote “Trust But Verify” to describe the spirit of this deal.

Although it didn’t necessarily start there


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