On March 21, 2017, Martin McGuinness, the former chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army and street fighter turned peacemaker and politician, died of amyloidosis, a rare genetic disease, at the age of 66, a few months after he had resigned from his position as deputy first minister of Northern Ireland.  His story is remarkable and is a commendable object lesson for other political figures reluctant to make peace with their opponents, especially Mahmoud Abbas, long-term president of the Palestinian Authority. McGuinness never hid the fact that he had been a senior figure in the Irish republican movement, was proud of it, and justified the armed struggle of his early years.  He had joined the Provisional Ira faction, more extreme and dangerous as a ruthless terror group than the main Ira movement, in Derry (Londonderry) and became deputy commander at the age of 21. During his involvement in the IRA, he witnessed, if not was always responsible for, a considerable...(Read Full Article)