US Soldiers vandalise jets at airport - no charges made.

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report

Saturday July 26, 2003 16:00

by newshound

Three 727s, a 737, a 747 and the terminal 'pillaged'.

According to former soldier and syndicated journalist Brian Cloughley,
The 3rd Infantry division has gone on a pillaging spree in Baghdad airport taking comfy seats, breaking windows in the terminal, taking what they want and leaving it in a state that "would make the Aegean Stables look like a Tiffany’s window."

In an article in the Daily Times of Pakistan, he compares and contrasts their oafish looting and destruction to Mary's action -which involved no theft.

quick cut and paste of some comments from the article.

"The place was immaculate before 3rd Infantry Division arrived, but was then looted of ‘alcohol, cassettes, perfume, cigarettes, and expensive watches’ from the duty-free shop. According to Lieutenant John Welsh, the Civil Affairs officer responsible for restoring the airport to its pre-3 Division state, “Terminal windows were smashed and almost every door in the building was broken.” The table around which Welsh and Iraqi officials had conferred was, ‘a week later, a pile of glass and splintered wood’.

Of course the damage to facilities doesn’t matter much in practical terms, because the Halliburton company (recent CEO, Dick Cheney) will rebuild the place at the US taxpayers’ expense.

There is no doubt that Mary Kelly had a smashing time with a US Navy Boeing 737 aircraft at Shannon early this year. She had a thorough go at it with a hatchet, in fact, and has admitted, yea, proudly announced that she did it and would, by golly, do it again if given an opportunity. Not for her the goodies of Shannon’s duty-free shop: no sir; she wanted to stop US aircraft being used in support of the war on Iraq and decided to make her feelings known to the world. So she grabbed her trusty axe/And gave the Boeing several whacks (this was in Limerick, after all), and was arrested and charged by the Irish Police.

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It's a good article check it out.

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Comments (8 of 8)

by the same author.

by Tim.

Sat Jul 26, 2003 16:57

Here's a link to another story by Brian Cloughley.

He talks about Bush's "bring 'em on statement"
and how the 3rd Infantry Division are angry that they were lied to when they were told they'd be home in September.

much as we dislike the war and bush, most of the troops are used as pawns. If it wasn't for the fact that TV images of US body bags cost votes, the Commander-in-thief would care as much about the troops welfare as he does the poor innocent Iraqi whose death is never reported.
A lot of these troops don't want to be there. Some of us met them in the airport at Shannon and they said they didn't want to go to Iraq.

Some good quotes.

"Then Rumsfeld came in with maximum insensitivity and both clumsy feet, yet again. He announced “Is it an important thing to be doing? Yes. Is it tough? You bet. Are more people going to be killed? You bet."

“There are some who feel conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is: ‘Bring ‘em On’.
We’ve got the force necessary to deal with the
security situation”.

"Imagine the thoughts of the relatives and comrades of the young soldier who died from terrible wounds received in a devastating Iraqi ambush when they heard the commander-in-chief next day - the very next day after he died - issuing a challenge to the Army’s potential assailants to attack US troops. They must have thought he was insane."

"Then, as usual, came the lies. Rumsfeld’s chief of staff and Pentagon spokesman, Larry Di Rita, denied that cancellation of the division’s return had anything to do with the security situation in Iraq."

"Breathtaking stuff, and I for one would like to see whiz kiddie Di Rita rammed up against a wall by a soldier of Third Division with his hand on his throat, saying ‘Lissen, if you’re not talking about the security situation then you damned well ought to be because its my life that’s on the line, not yours’. "

Well, they don't obfuscate

by Seáinín

Sat Jul 26, 2003 21:11

They say what they mean without dressing it up in Liberal touchy-feely language.

BTW, dickhead, it's the Augean stables, the Aegean is a sea. One of the 12 labours of Hercules was to clean out the Augean stables.

Re. They don't obfuscate

by mr. aggro

Sun Jul 27, 2003 13:24

Now now Shauneen, careful what you say .... don't loose the run of yourself ....

Remember this was a "just war of liberation" (your words not mine) .....

And soldiers in uniform have a duty to OBEY AND RESPECT their commanders-in-chief ......

Not to mention of course your previous homage paid to that great sacred cow of yours .... "the rights of property" .......

I resent the Racist comments

by lone gunman

Sun Jul 27, 2003 16:31

About axes and Limerick. This is another Dub/Cork[Mary Kelly] effort to demean the people of Limerick into an oppressedminority who are violent criminals.but then what could expect from such a facist bunch of wannabe liberals?

Geography lesson

by .

Mon Jul 28, 2003 11:57

Shannon is in Clare not Limerick. If you want to try make unfunny, insulting comments that are totally unrelated to your article's point at least get your facts right.

Mary Kelly is from Donegal

by Eric Blair - Earthlings

Mon Jul 28, 2003 15:12

Yes, you know it's true!
That's an interesting angle on her case from the runway in Baghdad. Puts a little perspective on her endeavours.

What's the odds on a retrial for bould Mary K? Will anyone give me 6/4? How about this for a double - Donegal to win the footie and Mary to be let go without a retrial - I'll show 16/1 on that, (Armagh are going to win... you know it's true!),

yours in organic bliss,
Mr. Blair

Clarification.

by clarity

Mon Jul 28, 2003 20:07

For those half-wits who can't spot a quote or understand context.

"BTW, dickhead, it's the Augean stables, the Aegean is a sea. One of the 12 labours of Hercules was to clean out the Augean stables"

That was lifted from the article, spelling mistake and all. take it up with the author.

lone gunman, of course is even more thick.

"About axes and Limerick. This is another Dub/Cork[Mary Kelly] effort to demean the people of Limerick"

Did you not consider, that this Aussie of Irish descent was referring to Limerick in the rhyming sense? axe and whacks? ... is there a lone brain cell in the lone gunman.... duh....

but then what could expect from such a facist bunch of wannabe liberals?

The guy who wrote the article is a Vietnam Veteran, you call him a wannabe liberal?

You guys are just cretins. When you talk about getting your facts right, take a lot at your own drivel. You think that anyone reading your crap will take you seriously or be swayed by you?
You're a bunch of kids, or at least argue like a bunch of spoilt kids pretending to be clever.

"Geography lesson
by . Monday, Jul 28 2003, 10:57am

Shannon is in Clare not Limerick. If you want to try make unfunny, insulting comments that are totally unrelated to your article's point at least get your facts right."

...again same error in interpretation. Shannon is in Clare, a limerick is a poem. yes, I believe the term is poetic license.
Why not take it up with the journalist, or are you scared to lose your anonymity if you e-mail him? don't clog up the newswire, loser.

If we're arguing on this level...

Tue Jul 29, 2003 02:31

What is "take a lot at your own drivel" supposed to mean? :-)

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US Soldiers vandalise jets at airport - no charges made.

Comments (8 of 8)