PHOTO: US soldiers shopping at Shannon duty free

by Simon Haden Sun Jan 12, 2003 18:34 simonhaden at gregans dot ie Co. Clare

Pictures on RTE News last week clearly showed Gulf bound U.S. troops boarding a plane in the U.S. carrying their rifles. I presume that not all the planes refuel at Shannon. They must be using another country on route, eg. Spain. However it would be naive to think that only on the Shannon flights that they do not carry their weaponry.

by Irish American Sun Jan 12, 2003 19:51

Putting their selves on the line for democracy and against the likes of Osama and his crew.

By the way, I'll be passing through Shannon this week enroute to visiting my cousins.

Would the Peace Camp like some Christmas fruitcakes? They're on sale now.

by Shane - Socialist Youth Sun Jan 12, 2003 20:56 Tallaght Soviet

Is Irish American on drugs? Bin Laden has nothing to do with Iraq. Both Saddam and Bin Laden dispise each other and each others policies. Bin Laden when he was Americas favourite terrorist offered to kill Saddam, there is no link what so ever between the two men, Iraq and Al Queda.

I feel sorry for "your boys," because they are in essence poor fools. Most of whom probally wont see their families again. They are brainwashed with patroitic nonsense. They believe that they are fighting for freedom, democracy and liberty how wrong they are. They are fighting so that Capitalists can be free. They are fighting so that Capitalists can exploit the vast Iraqi oil wells.

If the US was fighting for freedom,liberty and democracy would they really have toppled so many leaders replacing them with dictators like Pinochet for example. Would they have sponsored and trained terrorism accross the world. Would they be in bed with China who has one of the worst human rights records on the planet? I dont think so.

This war will be a slaughter and thousands will die all so "fat cats" can enjoy their freedom.

by sad isnt it. Sun Jan 12, 2003 21:03

a capacity to attack Pentagon White house and Twin towers on one day.
and they have said attack iraq you attack islam.

Do youthink your future soldiers or children will be able to make better the damage to world relations if you attack Iraq without anyreason?
just wondering.

You see the US army had to resort to atom bmobms to end WW2.
it couldn´t fight the "fanatic japanese".
and it won´t defeat the "fanatic islamics" either by attacking everyone.
coz there are over 6billion non americans.
o as if.
shalom = saleem.
most of the people with super high IQ are not Americans or Europeans.
the only thing USA or EU has the majority of is
$€money.
everyone else has more intelligence
and enthusiasm.
and real reasons to attack the good old US of A.
pity Ireland and EU are in the way.

by Andy Regan Sun Jan 12, 2003 21:35

If we are a truly neutral country then why would anyone have a problem allowing US military planes to land on our soil? By all rights we should allow Iraqi planes as well, so long as neither engage in armed conflict within our airspace.
I believe that a pre-emted war in Iraq is wrong, that the overall negative consequnces of such a war far outweigh the positive. While the system of government in Iraq is in desperate need of reform, an armed conflict at the present time would only serve to exhasberate the humanitarian crisis caused not only by a ruthless dictatorship, but by the ignorance of the first world.
The Gulf War saw the destruction of water treatment facilities and hospitals, transport infrastructure and power stations. The sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council served only to block the road to rebuilding and gave Saddam substance to his Anti-West propaganda. The Oil for Fuel program has only led to the dependency of a nation on foreign 'Aid'. Its has also tightened his grip on the people. Would you be able to stand up to the only source of food and medicine for your family?
We must ask ourselves what the results of a war could be. Are we willing to accept large numbers of immediate casualties and fatalities, on both sides? Are we willing to deal with the potential environmental and humanitarian disasters of such a war? And what about the other Middle-Eastern countries? Wont a war pre-empted by the US just serve to embitter more and more people towards the west, leading to an increased threat from anti-western paramilitaries? Not only that but a "get them before they get you" policy from the US gives the Isreali government a valid excuse to continue its brutal campaign against the people of Palestine. This will undoubtedly further enrage Arab peoples.
And what do we do after Saddam is removed? Do we replace him with an American general, slapping democracy in the face? Are we willing to pay to rebuild a country from scratch? Are we committed to standing by the ups and downs of a budding democracy? I honestly do not believe that we are.
This is why I feel that the Irish government should block American planes from landing. Not because of a violation of our neutrality, but as a clear and powerful message to the US and the world that Irish people do not support war in Iraq. Most importantly we need to clearly state our reasons against this war, or else the validity of our protest is lost. This can only be done through massive pressure from the people on the government. We may be neutral, but for the sake of the Iraqi people we cannot afford to be negligent!!!!

by Des Sun Jan 12, 2003 22:46

The political analysis of “Irish American” really does reveal a slight lack of the background to the situation in Afghanistan, the Gulf in general and Iraq in particular. Both Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein are creatures of the United States. Osama was one of the good guys during the U.S. backed war against the PDPA government in Kabul. A war that produced one of the most reactionary and feudal regimes imaginable. The ideology of the “holy warriors” considered the U.S. to be an enemy, just as they considered the Soviets their enemy. Unfortunately, Washington fell into the trap of believing that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”, their friends repaid them by increasing drug exports to the U.S. and of course by 9/11. Something for Americans to consider when they wrap themselves around the flag and start getting “patriotic”.

