It is just over ten years since the famous agreement was signed but what exactly is meant to be the next step?

It is great to see relative peace on the island and resounding yes votes were cast both sides of the border at the time for exactly that...peace.
But the agreement is flawed in that it side steps the fundamental reasoning behind the conflict in the first place and if it is not radically changed then this peace will be temporary and there will be more bloodshed further down the line.

The flaw is in that the British and Irish governments have effectively wrapped up the conflict as two tribes in the north east of Ireland at loggerheads with each other. This allows both national governments to act as peace brokers between the two communities. This is by and large a falsehood. Irish republican and nationalist opposition was always and will always be against British rule. Unionism is a result of British rule and is a completely secondary issue.

Naturally the agreement was sold as a victory by both sides to their supporters. Sinn Féin are now even claiming that Ireland could be united by 2020. That is lunatic talk and most Irish nationalists are begining to question this too. The deal sets out that if the majority of people of Northern Ireland say yes to joining with the ROI then it will be done. Now no Unionist in the right mind would say yes at the present moment, so this sets the challenge for nationalists to "outbreed" unionists. It relieves the British government of the responsibility of brokering a deal on the part of Unionists, so that their interests are looked after in an all Ireland state.

Great strides have been made to make the NI society more equal but there is still massive suspicion and distrust on the part of the nationalist community towards the security forces. And that will never go away because they are British security forces effectively insuring that Irish men and women in that part of the island remain under British rule. Sinn Féin has seen over 20 councillors leave the party due to their support of the security forces.

The worse thing about this stalemate is begining to emerge at the moment and the current establishment is effectively a stalemate. The emergence of violent republicanism is starting again and gaining support. A 600lb bomb was diffused by the British army along the border last week and the Real IRA have de-facto control of border areas in Fermangh and Armagh. This is all being given minimal coverage in a bid to keep a happy families appearance on things. But how long can this problem be ignored?
In my opinion now is the time for democratic republicans to lead the way in changing the fundamentals of the agreement so that we avoid another bloody war.