Shannon security - Al-Qaida threat can’t be ignored

DEFENCE Minister Willie O’Dea’s demand for an urgent review of security at Shannon will be welcomed by all who believe the movement of US troops through the airport makes Ireland a target for al-Qaida.

Aptly, this reiteration of the need for the highest security in the face of global terror, came on a particularly dark day as the remains of 17-year-old Tara Whelan, victim of the minibus bomb at Kusadasi in Turkey, were received by her grieving family and friends last night.

Illustrating the indiscriminate nature of terrorism, there is every likelihood that the mindless atrocity attributed to separatist Kurds at the Turkish resort could some day be perpetrated by al-Qaida at Shannon or elsewhere in Ireland.