Shannon Spooks VIPS and US Navy

clare | anti-war / imperialism | news report

Tuesday March 30, 2004 14:28

by Tim

update on Shannon.

Not doing these updates as often as previously, I assume people still realise that the airport is still being used on a daily basis.
But t'was busy enough there recently to warrant a mention... and not just because troop numbers thru Shannon are on the increase.

On Saturday (27/3/04) our spy network informed us that the US Secret Service was visiting Dromoland Castle (I'm sure that has NOTHING to do with the rumour that the Brian Boru Hall in Dromoland will be the venue for Bush to address the US-EU Summit in June)

And of course, the Secret Service didn't walk here from Washington...

So out we went to the airport, arriving just as the sun was setting. the first thing we noted was that the ATA Tristar parked on the centre stand away from the terminal.
ATA are still moving troops for the Pentagon (and getting well paid for the charter)
There were a number of vehicles parked next to it, including an Irish Army jeep and Airport Police vehicles. There were some mobile field lights erected next to the plane as well, but they were facing away from the plane, illuminating the ground to the left of it.

Shortly afterwards we saw an APO jeep and an unmarked black 'pick-up truck' rushing out the eastern taxiway towards the north eastern end of the main runway.
In fact there were a lot of vehicles driving around in there, perhaps giving the Secret Service a tour of the facility?
We saw two more army jeeps in there as well as a big fancy car with flashing light on the dashboard

at 19:40 another ATA landed, this time it was the newer 737 (flying pencil) which taxied to the enclosed area at the west end of the terminal. It was accompanied by plenty of yellow vans with flashing lights and guarded throughout. Plane reg was N550TZ.
see file photo of this plane
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/184842/L/

at 20:40 a US Air Force VIP jet landed and taxied to the same enclosed area as the ATA 757. It was met by a few more vehicles and all the passengers disembarked to the ground and were brought by a van to the terminal. Due to the distance and poor light we couldn't confirm which Squadron it belongs to, but believe it to be part of USAF 89th Airlift Wing, possibly the 99th Squadron.

the interesting thing about all these rushing vans and flashing lights was that, even though this is the most energetic activity I have seen from the airport police, nobody did a full perimiter patrol in the whole time we were there (a few hours). Nobody approached us or drove by us... too busy impressing the dark sunglasses brigade perhaps?

Yesterday, I went to the terminal at 5.30 pm
(meeting someone off a flight, so Aer Rianta can stick their injunction! )

At the enclosed area at the end of the terminal there was another ATA plane (a Tristar with the older paint job)

and in the middle of the airfield was a DC-9 marked as being a US Navy jet, from the 61st Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VR-61), normally based on Whidbey Island, in Washington State (that's on the Pacific Coast of the US) The squadron consists of FOUR DC-9-33s which have been spotted at Shannon a number of occassions since late 2001.

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Comments (8 of 8)

Respect the leaders?

by Bob

Wed Mar 31, 2004 13:47

Would the average Irish person on the street feel slighted if Bertie Ahern got protested for any of his policies when he went abroad?

A bit too much leader-worship going on there.
Just cos someone is in charge doesn't mean that they are above the law.
We're citizens not subjects and we can condemn mass murders regardless of their "rank"

Where'd you get your 250 Million 'failte'?

by Sean

Wed Mar 31, 2004 12:25

George Bush does not have the support of 250 million US citizens.

Here are the official results of the 2000 US Presidential Elections in order of the greatest number of votes received by each candidate:-

Al Gore 50,996,582

George W. Bush 50,456,062

Ralph Nader 2, 858,841

Pat Buchanan 438,760

Others 613,051

According to the United States Census Bureau, the population of the US in 2002 was 292,914,547. Therefore at most George Bush got the support of 17.2% of the US people in the 2000 election.

Given the fact that the Bush side were involved in a major electoral fraud operation, it seems clear that Bush's 'majority' is nothing more than a figment of his own imagination. Roll on November!

Dear "Freer and fuller"

by Phuq Hedd

Tue Mar 30, 2004 21:16

QUOTE: "The reason you went unhindered was that the Gardai and the US agents, know that people like you are cranks with no influence, and no ability to do anything constructive or useful that would hinder their visit."
ANSWER: Your response to Eoin Dubsky's post indicates a great deal of confusion. He didn't say that he was wandering around he suggested that one would be able to due to the lax nature of the security that he'd observed. It's called "speculation". I know that's a hard concept for someone like yourself who finds the line between fantasy and reality is a little hard to discern, but really it's a worthwhile concept.

Thanks again Tim Hourigan for more actual information obtained in the real world.

A Free Future

by Freer, and fuller

Tue Mar 30, 2004 21:09

The reason you went unhindered was that the Gardai and the US agents, know that people like you are cranks with no influence, and no ability to do anything constructive or useful that would hinder their visit.

If you lot were able to demostrate at Shannon in a manner which suggested that you had anyting like popular support, maybe the Guards would have moved you on. But it seems to me that you are a person with nothing better to do than stalk men in unifrom, or men who you think should in unifrom.

are these comments or just free entertainment ?

by conor (wsm personal capacity)

Tue Mar 30, 2004 19:56

>Americans are decent people too. One of >the greatest democracies on the planet. At l>east they allow people to disagree with them.

and so democratic that the losing candidates are allowed to win the elections !

Grow up

conor

chuir failte roimh seoirse

by cead mile failte

Tue Mar 30, 2004 19:47

George bush is welcome here. We may not all agree with him but he is the representative of 250 million or so people. Half of them dont agree with him. So aswell as offending those who agree with him you seem intent on also insulting those who dont agree with him. He represents all the people of his great nation. Americans are decent people too. One of the greatest democracies on the planet. At least they allow people to disagree with them.

Excellent work Tim

by Eoin Dubsky

Tue Mar 30, 2004 16:02

A lot of the "security arrangements" at Shannon Airport put in place since it was exposed as a US airbase are just for show. I'm confident that even if I describe one of their most striking security failures they will do nothing about it: Passengers stepping off Ryanair flights to Shannon can walk freely around the apron, which is littered with vehicles and other goodies. Put on a high-vis jacket or vest the next time you're getting off a Ryanair plane in Shannon and see how far you can get before someone tries to stop you. You'll probably be cold and bored before the authorities catch on.

Tim and co, your vigilance is nothing short of brilliant!

by .

Tue Mar 30, 2004 15:06

You must have gathered some very interesting 'flight' patterns during your time

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Shannon Spooks VIPS and US Navy

Comments (8 of 8)