Anti-War Vigil *GPO Monday 4pm-6pm

by redjade Tue Dec 02, 2008 10:14

''The Spanish Foreign Ministry expressly allowed the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to use Spanish resources in transporting terror suspects to Guantanamo Bay, according to a 2002 internal Foreign Ministry memorandum released by Madrid's El Pais newspaper on Sunday. According to the document, an official for the ministry granted a CIA request to allow the US to use Spanish air space and military bases for flights between Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. The Ministry, now under new leadership since the government of conservative Prime Minister José María Aznar was replaced in 2004 by that of socialist Rodríguez Zapatero, said it would investigate whether the country had actually granted the permission. The Spanish government has previously conceded that CIA flights may have stopped on its soil, but denied that it had granted permission for such planes to transport prisoners....''
• more info and links here: http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/12/spain-aid...t.php

by Ciaron - Catholic Worker/Ploughshares Tue Dec 02, 2008 05:04

Well that was a cold one. Our regular crew was cut to three (Dotty, Colm and myself) due largely to child rearing duties. The passersby were not very engaging today, think that could be put down to the cold.

Our thoughts and discussion was focussed on what is being played out on the nuclear armed Indian/Pakistani border on the back of last week's attacks in Mumbai. From the outset of this war a friend had instructed that - to know its nature you must know about the nature of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The chickens seem to be coming home to roost.

What one can make out from distance is that this could be the last roll of the dice of the Jihadist tendency in the Pakistan Intelligence community. Dismayed by the ever increasing deployment of Pakistani regulars, largely financed by the U.S., to the northern frontier Pakistani territories the steady U.S. drone bombings and attempt to sideline the true believers in Pakistanis Intel. Maybe provoking a war with India to circle the wagons and unite against a familiar enemy seems to be the best option of those who have served America so well for so many decades. Like many servants before (Saddam and Noriega spring quickly to mind!) they find themselves expendable to the empire and hung out to dry.

Dublin commuters and Christmas shoppers seemed pretty immune to the ever approaching nuclear stand off. Word comes through of resistance in Germany by a U.S. vetearn refusing to redeploy http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/content/view/642/1/

Following the vigil we headed up to the Goethe Institute to see the '70's film "Germany in Autumn" which starts with a funeral of an industrialist kidnapped and executed by the Baader Meinhoff/Red Army Faction and ends with the funerals of 3 RAF who suspiciously simultaneously died in high security custody. Violence appears a dead end as the Vietnam War and the West German state in denial of its recent past provides a pressure cooker for some of the best, brightest and courageous of that anti-war movement.

The 1968 exhibition continues at the Goethe 37 Merrion Square until Dec 10th. we continue a weekly vigil at the GPO (Mondays 4pm-6pm) until Irish complicity in the U.S. wars on Iraq and Afghanistan conclude. Word reaches us that Frida Berrigan who grew up in the Jonah House resistance community founded by her parents Phil Berrigan and Liz McAlister has been invited to speak at Afri's Brigid's Festival in February. Here's some youtube interviews with Phil, Liz and Frida
http://www.jonahhouse.org/VideoClips.htm

Patrick Cockburn reflects on the recent attacks in India......
http://www.counterpunch.org/patrick12012008.html