Irish Independent calls resistance fighters "terrorists"

national | anti-war / imperialism | other press

Sunday October 23, 2005 04:29

by R. Isible

An appallingly confused piece by Paul Melia (and our old friend Tom "Security Correspondent as long as it doesn't involve foreign war planes at Shannon" Brady calls members of the Iraqi resistance "terrorists" and fails to mention the allegations of torture of an Irish citizen held in Algeria.

Memo to Tom: the official newspeak for these people is "insurgents" if you want to appear neutral. The Pentagon realised a long while ago that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter and so they came up with the much cleverer "insurgent".

Brady and Mella drop in a very odd disjunct paragraph about a " Mohamed Meguerba", who became an Irish citizen years ago by marrying an Irish woman. This man's evidence was key in the fake "ricin terror plot" trial which saw eight of the nine defendants acquited in April of 2005 in the U.K. His evidence was apparently obtained under torture in Algeria where he is currently in prison.

It's possible that Tom Brady and Paul Mella have had their work messed with by an incompetent editor -- if that's the case they should be withdrawing their names from it publically. Otherwise it's safe to assume that they agree that the two Irish citizens are "terrorists" as the sub-headline states.

Please note that the following article is (c) Irish Independent and is reproduced here in order to avoid the necessity to log in. (Fair use etc.):

Saddam's fighters here for a holiday

Two terrorists carrying Irish passports held by US forces

FIGHTERS involved in the war against US and British forces in Iraq are travelling here for rest and relaxation.

This emerged last night as the US Department of Defence revealed that two Iraqi-born fighters holding Irish citizenship had been arrested by coalition forces.

The two men, who held Irish passports, were among 376 foreign fighters captured since the beginning of the year and are being held at an undisclosed location in Iraq.

Gardai and the Department of Foreign Affairs said last night they were unaware of the arrest of anybody with Irish citizenship in Iraq.

But senior security sources admitted they were closely monitoring the movements of suspected fighters who had been sent here for "a rest" before returning to the war zone.

Two of the group, known as returned Jihadis, are known to have travelled back to Iraq earlier this year after spending some time in this country and one has since disappeared.

The sources also disclosed that a number of Jihadis involving in the fighting in Afghanistan had also used Ireland as a base for a break from the frontline.

Others have turned up in Britain and other European countries.

A dozen hardline supporters of groups linked to the al-Qai'da network pose the biggest headache for the security agencies involved here in combating the threat from international terrorists. The prime suspects are mainly people who have lived here for several years and represent a tiny minority in the 25,000-strong Islamic community.

Their alleged role up to now has been in providing logistical support for active terror cells based elsewhere and this includes fundraising, supplying forged documentation such as passports and identity cards,

Security sources said those who had been identified as returned Jihadis were not wanted by the authorities in any jurisdiction and did not face immediate arrest. But they were listed as top priority targets for the Garda Special Branch's Middle Eastern desk and the Army's intelligence section.

The biggest fear of security chiefs is the emergence of previously unknown youths who have been radicalised by hardliners and turned into potential bombers. One of the masterminds of al-Qai'da terror plots in Britain was radicalised in Belfast while living in Dublin although his training and instruction was received elsewhere.

Mohamed Meguerba, an Algerian whose parents lived in Belgium, came to Dublin in 1997 and lived here for four years, marrying an Irish woman.

Security officials pointed out that this was one of the methods used by Jihadis to obtain Irish citizenship.

The Pentagon in Washington last night confirmed to the Irish Independent that US troops were holding two Iraqis with Irish citizenship.

Spokesman for the Multi-National Force Iraq, Major General Rick Lynch, said he did not have personal details on any of the detainees but said they were captured in sweeps against insurgents.

Their nationalities had been confirmed through interrogation and examination of documents in their possession.

The captured group also included two Britons, and one each from the US, France, Denmark and Israel.

Those under surveillance here also include Algerians, Libyans, Egyptians, Moroccans, Tunisians and Pakistanis.

Tom Brady and
Paul Melia