Saddam Hussein came to power courtesy of a CIA sponsored coup because Washington feared the regime that came to power after the Iraqi revolution. He maintained his regime for decades with extreme repression, a system of terror that the Nazis would have been proud of. Nobody in Washington or London considered him a monster then, on the contrary they competed with each other to do “business” with Baghdad.
They supported his aggression against Iran and even ignored an Iraqi attack on a U.S. naval vessel, which cost the lives of some of the crew.
They continued to support him after he used chemical weapons against the Kurdish people. In the year Saddam invaded Kuwait, he was due to receive 500 millions dollars in aid courtesy of the U.S. taxpayers (including Irish American). The idea that Washington or their junior partners in Europe have any interest in “democracy” in Iraq is the ultimate in black humour. It is simply a resource war, to be followed by installing a stooge (just as Karzai in Afghanistan) as president, in order to ensure another source of cheap oil.

by Concerned Yank Mon Jan 13, 2003 01:56

Ireland, as the great De Valera once said, is on the side of the free democracies. Those troops at Shannon should receive Irish hospitality. They are far from home, many of them are minorities, and they are fighting to preserve Western values and civilization. Ireland once saved civilization and it can now help do so again by supporting these brave American soldiers.

by AnAmerican Mon Jan 13, 2003 08:06

The above comment brought to you by Sharon & Co.

by Terry Mon Jan 13, 2003 11:48

The War on Terror is fake, and it is actually a class war on the people and given the complete thrashing of
environmental regulations in the US under Bush, it is also a war against the environment.

The terrorist attack on Sept 11th, has the hand of the US intelligence agencies written all over it in the
shadows and was needed by the fascist corporate cabal now in charge to use as a pretext to start this latest
phase of US imperialism and introduce truly repression and Orwellian legislation at home in the USA and through
intimidation of governments elsewhere abroad.

see for example the timeline around 9/11
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/02_11_02_lucy.html

Capitalism is now in a transition to a global totalitarianism system headed by the remaining and unchallenged
superpower -the US. However the vast majority of it's people are not even benefiting and more and more get poorer,
40m have no medical insurance, environmental protection is dismantled, the water being polluted, their civil
liberties gone, they work longer hours and receive less holidays than any other so called advanced nation
and their pensions are plundered by corporate raiders who not only go free, but are part of the controlling cabal.
Meanwhile military budgets balloon and the rest of the world is suffering and every nation is now under the threat
of being bombed back to the stone age -e.g. Afghanistion, Iraq or have the threat hanging over them of terrorists
war or military coups sponsored by the US -All of Latin and South America, and much of Asia and Africa.

Therefore these aggressors landing in Shannon are not welcome and I think I can safely say most people do not want
the blood of this terrorist US regime on our hands. It is time to stop this madness and turn the world resources
and intellectual capital to peace and protecting and repairing the environment.

by jeff Mon Jan 13, 2003 12:21

Irish American,

I gave you support on another article,cos people were slagging you for being American.However,I do not agree with your views on Bush's war.We are supposed to be neutral,and these boys will not be storming bneaches like 'Saving Private Ryan'.,they will enforce the ground of a third world countyry so private oil companies can take what belongs neither to Bush or Sadaam but to ordinary Iraqis.This will happen after Apache helicopters and High tech bombers have flattened the beejaysus out of the cunt-ry.

Saving Private Ryan was truthful,but Black Hawk Down was big lies,reminiscent of Dogmatic,filthy,Chuck Noriss CIA sponsored movies.If the ordinary folk of Iraq do what the Somalis done,and assert their independence,be that it will involve mob rule and lynching of marines in the wrong place at wrong time,still,God Speed them.Somalia is a chaotic shell of a nation,but they are free like wolves,and not neutred like sheep under an oil sponsored 21st century imperialist yoke.

And if this was Dev's Ireland in the thirties,Bert would be shot for treason.

God Speed the Wolf Spirit of the ancient Iraqi/Mesopotanians.May Rebellion come.

by Irish American Wed Jan 15, 2003 02:14

Well, Jeff, why do you think we were in Somalia? Along with the Irish Army, Italians, Canadians, Pakistanis, Malaysians?

No oil, no real resources to "exploit."

As one U.S. Army major said:

They were starving
We fed them
They got stronger
They tried to kill us

by curious Sun Jan 19, 2003 21:53

prove it.

by jeff Tue Jan 21, 2003 17:23

Bush snr got the UN to declare a peace op,which is why there was a rake of armies there.Recently,a Somali journalist(forgotten his name)did a programme for Channel Four,and interviewed witnesses to the number of massacares instigated by yankee gunships,most notably the Black Hawk Down incident,where they had actually blown apart a number of civilian houses looking for some warlord,a tactic impersonated lately by the Zionists in Palestine when looking for "Hamasniks".As soon as Clinton got in,he got the troops out.

Why do you,Irish American,believe the Somali would try to kill the yanks?Izzit becuz dey iz black?