Wikileaks reveals Government’s doubts about US use of Shannon

RECENT Wikileaks revelations have portrayed an Irish government that had little faith in assurances being given by the US about its use of Shannon.

The documents have led peace groups to call for the new Government to take a different tack to its predecessor on the US military use of Shannon.
A 2004 cable now in the public domain has shown that Bertie Ahern held doubts about assurances he had received from the US.
In a meeting with the then US ambassador, James Kenny and with John McCain and Lindsey Graham, he questioned whether rendition flights had passed through Shannon Airport. According to the cable, “The prime minister said that while there are no plans to alter arrangements with the US at Shannon, the subject ‘is beginning to worry people’. He referenced his government’s repeated defence of the US military’s use of Shannon to parliament, in which he and other ministers have referred to US assurances that enemy combatants have not transited Shannon enroute to Guantanamo or elsewhere and will not without consultation. ‘Am I alright on this?’ he asked the ambassador. Following the meeting, Senator McCain told the ambassador he plans to raise Shannon with the administration when he returns to Washington and will underscore how very important it is that the US not ever be caught in a lie to a close friend and ally.”
In another 2008 cable, the then US ambassador Tom Foley described a parliamentary sub-committee set up due to protests against US flights through Shannon as a “sop” to the Green Party.
In a statement this week, peace group Shannonwatch called on the current Government to stop the US military use of the airport.
“The present Government now has a responsibility to immediately end the use of Shannon Airport for purposes not in line with international law, as they promised in their Programme for Government. This should not only cover renditions; it should also deal with breaches of humanitarian and neutrality law. The only way to do this is to end the US military use of Shannon.”
It stated that while Shannon is probably not being used for rendition now, action is still needed. “Since it is now likely that no more prisoners are being taken through Shannon Airport for torture purposes, it’s already too late to close that stable door but it is not too late to ensure that the same thing never happens again. Nor is it too late to close the door on US troops and munitions transiting to Shannon. The present Government have said they will ‘enforce the prohibition on the use of Irish airspace, airports and related facilities for purposes not in line with the dictates of international law’. It is time they showed this is not another meaningless public statement by a Government engaging in more cover-up and lies.”
Speaking to The Clare Champion, Labour Deputy Michael McNamara said the current administration has made its views known in the Programme for Government.
He said the Criminal Justice UN Convention Against Torture Act 2000 also applies, while he said that ensuring legislation is complied with is up to the gardaí. “It’s not for the Government to check aeroplanes, it’s for the gardaí to check them,” he commented.
Mr McNamara said he didn’t believe the gardaí would take any complaints made to them lightly.