Magic Irish Plowshares Hammer Deployed to OZ to Confront U.S. talisman sabre

national | anti-war / imperialism | news report Wednesday June 08, 2005 04:01 by Plowshares peaceconvergence at yahoo dot com dot au Shoal Water Bay, Central Queensland, Australia TEXT solidarity messages 00 61 432 923 188

talisman sabres into Plowshares!

Ciaron O'Reilly, Brisbane born/raised peace activist, is awaiting retrial in Ireland charged with $U.S.2.5 million "criminal damage" to a U.S. Navy war plane en route to the war on Iraq. (www.peaceontrial.com) Ciaron has
returned to Queensland to join a peace convergence at Shoal Water Bay on June 10th. "Operation talisman sabre", the largest military exercise in Australian history, will involve 11,000 U.S. troops in a joint military exercise with 6,000 Australian troops at the new Australian-U.S. military training facility at
Shoal Water, Queensland. (www.geocities.com/peaceconvergence)

O'Reilly faces a maximum ten years imprisonment in Ireland if convicted of charges arising out of the "Pit Stop Ploughshares" disarmament action of a U.S. Navy war plane at Shannon Airport on Feb. 3rd 2003. The action turned the war
plane around and sent it back to Texas, possibly the only piece of US military equipment turned around by the international peace movement. O'Reilly served 13 months in U.S. prisons for his 1991 disarmament of B-52 Bomber at Griffis Air Force Base in upstate New York on the eve of the first
Gulf War, 1991.


The recent trial in Dublin ended in a "mistrial" on the 6th.day and the jury was dismissed.
Retrial is set for Oct 24th. at Dublin's Four Courts. 90,000 U.S. troops have passed
through Shannon Airport in the first three months of this year. The Irish government still claims to be neutral.

O'Reilly stated "The war on Iraq being waged by U.S., Australian and other troops has been denounced as "illegal" by U.N. Secretary General Koffi Anana, "immoral" by the Pope and "unwinnable" by many military
experts. "Operation talisman sabre" is an exercise to train Australian troops to play a role in future U.S. invasions, occupations and plunder of countries like Iraq. The exercise involves 11,000 U.S. troops and 6,000 Australian troops. use of depleted uranium munitions in the exercise has neither been confirmed or denied.

We say study war no more, beat your swords into ploughshares and work for justice if you want peace. We will nonviolently confront this exercise.

The name of this exercise Operation talisman sabre means "magic
sword", I've brought a "magic hammer" from Ireland!"