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| The horror of Syria: Irish people still don't connect goings-on at Shannon with the "war on terror" |
“Sure, as
long as they keep buying the leprechauns . . . “
In October
2016, a significant increase in the number of US soldiers passing through
Shannon Airport was noted by activists who monitor activities at the airport on
a daily basis.
The
increased activity has been linked to an onslaught against the Iraqi city of
Mosul and a marked growth in the number of troops on the ground in both Syria
and Iraq.
As Shannon’s
role in the US-led “war on terror” enters its 16th year, it’s remarkable that
their presence barely merits a mention in the Irish media.
No Garda has
ever searched a plane, despite concerns that dangerous chemicals such as white
phosphorous and prisoners on their way to and from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba may
have been renditioned through Shannon.
We have to
rely on the likes of Wikileaks and Trojan investigative work by Shannonwatch
peace activists, who track the movement of military and chartered planes, if we
are to have any inkling of what’s going on.
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| Marching for peace at Shannon Airport |
“Sure, as
long as they keep buying the leprechauns …”
It can be
disconcerting to fly out of Shannon on a quiet midweek evening and find
yourself surrounded by hundreds of US soldiers in uniforms.
If you are flying to London on a Tuesday evening, for example, you can sometimes feel like the only civilian in a military zone.
When you look at the soldiers, you can guess whether they are coming or going depending on the mood.
If they are
on their way home, there is a celebratory air in the terminal building as they
queue up to buy leprechaun hats or bottles of duty free Irish whiskey they’d be
unlikely come across in Syria or Iraq.
They queue
to use the public phones and promise their loved-ones, excitedly, that they
will be home in just a few hours.
If they are
on their way to the Middle East, the mood can be a lot more sombre. There is
an eerie silence across the terminal as they ponder on the long trips away from
home.
It’s 15
years now since former US President George W. Bush asked “neutral” little
Ireland to facilitate his troops in their endless global war.
As we
celebrate 100 years since the Easter Rising, it’s incredible that the issue of
Ireland’s complicity in war crimes in places like Iraq, Syria, or Afghanistan
is rarely heard on the national airwaves.
In July of
this year, 85 people – including almost a dozen children – lost their lives in
a horrific air strike in northern Syria.
The
“terrorists” who carried out the attack were members of the US military and
could well have passed through Shannon.
The attack
wasn’t even mentioned on RTE, the national news station, the following day. It
didn’t merit a minute's coverage on the main evening news.
And hardly
anyone ever joins up the dots to link the hundreds of US troops passing through
Shannon and the appalling atrocities carried out in far-off villages like Tokhar.
“Sure, as
long as they keep buying the leprechauns … “
Earlier this
month, a peace conference was organised at Shannon to mark 15 years of the
airport’s participation in the “war on terror”.
The respected
academics and former military men who organise the monthly Shannonwatch protest at the
airport decided to mark the anniversary by inviting guest speakers and
encouraging debate.
So they
decided to book a room.
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| A small number of TDs joined the Shannonwatch 15th anniversary demonstration this month |
And then the
hotel cancelled.
They booked
another room in another hotel.
And the
second hotel cancelled.
And then a
third . . . In all, three hotels in the Shannon region suddenly discovered they were
“double-booked” when they discovered the theme of the peace conference.
Sure, we
can’t criticise the Americans. They are good for business, no matter what the
morality of the presence of so many coalition troops in a “neutral” civilian
facility.
So the
organisers were forced to hold the peace conference in a tent just outside the
perimeter of the airport.
Amazingly, some
people who travelled to the peace conference found that the rooms they booked
in the three hotels were still available that weekend.
As it
transpired, by a strange coincidence, only the rooms the organisers had sought for the peace conference were
double-booked.
“The fact
that three bookings in three different hotels were cancelled to me is an
indication of success rather than failure, and the fact that we were harassed
by the authorities here this weekend shows that we are making an impact,” said
Dr Edward Horgan of Shannonwatch.
Dr Horgan
said Irish people had to make a connection between the US military aircraft
which land at Shannon and the bombings in Syria or Iraq which sometimes aren’t
even reported on our TV news channels.
