IRELAND NOT HAPPY WITH US MILITARY

How to make friends and influence people, eh? I guess Foreign Minister Ahern didn't know this is Bush we're talking about. He doesn't have to abide by any stinking laws. He's the decider! Ahern better watch out, or Bush might have to sneak into the country to pay him a visit!!



U.S. military broke law, Ireland says

The Associated Press
Posted June 14 2006


DUBLIN, Ireland · The U.S. military violated Irish law by transporting a convicted U.S. Marine through Shannon Airport without government permission, Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern announced Tuesday.

The episode -- discovered when a cleaner spotted the man, in handcuffs and military fatigues, on the plane at the airport -- underscored Irish suspicions that the U.S. military also could be ferrying munitions and terrorism suspects through this officially neutral nation.



LocalLinks

U.S. Ambassador James Kenny confirmed that a U.S. Marine, who had been convicted of stealing by a U.S. military tribunal in Kuwait, was being transported Sunday under guard on a Defense Department-chartered aircraft. He said the military should have sought written permission from Ireland's Justice Department to bring the convict into Irish airspace but failed to do so.

"We regret that this incident happened and are reviewing procedures closely with Irish authorities to ensure that this does not happen again," said Kenny, who pledged that all future U.S. military and chartered troop transports refueling in Shannon would be "completely transparent and in conformity with Irish law and the wishes of the Irish government."

Ahern, who summoned Kenny for an explanation Monday night, said: "This failure, though inadvertent, is unacceptable. It is a matter of gravest concern to the Irish government."

He said the legal breach was particularly sensitive because of widespread suspicions that the Central Intelligence Agency was using Shannon -- a strategically located, trans-Atlantic refueling point -- for transporting al-Qaida and Taliban suspects. Both the Irish and U.S. governments have denied this.

Question Girl