Is Ireland Backing the Bombing of Syria?

by Shannonwatch

On Sept 1^st 2014 the Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan said “the invasion of Ukraine is against international law & must stop” (RTE News). He made no reference to role of NATO as one of the root causes of the Ukraine conflict.

On 22^nd September 2014, the United States and its allies launched air strikes in Syria using warplanes, armed drones, and Tomahawk Cruise Missiles.

On Sept 23^rd 2014, the same Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan stated in relation to the bombing in Syria, that “people will not be surprised. With regard to the air attacks targets need to be particularly precise, and of course innocent civilians need to be spared”.

In contrast with his statement on Ukraine, the Minister failed to mention that these air strikes contravene international law, because they do not have UN Security Council approval. His statement that “the air attacks targets need to be particularly precise” suggests that the Irish Government approves such air strikes as long as they are “particularly precise”, regardless of breaches of international laws. His comment that “innocent civilians need to be spared” ignores the likelihood that innocent civilians have already been killed. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has stated that eight civilians including three children were killed in air strikes west of Aleppo (BBC News). The parents who might have been mourning the deaths of those children will not be concerned about the “particularly precise” US bombs that destroyed their children, because the parents were probably killed themselves.

Image: US Hercules Transport plane at Shannon Airport, credit Shannonwatch

In the meantime Irish Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Transport are almost daily approving the transit of US military and chartered aircraft carrying war materials and troops through Shannon airport. Suffer little children for very questionable Irish economic interests?