Acting US ambasssador admits direct action at Shannon works

national | miscellaneous | news report Thursday March 13, 2003 16:12 by Joe

World Airlines, which had brought in over 8,300 U.S. soldiers pulled out of Shannon in early February. North American Airlines and Miami Airlines also announced they were quitting Shannon because of concerns about security at the airport at the end of February.

According to the Irish Voice "The acting head of the U.S. Embassy in Dublin, Jane Fort, has blamed the "threatening" behavior of protestors for their decision to leave. "The combination of two back-to-back incidents of real destruction would prompt any company to ask if it would put people in harm's way, people who might be working on planes or riding on planes""

With 3 or the commercial troop carying airlines gone from Shannon Only one U.S. airline is now using Shannon to transport troops to the Gulf region. American Transair has brought in 125 flights in the last two months, with over 14,000 troops on board. On top of this it appears FedEx has started to transport military supplies through Shannon.

Finally there is also a significant number of US military planes landing in Ireland, at Shannon and at Casement Aerodrome just outside Dublin. These include the Hercules C130 which is also used to drop the worlds largest conventional bombs. During the last Gulf War the use of these cause brief panic amoung British troops as they can produce a mushroom cloud and the British troops presumed the Americans had used a battlefield nuke.

It has become clear that by taking direct action at the airports we can have a real effect on the ability of the US to wage war. The US army depends on this supply line stretching from its bases in the US to its bases in Iraq. Will the anti-war movements take up the challenge?