Open Letter to Mary Harney

HFXOC

24 March 2003



Ms Mary Harney T.D.
Tainiste
Dail Eireann
Dublin 2


Dear Mary

I hope you are keeping well. I hope that the nice bottle of Californian Chardonnay that you had with your dinner was to your liking. I hope that you sleep well tonight.

No Mary, I do not hope that you sleep well tonight nor any night for that matter. You have brought shame on my country with your arrogant condescending support of the United States’ war on Iraq.

I have just watched your ‘friends’ in ‘awe and shock’ as their cruise missiles and B52 delivered bombs rain down onto the innocent people of Baghdad. Your ‘friends’ are perpetrating an illegal murderous assault on the innocent peoples of Iraq, not Saddam Hussein. I wonder Mary whether it crossed your mind that some of these bombs and missiles probably crossed through or over my country with your blessing. One thing I am sure of is that the blood of the Iraqi innocents will be on your hands as a willing and complicit participant in the US assault on Iraq.

You have surrendered your morals for the sake of political pragmatism. You have condemned my country to economic slavery from which there is no freedom. You have ensured that Ireland is a commercial prostitute, paid in US investment dollars, with George W Bush as our pimp. And as with all threatening pimps, we will get a right kicking if we do not turn a trick for him upon demand. And the trick this time is your continued support of USAF Fort Shannon.

Ms. Harney, you have shamed my country and yourself. For someone who claimed the political moral high ground with the formation of the Progressive Democrats, it is amazing that you end up with no morals at all. You should rightly be the leader of the Regressive Democrats.

Good luck with your efforts to sleep well, for you surely will not.



Yours sincerely


Peter from Sandyford

gandalf

Sent this email to Tom Kitt last Friday. He was supposed to call me.

Tom,

Please don't waste my time in calling now. You have already let the majority of people down with the cowardly decision you made yesterday about the continued use of Shannon. How Mr. Ahern can make a statement saying we are not helping militarily when 50,000 of the troops in the Persian Gulf passed through Shannon is really a outright lie and a insult to the intelligence of the Irish public.

When we were told last year that you would Copper Fasten Irish
Neutrality we didn't realise it meant that you were actually nailing
the lid on its coffin. I suppose its saves you running a referendum.

The argument that we are reliant on US companies to provide
employment and investment seems to be a solid one except am I also clever enough to realise that they are not here on a mercy mission but here because it makes good business sense for them. Once our costs get too high they will leave, they won't care that we trampled our Neutrality into the ground to keep being "their friends".

I like many others feel betrayed the arrogant way this government have disregarded a large portion (even the majority according to Polls like the MRBI one in the Irish Times 15th Feb) of public opinion.

You should be ashamed of your actions yesterday.

Yours etc.
.

If your against this illegal war and the use of Shannon you should let your local government TD know by writing, phoning, faxing or emailing them. I believe Politics.ie has a good database of their contact details.

Gandalf.

Hobbes

I already wrote to my TD, but he just ignored me. I was civil about it.

Of course he's political career is down the toilet over the Donamede mess but at least he's guaranteed to take FF with him.

bonkey

Originally posted by gandalf
How Mr. Ahern can make a statement saying we are not helping militarily when 50,000 of the troops in the Persian Gulf passed through Shannon is really a outright lie and a insult to the intelligence of the Irish public.

And if it isnt helping militarily, then is Kuwait also to be considered a neutral party in these actions? Or Turkey or Jordan for that matter?

Somehow, I think not.

jc

Cork

The argument that we are reliant on US companies to provide employment and investment seems to be a solid one except am I also clever enough to realise that they are not here on a mercy mission but here because it makes good business sense for them. Once our costs get too high they will leave, they won't care that we trampled our Neutrality into the ground to keep being "their friends".

But Irish friendship with the US has been a factor in both our economy and our peace process. The Uk and US are our biggest markets & our biggest sources of foriegn direct investment.

I hope through the continuance of social partnership & the breaking up of certain cartels in our country our costs will our infation rate will be brought under control.

During the Clinton Administration, changes were purposed on transfer pricing arrangements between Ireland & the US - that would have left Ireland as a less attractive place for US companies to invest here.

Clinton intervened - & the changes were not made.

You have ensured that Ireland is a commercial prostitute, paid in US investment dollars, with George W Bush as our pimp

Tell that to the IDA who are trying to bring US companies here. The IDA have been doing a great job in bring foriegn direct investment into Ireland. There are many 1000s working for these companies.

And If these companies were not here: People would be going to the UK, US or OZ or they would be on social wefare here.

Ireland is a commercial prostitute

You are entitled to your openion but I beg to differ.

Shinji

You are entitled to your openion but I beg to differ.

Which is a fascinating viewpoint, given that the bulk of your posts about the Ireland's involvement in the Iraqi situation have effectively been screaming for Ireland to show a bit more leg to the American passer-bys, and maybe wear a little more tarty make-up while she's at it.

On the one hand, you seem to claim that we should sell out our constitution and political beliefs because of American industrial interests; on the other hand, you get snotty when someone calls this "commercial prostitution".

