‘Peace Mom’ takes stand against Shannon

AN American mother whose son was killed in Iraq demanded the Government stop the US military using Shannon Airport as it emerged that the 303,323 troops who passed through the airport this year generated €37 million.

The figure for the first 11 months of this year is almost double the 158,549 troops that used the airport last year, and brings to €80m the total the airport has received from the US government over the past four years. More than 650,000 US troops have passed through Shannon since the start of 2002.

But anti-war campaigner Cindy Sheehan, speaking ahead of a meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern, said the Government must stop the US military using Shannon Airport to transport troops to the Middle East.