British army tears downwatchtower that spied on IRA chief

GLASDRUMMAN, Northern Ireland -- For 15 years, the British army has relied upon a fortified watchtower on Northern Ireland's most treacherous stretch of border to keep an eye on the reputed Irish Republican Army chief next door.

But in another important move in Northern Ireland's peace process, soldiers with metal-cutting tools began Wednesday to tear down the hilltop tower -- arguably the most politically significant of the army's border outposts to be sacrificed, since it offers a bird's eye view into the home of Thomas "Slab" Murphy.

Army officers who spoke to an Associated Press reporter at the Glasdrumman observation tower said the fact they were starting to demolish it demonstrated growing British faith that the 4 1/2-year-old IRA cease-fire would last.

"It's fantastic, frankly, that as a result of the reduced threat we can feel confident in taking this step," said Capt. Archie Douglas, commanding a small detachment of The King's Own Scottish Borderers at the watchtower, which is accessible only by helicopter.

"As of now, there's no more surveillance being conducted from this site," Douglas said, noting that the green steel tower, normally bristling with high-tech cameras and electronic eavesdropping equipment, had already been stripped bare.

On a misty, rainswept January day, the Glasdrumman fort makes a particularly grim residence. The helipad is covered by a machine-gunner crouching behind sandbags.

The soldiers who camp out here for days at a time have quarters underground, where they sleep four to a room, and have a well-equipped gym and satellite TV to keep them busy when not monitoring the locals. "This place isn't dull. Every day's a little different," insisted Sgt. Gordon Montgomery. "Everything you trained for is put to the test here. They don't call it 'bandit country' for nothing."

Britain has already substantially reduced its military installations and forces in Northern Ireland in support of the province's 1998 peace accord and, in particular, in hopes of encouraging the IRA to keep getting rid of its own stockpiled weaponry.

Reward of disarmament

The IRA in October scrapped one cache of guns, bullets and explosives in conjunction with an independent disarmament commission. Britain immediately rewarded the IRA move by designating two other South Armagh watchtowers for destruction.

The British army this week also announced the biggest base in Londonderry, the province's second-largest city, would close by late next year. Britain says that since 1995 it has cut its Northern Ireland installations from 105 to 59 and its troop strength from more than 17,000 to 13,500.

But until now, the Glasdrumman facility, able to monitor traffic around Murphy's farm, remained off limits.

Douglas' men offered wry smiles, but no comment, when a reporter asked them about recent sightings of Murphy.

They said they must also remain on guard against the area's many IRA dissidents who don't support the 1997 cease-fire and are still trying to mount attacks.

"You could never take the peace here for granted. We still aren't allowed to use the roads. We use the helicopters like taxis," said Montgomery.

"What we're doing is dependent on the assessment of the threat against us," Douglas said, shouting to be heard over the din of an approaching helicopter. "If the threat rises, then the demolition could be halted."

Both said they expected the Glasdrumman facility to lose its watchtower first, but the base hidden beneath would probably stay much longer for launching foot patrols in the area. They expressed confidence that neither the IRA nor its dissident offshoots could mount a credible attack on the base with the watchtower gone.

Eventually, the squad of Royal Engineers handling the demolition hope to uproot the entire underground complex.

It's hardly a sentimental job, even for veteran army engineers who were responsible for building the network of watchtowers in the mid-1980s, said the engineers' commander, Maj. Alisdair Balgarnie.

"The sooner we can take all the observation towers down, without compromising the safety of Northern Ireland, the better," he said.