War? Killing Innocent People? Defence Minister says 'We're in!'

national | miscellaneous | news report Friday January 17, 2003 13:51 by Eoin Dubsky - Refueling Peace info at refuelingpeace dot org 087-6941060

The Irish Minister for Defense Michael Smith stated in the clearest terms yet in an interview with RTE yesterday (Webpage: http://www.rte.ie/news/2003/0116/shannon.html, RealVideo: http://www.rte.ie/news/2003/0116/6news/6news3a.ram) that Ireland will not honour our legal responsibilities as a Neutral Power, and supports the slaugher of people in Iraq.

Putting the 'Mic' into Machiavellian, the Irish Defense Minister said there is no such thing as complete military neutrality, or neutrality at all, when it comes to threats to innocent people. He was wasn't being ironic... he was responding to criticism from groups in Ireland opposed to war, who demand that our consent for US aggressions be withdrawn, and Irish airspace and airports not be used for US military traffic (http://www.indymedia.ie/).

To put it another way, since this deserves emphasis: The Minister for Defense publicly conceded that Ireland is actively supporting US assaults against Iraq, in the knowledge that these actions are killing countless people, and that they contravene our legal responsibilities as a Neutral Power.

Opposition in Ireland to a US invasion of Iraq has grown substantially in recent months, with people speaking up about the state's complicity in the media, the courts, and the Shannon Airport Peace Camp where peace activists witness thousands of troops and military flights refueling on their journey to the Middle East (http://www.shannonpeacecamp.org).