War an issue for the next general election

WAR has very rarely been an issue in an Irish general election. However, the decision of Bertie Ahern’s Government to destroy Irish neutrality by actively supporting the US war on Iraq by turning Shannon Airport into a de facto US airforce base means that it will be an issue in the next one.

The US and Britain invaded, conquered and occupied Iraq in order to gain control of Iraq’s oil and to consolidate US/Israeli military domination of the Middle East.

The defeat of this FF/PD Government and its replacement by a government that terminates the use of Shannon in imperialist wars will be the central objective of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance from now until the election.

This Government has continued to drag Ireland deeper and deeper into participation in this war by integrating the Irish Army into the EU battle groups which are a little more than an extension of NATO’s military and by destroying the so called ’triple lock’ legislation in the dead of the night at the end of the last Dáil session.

It has also firmly allied itself to Israel by refusing to accept the democratic decision of the people of Palestine to elect a government of their choice and has cut off all aid to the government of the Palestinian Authority in the expectation of starving them into submission.

Mr Ahern’s Government also appears more than willing to send Irish troops to take part in an ‘international force’ — established by US President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair — to be sent to Lebanon, when it is clear the only role of such a force will be to fight shoulder to shoulder with the Israelis in smashing the resistance and installing an Israeli puppet regime in that country.

Since the war on Lebanon is only a precursor to a war on Iran and Syria by the US, Britain and Israel — which will be sold as a war to end war, a war to bring justice, democracy and a lasting peace to a ‘new’ Middle East — we can only expect that Mr Ahern will support that war as well.

Roger Cole

Chair

Peace & Neutrality Alliance

Dalkey Business Centre

17 Castle Street

Dalkey

Co Dublin