STOP IRISH COMPLICITY IN BUSH'S WAR
U.S. MILITARY OUT OF SHANNON
Richard Boyd Barrett is Chairperson of the Irish Anti-War Movement. He has played a key role in organising countless peace demonstrations and protests, including one of the largest demonstrations in recent Irish history in 2003. The Irish Anti-War Movement was established in late 2001 when it became clear that the US government under George W Bush planned to respond to the 9/11 atrocities with wars against Afghanistan and Iraq and more aggressive military stance across the globe. Bush's wars are based on lies-and the Irish government has tamely co-operated.
The US/UK invasion and occupation of Iraq has cost over 650,000 Iraqis lives. Over 3,000 US soldiers have been killed and the war is costing the US $8.4 billion a month according to the Pentagon Iraq's civil infrastructure is in pieces with 48% unemployment and just 4 hours electricity a day in Baghdad. Bush's response to this disaster is to order an extra 21,500 troops to be sent to launch attacks on Baghdad like that which devastated Fallujah two years ago.
Bush is intensifying his threats against Iran and backed the brutal Israeli invasion of Lebanon as well as its oppression of the Palestinians. The war that was supposed to be over in Afghanistan rages on and has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of innocent Afghanis.
Bertie Ahern and the Irish government have been actively collaborating with Bush's monstrous and illegal war. They have allowed over 1,000,000 US troops to pass through Shannon since 2003.
They have turned a blind eye to secret "renditions"- torture flights. At least 147 secret CIA have flights landed at Shannon according to a recent EU Parliament report. But the Irish people reject Irish complicity in Bush's war crimes. A majority oppose the war and the use of Shannon airport by US military. In the US the tide is turning with a protest of half a million in Washington in January. If the American people reject this war and hundreds of thousand are prepared to demonstrate to stop it, so should we.
In election year we can make a difference by making Irish complicity in Bush's war an election issue. The Irish Anti-War Movement wants to mobilise maximum pressure on the government and all opposition parties in the run-in to the general election to end the use of Shannon airport by the US military and CIA torture planes.
This will include a major national demonstration at the Fianna Fail Ard Fheis at City-West Conference Centre in West Dublin on Saturday March 24 - Assemble at 2pm at the Lidl car park in City-West for the short march. Electing Richard Boyd Barrett to the Dail will also send a strong message to any incoming government that Irish complicity with US warmongering must stop now.