US Military Planes at Shannon - For your safety...

cf_al_bs

Do you think the use of Shannon Airport, Ireland, by the United States Military to transport people and supplies to and from the War in Iraq is fair? Doesn't this show that Ireland has now in fact lost its neutrality status because it allows this injustice to continue? Also Ireland has been named as a place for terrorists to attack due to the use of Shannon Airport and the governments blind spot surrounding this issue. They didn't just say any countries supporting the war in Iraq, oh no they actually mentioned Dublin Airport and they were going to 'hit hard'.
Now I'm travelling this summer from Dublin Airport, as many of you are, but I'm travelling on the 7th of July. Yes, a year to the day of the bombings in London. No I'm not very happy about this and didn't realise it at the time when I was booking the flights and since then the message about an attack on Ireland has come out.

Therefore I have decided to make a petition to show the oppostion to US Military flights landing at Shannon Airport. I urge everyone to sign it and be proud that Ireland can once again be a neutral country with a government that takes time to look into issues such as this.

To sign this petition go to : http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save_shannon

Thank you for your time. Your comments on this issue appreciated.
B4N,
Al.

Our man in Havana

Talk to mc dowell

Dirk Gently

cf_al_bs wrote:

Do you think the use of Shannon Airport, Ireland, by the United States Military to transport people and supplies to and from the War in Iraq is fair? Doesn't this show that Ireland has now in fact lost its neutrality status because it allows this injustice to continue? Also Ireland has been named as a place for terrorists to attack due to the use of Shannon Airport and the governments blind spot surrounding this issue. They didn't just say any countries supporting the war in Iraq, oh no they actually mentioned Dublin Airport and they were going to 'hit hard'.
Now I'm travelling this summer from Dublin Airport, as many of you are, but I'm travelling on the 7th of July. Yes, a year to the day of the bombings in London. No I'm not very happy about this and didn't realise it at the time when I was booking the flights and since then the message about an attack on Ireland has come out.

Therefore I have decided to make a petition to show the oppostion to US Military flights landing at Shannon Airport. I urge everyone to sign it and be proud that Ireland can once again be a neutral country with a government that takes time to look into issues such as this.

To sign this petition go to : http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save_shannon

Thank you for your time. Your comments on this issue appreciated.
B4N,
Al.

there is a thread in politics on the subject, click here to view thread.

bryanw

cf_al_bs wrote:

Therefore I have decided to make a petition to show the oppostion to US Military flights landing at Shannon Airport.

I'm sure your not the first one to do it!

I don't think that Ireland is under any sort of terrorist threat. It's rubbish. And why Dublin Airport. There are no US military planes there, they are at Shannon.

This neutrality business is also rubbish... :eek:

Chris_533976

Ireland is a soft target. The terrorists would have the whole world come down on them like a ton of bricks if they attacked a neutral western country.

Tom Dunne

cf_al_bs wrote:

they actually mentioned Dublin Airport and they were going to 'hit hard'.

Do you have any reputable links/sources for this?

Just curious, I've never heard this one before.

Victor

As moderator I will only tolerate continued discussion on this thread insofar as it affects tranport matters. You can mention the politics but not discuss them.

cf_al_bs wrote:

since then the message about an attack on Ireland has come out.

Do you have links to this threat and any comment on its credibility?

cf_al_bs

Em... It appeared in one of the newspapers during the week. It claimed that on a Islamic website there was a video of some terrorist calling for attacks on Ireland and on Dublin Airport.
I think the reason Dublin Airport is because it is busier than Shannon and more well known???

bryanw

There is nothing wrong with allies using Shannon Airport. They help to maintain the economy of the Shannon area and strengthen relations. There's a lot of money coming from those planes and I'm sure Shannon Airport wouldn't want to see it stop...

I really don't think there is any threat on Shannon or Dublin Airports, it's nonsense. We might be a soft target but I don't think attacking Ireland will achieve anything for the terrorists.

Metrobest

I am completely in favour of the planes landing at Shannon. We have to be pragmatic about this: Shannon needs the business and the US is a country with whom Ireland enjoys friendly relations - which is far more to Ireland's benefit than America's. Don't bite the hand that feeds you money and jobs.

And I really wouldn't worry about Ireland being a terrorist target. The terrorists would struggle to locate Ireland on their "atlas of evil", let alone plot an attack on it. Mind you, if they did decide to attack Ireland they wouldn't have to look far past Dublin airport. Anyone could walk through there with "BOMB" written on your backpack and the passport control would wave you through with a smile.

DublinWriter

Metrobest wrote:

I am completely in favour of the planes landing at Shannon. We have to be pragmatic about this: Shannon needs the business and the US is a country with whom Ireland enjoys friendly relations - which is far more to Ireland's benefit than America's. Don't bite the hand that feeds you money and jobs.

Well that's about says it all. We can't think past 'money and jobs' can we?

I'm sure Swiss bankers during WWII used the same argument.

Metrobest wrote:

And I really wouldn't worry about Ireland being a terrorist target. The terrorists would struggle to locate Ireland on their "atlas of evil", let alone plot an attack on it.

The biggest mistake you could make is to under estimate these people.

The 'ah sure, who'd bother attacking us?' arguement will look as stupid, ignorant and misguided as it is when someone makes the Departures Lounge of Dublin or Shannon airports look like a charnel house.

