According to Colm O’Gorman of Amnesty International, the US department of Homeland Security is coming to Ireland.
Speaking on The Last Word (Thursday), O’Gorman claims that the Government is in talks with the Americans to allow the establishment of units of Dept of Home Security and Secret Service to operate in Shannon airport.
The units will have the power to board private aircraft, vet crew and passengers and check for radioactive material.
O’Gorman makes the reasonable point that it is extraordinary that the Irish Government is considering allowing the US government to check planes at Shannon while at the same time seeing no need to check CIA operated private aircraft known to be involved in the commission of significant crimes in violation of international human rights
Actually, I don’t think it’s extraordinary at all. Imagine you’re George Bush dealing with a gang of cowardly, double dealing, unscrupulous Irish political chancer’s who will do anything if the price is right. You already know they’re turning a blind eye to American activities so what’s to stop them adopting the same attitude to say, the Iranian Government, if the right deal is offered.
No wonder George is putting his own team in to keep an eye on the slippery Irish.
Fine Gael spokesman for foreign affairs, Pat Breen TD, confirms the point. On the same show he argued that Shannon needs the business to compensate for the loss of Open skies and the Heathrow service. He said dozens of other European countries were looking for the ‘facility’ but only Ireland was getting it because of our special relationship with the US.
Well, not just Ireland. Apparently Aruba is also in negotiation with the Americans for the same ‘facility’. Aruba? Where the feck is Aruba? Check it out here; it’s a small 21 mile long island off the coast of Venezuela.
Ah yes, I imagine all those other countries that opt for self respect in matters of security are just green with envy when they see how easy it is to sell for a few dollars.
what else is new? This country has strayed so far from its ideals that we might as well whore it out, and replace the tricolour with a red light.
I’d say that a lot of people voted for the Greens in 2007 because they opposed the Shannon ‘stop-over’. I wonder how many will vote green again?
I won’t be booking out of Shannon. If it wasn’t a prime terrorist’s target before, it will be if this goes through.