Bush backs Bertie

by Deirdre - pitstop ploughshares Sat Feb 14, 2004 23:29

I'm sure Bertie will push the boat out for that one. I wonder if Dubya will stay in a tent in Mary McAleese's back garden? Or maybe Royston Brady will offer to put him up.

by David Sun Feb 15, 2004 13:22

He'd be safe there we all know how the Sw.. um i mean IAWM feel about that place

by Deirdre - pitstop ploughshares Sun Feb 15, 2004 15:22

The current IAWM shift away from Shannon as a focus is rather baffling to me also. I have tried to avoid the kneejerk cynicism some people have about the IAWM and the SC in particular, but to put Shannon on the back burner is a travesty and would make me wonder very deeply about what is going on. I feel disappointed and let down by that push on the 31st to shift the focus so pointedly away from the locus of our government's complicity. Give Bertie what he wants on a plate, why don't you.

What puzzles me is, even if what people say is true and there is one leftist party pulling the strings, why would a leftist party come up with such a strategy? What is the thinking behind being as conservative as possible and as within a right-wing state's desired boundaries as possible, when you are purporting to be a revolutionary socialist party? Am I missing something here? Is there a passage in Marx that I somehow glossed over that says we shouldn't bring our protests to the place where the machinery of imperialism is being facilitated, but take it elsewhere? If someone could enlighten me on this some day, I would be grateful. To me, it is one of the great riddles of our time.

by David Sun Feb 15, 2004 15:37

But i always thought it was very strange that fintan lane got imprisoned just before a proposed mass Shannon Direct action thereby handing the SWP the Role of PRO for the IAWM and resulting in a much diluted event which lasted less than 2 hours.
If the SWP are not actively in collusion with the Irish Authorities, they are in my honest opinion, the States preferred opposition, and i cant decide which one of those situations is worse for the Global justice movement in ireland

by ec Sun Feb 15, 2004 15:56

Big guns brought out for Bush
DON LAVERY

THE largest ever security operation seen in this country involving thousands of gardai and soldiers - along with American fighter jets - will protect President George Bush when he visits Ireland this summer.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has confirmed that he will host the high profile EU-US summit early in the summer, likely to be at a venue outside Dublin, after months of uncertainty about the meeting.

While White House and Irish Government officials have begun examining venues and dates, no announcement will be made without detailed security planning by both governments.

While the visit will be opposed by thousands of anti-war protesters, both governments are acutely aware of the ever present danger of a terrorist attack ranging from suicide bombers to a September 11-style strike.

Asked about the possibility of a President Bush visit, and that Ireland cannot defend its airspace because it has no interceptor aircraft, a spokeswoman for the American Embassy said: "That is a matter for the Irish Government."

It is understood that US Air Force F-15 Eagle fighters based in the UK will be used to provide air cover for the visit. Low level air defence up to 10,000 feet will be provided by Irish army RBS-70 surface-to-air (SAM) missiles with a range of 5kms along with EL-70 anti-aircraft guns controlled by Flycatcher radar.

The threat of aerial attack has been taken so seriously by US security officials that the Czech government had to pass a special law to allow US fighters to patrol over Prague during a Nato summit before President Bush could attend.

Defence Minister Michael Smith has admitted that Ireland would have to seek outside help if there was a September 11-type attack.

Shannon is the most likely arrival point for Air Force One carrying President Bush and his entourage and its seven mile perimeter will have to be secured by hundreds of gardai and soldiers backed up by armoured vehicles.

Army officers have identified several sites within a three-mile radius of the runways where shoulder-fired SAMs could be used against aircraft, so roving ground and air patrols will be used to counter that threat.

by Acid Sun Feb 15, 2004 19:41

We may have a half-decent army (sic), but a desperate police force compared to other states along with underdeveloped security is simply an invitation to terrorists. Dont get me wrong. I'm only worried about the people here, but I think Ireland simply isnt ready for a visit from todays most hated man on earth.

by mightymouse Sun Feb 15, 2004 20:43

Oh, its for George Bush? screw him

by just to note Sun Feb 15, 2004 23:10

The fact the GWB has already been on this island has seemed to be forgotten by alot of posters from this site, he was hushed off into hillsborough castle while a few thousand protested his presence around a wall of British army and RUC .......

Although in saying that as an activist present at that protest we should have had thousands more - but thousands seem to forget about shit when it happens across a border........

by Ray Mon Feb 16, 2004 10:31

Deirdre asked this above.
The SWP is based in Dublin. They want to recruit people.
Going to Shannon, especially going to Shannon to engage in some form of direct action, tends to attract more experienced activists, from around the country. These people are less interested in being recruited, and are harder to chase up from Dublin.
Demonstrations in Dublin, especially demos in Dublin that are just marches from point A to point B, attract a different crowd. A crowd that is less experienced, so more likely to be open to recruitment, and more easily available for follow-up activities (house calls, invitations to meetings and 'petitions').
Also, in Dublin, you can make a big deal out of your revolutionary rhetoric. In Shannon, that rhetoric is going to be contrasted with people taking direct action.

by Acid Mon Feb 16, 2004 12:47

It wasnt that it happend across a border. It was because it was announced a few days before it actually happend. If everyone knew has was going to be in ireland at least a month or two in advance, there would of been a very different scene to the one last year.

by Righteous Pragmatist Tue Feb 17, 2004 11:22

Have you ever wondered that maybe they don't support your stupid moronic politics?
Maybe they don't give a fuck about Iraq?
Maybe they don't give a fuck about Northern Ireland?

Maybe you should get a life!

by Maratist Wed Feb 18, 2004 19:35

I wasn't in Hillsborough cause like most people I'm not a fulltime activist (though I was appraoching the status at that time) and cannae get from one end of the country to the other in a drop of a hat. Ulsterians would be better looking to themselves to mobilise people in their area rather than looking for activists to come in from elsewhere (likewise with people in other parts). Unless that is we want a super-activist clique that cuts itself off from the rest of the population by making riduculous demands on people.

by Canteen Kevin Fri Feb 20, 2004 14:04

Looks like Rightarse Pragamabollocks above is getting into even more of a tantrum than usual.

PS "Get a Life?"