He doesn’t
give up hope that the peace movement will succeed, even though his small group has been protesting every month for
the past 15 years.
“But, but .
. . what about the Russians?”
Peace
activists in Ireland are often accused of being “anti-American” because they
protest against attacks carried out by the US military, but seem silent in the
face of horrific atrocities carried out by others.
In Syria,
for example, the Russians have been linked to war crimes, such as the bombing
of hospitals in Aleppo, which are every bit as bad as atrocities carried out by
the Americans in Mosul or Tokhar.
I put this
point to Dr Horgan during the recent peace conference.
He said that
Veterans for Peace and Shannonwatch (he represents both) condemn Russian and
Syrian bombings in Aleppo, just as they condemn US bombings in Mosul.
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| War-torn Aleppo: 2.5 million US soldiers have passed through Shannon on their way to war over 15 years |
He expressed
fear that Ireland could become a target for terrorists because of Shannon’s
role in allowing troops, munitions, and weapons to be transferred to the Middle
East for use in war crimes in civilian areas.
“It’s our
responsibility as Irish citizens to stop Ireland's very direct involvement in
these war crimes being committed by the United States. There is little we can
do to stop Russian bombing except to get our Irish Government to use its
influence within the UN to get a ceasefire in Syria.
“I am
actually fearful. I didn’t go to Dublin on Easter Sunday for the 1916
commemorations because I was afraid it might be a target. I wouldn’t be
surprised if Shannon Airport did become a target. At the moment, it is
difficult for the terrorist groups to get to Ireland and that’s the only
reason, I think, why we’ve avoided an attack so far.”
Shannon
“becomes a target” …
Since the
invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, when the US military first began to
use Shannon for refuelling, it has been estimated that over 2.5 million armed
US troops have passed through the airport.
In July
2016, the Irish Government confirmed in the Dail – the Irish parliament – that
over 25,000 US troops had passed through Shannon in the first six months of
this year.
Among the
guest speakers during Shannonwatch’s 15th anniversary peace conference was
US-born journalist Robert Fantina of the World Beyond War organisation.
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| Calling for an end to Shannon Airport's collusion in the US-led global "war on terror" |
He said he
was very surprised when he heard of the level of US troop movements through
Shannon.
“By allowing
US warplanes to land and refuel here, that violates Irish neutrality.
Preventing the planes from refuelling here is not only good for Afghanistan or
Ireland, it also shows the world that Ireland wants peace and does not support
the US war machine,” he said.
He said that
all across the world there needed to be a “cultural change” so that people
could focus on peace time economies rather than the economies of war. There are
strong vested interests in the arms industry who benefit from perpetual wars.
“People in
Ireland might think it’s only a plane or two a week passing through, but they
need to realise that these planes are bringing
death and destruction to people just like them. Men, women, and children who
just want to go to work or school, live ordinary lives, and raise their
families, are dying because planes are being allowed to land here,” said
Fantina.
“Additionally,
because US war planes are allowed to land here, Shannon becomes a target for
organisations which are opposed to US militarism. People need to understand
that the ‘war on terror’ is really a war of terrorism. Any place, including
Shannon, which allows the US to perform those operations is part of that
killing.”
“Sure, as
long as they keep buying the leprechaun hats in the airport shops, we’ll be
grand … !”
And this week, in Tipperary, some insignificant little committee is set to give the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, a "peace prize".
As if they were blissfully aware of all the atrocities his country has carried out - and the innocent lives lost - in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria over the past 15 years.
The whole concept of a US leader flying in to pick up an award in the current climate, days after another appalling attack on civilians in Iraq, devalues the very notion of a "peace prize".
The whole concept of a US leader flying in to pick up an award in the current climate, days after another appalling attack on civilians in Iraq, devalues the very notion of a "peace prize".
Who cares about villagers in Syria, when the slaughter of 85 of them never even makes it onto our TV screens?
And, sure, isn't it a great way of putting a little Tipperary village on the map?
And, sure, isn't it a great way of putting a little Tipperary village on the map?
Sure, it's great to be on such good terms with the Americans, even those who cause endless pain to ordinary, innocent people across the world. But I guess that's another story ...
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