Ireland can’t distance itself from the US bombings which kill children

The bombing of a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) hospital in Kunduz Afghanistan by US military aircraft caused the deaths of three children, 7 other patients and 12 MSF staff members.

Reliable reports indicate that the bombing was carried out by a US AC-130W aircraft, which continued to bomb the hospital for 30 minutes after MSF had informed US military in Kabul that the hospital was under attack. Apart from the human tragedies involved in this horrific incident, why should we in Ireland care about an incident occurring over 8,000 km away?

The US aircraft that carried out this bombing may well have travelled through Shannon airport. Information received under FOI requests and Dáil questions clearly indicate that no proper oversight or searches are carried out into the transit of US military aircraft through Shannon, even though such activity is in clear breach of Ireland’s obligations as a neutral state.