Tom Dunne

cf_al_bs wrote:

Em... It appeared in one of the newspapers during the week. It claimed that on a Islamic website there was a video of some terrorist calling for attacks on Ireland and on Dublin Airport.

Thought as much.

It wasn't in the Herald, or an "exclusive" in the Sunday World by any chance was it?

Well, if it's on the internet, it must be true....:rolleyes:

A Dub in Glasgo

Shameful carry on to assist in the invasion of Iraq and the slaughter of tens of thousands.

Chris_533976

Besides there could be no car bombs over here because the terrorists wouldnt bother sitting in traffic for hours to get where they want to be.

There cant be a metro bomb because theres no metro.

They cant attack Nuclear plants cos there are none.

Red Alert

so it would be ok too to allow CIE run excursions for people who shoot fathers, mothers and children. shannon airport's management has an ethical duty to hold the transport system in ireland in high esteem. they are not doing that and the entire airport sector is now complicit in something practically illegal.

if IE, BE, DB or any of the private bus/coach operators who act within the law decided that they could selectively interpret the law at will with the nod and wink from a government department and/or the US embassy then there'd be ructions. Shannon Airport is owned as a transport asset by the irish state, i.e. by the population. They must come clean with their activities.

SeanW

(I think this belongs in politics)

While I do believe the planes using Shannon impairs Ireland's "neutrality," I don't think it's any serious loss tbh.

Because Ireland isn't neutral anyway. Neutrality is like Switzerland, where you can actually assure your own security and don't get involved. Switzerland has a national draft of all young men who must serve one year in the military. It used to be steeper in the past. It would have had to have been back in WWII because Switzerland managed to stay Neutral, and independent, when the 3rd Reich was knocking over Germany's other neighbors right left and centre.

Ireland has feck all military worth talking about, a token Navy, a couple of planes, and a standing army much of which is engaged in foreign peacekeeping missions. You call that neutral?

A Neutral country can assure its own security, has no "allies" per se, and doesn't get involved in other disputes as the Irish army has done.

Yet we know that the British won't be happy if some whacko invades their next door neighbor, so the RAF is just a phone call away.

It's like Nuclear Power (we don't want a plant here but we're a net importer of electricity from Britain some of which is nuclear), abortion (illegal here but you can get info on English clinics).

We make big talk but don't back it up.

That's not proper neutrality. So letting the US planes use Shannon is no big deal - with the present policy of "lets-pretend-were-neutral" neutrality it makes sense to makes sense to keep our strategic allies happy - we might need to borrow their armies/navies/air forces some day.

Victor

If you guys can't stay out of the politics and stick with the transport issues, this thread will be locked.

Rattleandhum

I signed but "YOU cf_al_bs " need to sponsor the pettion..

I thinkthe Irish gov. is playing with fire. cf_al_bs "Your point is valid and the threat is real. al-Qaeda stated in the past after learning about the US troop movements through Shannon airport that irish citizens can no longer claim immunity and are a legit. target.
look here and see what Henry McDonald, Ireland editor
from the guardian said.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1863847,00.html

God forbid that anything should happen, but if anything does come of this threat, then I think Berti should collect his oap free bus pass and transport his butt off this island and for that matter off this plannet 'caus the familys of the "murdered" won't want to have dinner with him or journey to Old Trafford with him either for that matter, He and his clan won't be blown apart, just some more innoscent people to add to Wtc., London; Spain and don't forget the hundreds of thousands in iraq. Thankx Bushi, Berti, Blairi and all the other silver and gold lovin mupdivers. "Victor" the transport thread is marked in red, "like the color of blood..

.Sponser that Pettion so the people can read the quotes in the pettion, "it'll draw more attraction cf_al_bs... I think €2 should do the trick..

mikemac

In before lock

darkman2

cf_al_bs wrote: »

Do you think the use of Shannon Airport, Ireland, by the United States Military to transport people and supplies to and from the War in Iraq is fair? Doesn't this show that Ireland has now in fact lost its neutrality status because it allows this injustice to continue? Also Ireland has been named as a place for terrorists to attack due to the use of Shannon Airport and the governments blind spot surrounding this issue. They didn't just say any countries supporting the war in Iraq, oh no they actually mentioned Dublin Airport and they were going to 'hit hard'.
Now I'm travelling this summer from Dublin Airport, as many of you are, but I'm travelling on the 7th of July. Yes, a year to the day of the bombings in London. No I'm not very happy about this and didn't realise it at the time when I was booking the flights and since then the message about an attack on Ireland has come out.

Therefore I have decided to make a petition to show the oppostion to US Military flights landing at Shannon Airport. I urge everyone to sign it and be proud that Ireland can once again be a neutral country with a government that takes time to look into issues such as this.

To sign this petition go to : http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save_shannon

Thank you for your time. Your comments on this issue appreciated.
B4N,
Al.

Ireland is not a neutral country. Therefore I wont be signing your petition. I dont believe in 'Neutrality' anyway between the free world and terrorist states. So what if American troops use Shannon? They get money for it.

Ireland has been named as a place for terrorists to attack due to the use of Shannon Airport

How many islamic fundamentalists do you think could even point out Ireland on a map? We are very insignificant.

trellheim

Lock countdown has begun ...5 ...4... 3...:rolleyes:

Calina

I know. I'm getting shocking predictable.

I could bump it over to Politics but since this thread is ancient and just brought back to life for no reason whatsoever, I'm going to lock it instead.

To all you who were counting down, I'm sorry. I was having dinner.