The threat of terrorism first touched Arlene Foster’s life when she was just a child. Her father was serving as a police officer in the United Kingdom when he was shot in his own home by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1979.

The Provisional Irish Republican Army group was seeking to end British rule in Northern Ireland. The U.K. designated it a terrorist organization. Law enforcement, according to Foster, was seen as opposition to the efforts of the paramilitary group. 

Foster’s father survived, but less than a decade later, when Foster was 17, the Provisional Irish Republican Army bombed a school bus she was on. Thankfully, Foster and everyone else on the bus survived the attack.

Today, bearing the title of baroness and serving in the House of Lords, Foster says she chose to get involved in politics “to be a democratic voice for the union, for the United Kingdom.”

“There’s always an alternative to terrorism,” she says. “There’s always an alternative to violence.”

Fosters joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to not only share her story, but also how the U.K. weathered terrorism in Northern Ireland years ago and the need to stand against Hamas and other terrorist activity today. She also weighs in on the strategic relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. and why a free-trade agreement would strengthen those ties and benefit both nations. 

Listen to the podcast below:

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