US to move NATO ...to Ireland?

by linking iosaf Sun May 18, 2003 12:53

go through the link for links to lots of video and background in english, french and of course vlaandered from Belgium.imc and Westvlaanderen IMC.

by reader Sun May 18, 2003 15:49

Misleading headline. There is no evidence anywhere except from James's mind that there is any plan to move NATO to Ireland.

IMC editors, when are you going to stop this stream of material that's just discrediting the site? It only plays into the hands of our enemies. When it comes down to it, every fantasy of James "the moon landing was a fake" McKenna is calculated to harm the reputation of Indymedia.ie.

by 4wolfatad Sun May 18, 2003 16:14

The More good stuff the less noise - add to the collective - don't be passive.

Ask not what indymedia can do for you but what you can do for indymedia - censorship as a last resort

by sunday papers. Sun May 18, 2003 16:19

"wanted vans must be big, top rates paid, to move NATO/OTAN to Eire".-
small print you might have missed it.

by Mike Sun May 18, 2003 16:59 stepbystepfarm at shaysnet dot com

"Diplomats as well as military people from many contries must now avoid Belgium for fear of ending up in prison"

NO -- you've got it silly wrong. They must avoid Belgium to prevent a "diplomatic incident" or worse. You are treating this as if it were some kind of game. But this isn't a sports field where the players get up again when the refs blow their whistles. Dead is dead.

What do you imagine the internal politics of the US is like? What do you imagine would happen if the Belgians DID do something like arrest Franks? Do you really think it would stop at renaming Beligan waffles?

Look, I am NOT at all as sure as you seem to be that the US rulers do not intend to "break" with "Old Europe". They might figure that if the US pulled out all the old animosities would swiftly come to the fore and "you" would soon be at each other's throats like in the old days. Hey, a European arms race might be good for US business.

by Irish American Sun May 18, 2003 19:21

That's a great idea. We are looking for reliable allies, not corrupt and hypocritical ones like Chirac and his lickspittle satellite, Belgium.

Shannon would be great, or Cork.

by club foot Sun May 18, 2003 23:14

As we watch futility of pointless warmongering in far off foreigh soils, fighting terrorism in the wrong countries, flatenning afghanistans war weary peasants and carpet bombing already half dead iraqis whilst all along the all elusive alciaeda network is right under our noses, hiding in the bosoms of one of Herr Bushs closest dog eat dog ultra capitalist allies the Saudis. It would be worthwhile asking someone to carry the can for the gross stupidity of waging war in the wrong countries. The likes of General pinochet would've been wise not to touch down in the UK, to be arrested for war crimes. It's good to see that France and belgium are out of bounds for stupidly insane war criminals,we can't have it both ways, if Slobadon milosevic can face prosecution for illegal warmongering, so should the likes of Tommy Franks. Like General Pinochet, whose past gross war criminality caught up with him, to slap him round the chops. So eventually somebody will have to be brought to account legally for pointless warmongering and the resultant pointless loss of civillian and military personnel lives through stupidly waging war in the wrong countries.

by MSNBC/AFP Thu May 22, 2003 18:46

[moved to become comment by R Isible]

US Gen Tommy Franks resigns!
by MSNBC/AFP Thu, May 22 2003, 5:23pm

As a deal is cut in Belgium to transfer his warcrimes case to US prosecutors, the top US military commander resigns.

WASHINGTON, May 22 — Army Gen. Tommy Franks, who orchestrated the U.S. military campaign against Iraq, has decided to retire, Pentagon officials told NBC News on Thursday.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/916898.asp?0cv=CB10

AFP. 21 May 2003. Tommy Franks case to be appealed to Belgium's council of state.

BRUSSELS -- The lawyer seeking to have the commander of the US forces in Iraq tried for alleged war crimes on Wednesday attacked the Belgian government for passing the case over to US prosecutors.

Jan Fermon claimed the decision to refer charges against General Tommy Franks, commander of the US and British forces in the military intervention to overthrow Saddam Hussein, to the other side of the Atlantic was illegal and said he would take the affair to the country's Council of State.

"At the beginning of next week (I shall seek) the suspension and then the cancellation of this decision from the Council of State," Fermon, who represents 17 Iraqis and two Jordanians, told AFP.

Belgium's "universal competence" law allows charges for alleged war crimes to be brought regardless of where they took place.

The charges against Franks allege that US troops in Iraq fired on ambulances, did not show due care in avoiding civilian casualties and failed to safeguard Iraq's cultural heritage.

But on Tuesday the Belgian governmment decided to pass the case to US prosecutors on the advice of the federal prosecutor's office, where the suit was filed last week.

It was the first time the Belgian government had used the powers conferred on it by recent changes to the law to transfer cases to the jurisdiction of the country of origin of the accused individual if it was satisfied he would be fairly treated.

But Fermon argued that the Belgian government, which resigned following last Sunday's general election and is supposed to be operating as a caretaker administration, had no reason to act with such speed.

Furthermore, he argued, such an intervention was in absolute contradiction of the elementary principle of the separation of powers and he accused the Belgian government of "capitulating" to US pressure.

The United States had demanded that the Belgian government move to dismiss the case.

Some 30 current or former political leaders are facing legal action under the law, including Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and former US president George Bush.

http://www.utopia2000.org/