What do YOU call it then?

bonkey

Originally posted by Shinji
What do YOU call it then?

You could call it "preserving the nations financial interests"

Then again...you could call IT service prostitutes "consultants" as well.

Its all just politer terminology for the same things, to keep sensibilities in order. You know...like various people getting shocked at the crude terms used for the Water Closet

In this case, though, I would say that the terminology reflects where your core beliefs are. Cork would appear to believe our morals should be subservient to our bank balance, and thus subservient to the aggressive bullying of the nations we have become somewhat financially dependant on.

I would differ. My morals are not for sale, and will not bow to threats or forecasts of possible dire consequences. If the US or UK governments or industry then decides to be vengeful about it and punish the Irish nation and people for exercising its own free will and right to self-determination, then I will gladly suffer the hardship of finding more mature business partners who are capable of better understanding the differentiation between trade and political ideology.

Yes, its easy for me to say that living abroad as I do at present, but I would have the same stance had I not moved, and will have the same stance when I return.

What I regret most is that like in so many situations in the past, the outrage will most likely have been forgotten by the time the next elections draw nigh, and anyone trying to bring back discussion on the controversy this issue has caused will be drowned out with cries of "let it go, for mercy's sake. Thats all over and done with", and the nation's government will once more see no reprecussions from grossly mis-representing the public on this matter.

jc

swiss

Every time I look at this war and our governments reaction to the war, I find myself becoming more and more desensitised to our tacit support of the slaughter of innocent iraqi individuals. I'm not surprised that our government has decided to kowtow to American interests, in a clear abrogation of the tenets of neutralitiy and soverignty upon which this state was founded. Neither am I surprised that, in typical Fianna Fail/PD arrogance, every protest of this decision is met with a derisory "we know best" attitude.

Of course, there are two sides to every argument. A lot of people point towards American investment in Ireland, and argue that we cannot risk jeapordising this investment through our petty 'morals'. I personally find this viewpoint objectionable, it indicates that our morals and values are somehow 'for sale'. Indeed, if the Iraqi state was our primary source of foreign investment, would that not indicate that by that rationale, we would be helping them as opposed to the US?

More than the actual war itself, I am concerned about the dangerous precedent that the US has set by such a flagrant disregard of the policies and procedures of the UN. I feel that this signifies a death knell for the organisation, unless international pressure can force the US to recall it's forces (unlikely IMO - Iraq still has oil as well as human rights abuses). Should this occur, it gives a proverbial 'green light' for any government to act unilaterally in it's own interests - waging it's own petty war against 'terror' or 'rogue states'. Israel vs Palestine anyone?

Originally posted by bonkey
In this case, though, I would say that the terminology reflects where your core beliefs are. Cork would appear to believe our morals should be subservient to our bank balance, and thus subservient to the aggressive bullying of the nations we have become somewhat financially dependant on.

jc

I can understand, this whole morals for sale, argument.
But we are very greedy here.
Given a strict choice between, nudge, nudge, Shhhhh....Whisht...dont say a thing! and the possibility that, the IRS on Bushes say so could make it more favourable for Intel et al to be in the Czech Republic, people would vote with their mortgages save, a minority.
Going to a 100,000 plus protest in Dublin is one thing but, putting your actions where your feet walk is an entirely different matter entirely.

Incidently,I have met an awfull lot of people who support that view point while not liking, the fact that , a war is on.
whether, I am out of kilter with most on this board, I've discussed, this ad nauseum with my peers, in my part of the world,and most tend to the same view.
mm

Hobbes

This just in.. my TD snail mailed me.

The letter is 4 lines with only the following line being relevant.

"You be assured that I have noted your views on this matter."

And he's also sent me a photocopy of Berties speech. Something I could of picked up off the net.

Basically translates to me as "F'off, I don't give a sh!t".

Originally posted by swiss
More than the actual war itself, I am concerned about the dangerous precedent that the US has set by such a flagrant disregard of the policies and procedures of the UN. I feel that this signifies a death knell for the organisation, unless international pressure can force the US to recall it's forces (unlikely IMO - Iraq still has oil as well as human rights abuses). Should this occur, it gives a proverbial 'green light' for any government to act unilaterally in it's own interests - waging it's own petty war against 'terror' or 'rogue states'. Israel vs Palestine anyone?

This is the nail on the head here, a ten year old , taking a look at the make up of the UNSC and it's veto structure,combined occasionally with , tiny African dictatorships, whose vote can be bought, by any large state would suss that it's unworkable.
There appears to be no fix and the system has always been broken , dragging it's limbs along the ground, since probably it's inception.
This latest situation breaking them altogether.
Take a look at that Awful nasty henchman and his cohorts Mugabe in Zimbabwe...theres no rush to pile up, UNSC, reloution after resolution there, never mind impliment any.
mm

Von

Our elected representatives have demonstrated consistently that they can be extremely flexible when it comes to controversial decisions. I've written to TD's to enquire whether the discovery of a few brown envelopes (well stuffed with 'party donations') in supermarket carparks might signal a change of heart.