Shannon airport – which has been used by the US military since WW2 and especially since the 90s – has seen an 80 percent jump in troops passing through it since the war in Iran began.
8,218 US troops, typically armed with personnel weapons, have passed through Shannon since January. The figures for March alone are 3,604, a 79 percent increase from the January figures of 2,012.
The sleek airport is in contrast with the typical dilapidated infrastructure that surrounds it; a gossamer thin cloak presents the airport as a piece of civil transport infrastructure. But in reality, the runways play a key role in serving US imperialism.
An Irish Times investigation revealed additionally that 248 overflights – planes passing through Irish airspace without landing – have gone unreported since last August. Typically, 30 or so US military planes would be reported passing through each month, but for the past eight months official figures reported only one or two.
Irish law stipulates that foreign governments need permission to transport arms through airports but the Irish government always gives permission to US flights or otherwise just outright doesn’t inspect the cargo.
In the last 15 months, the government did not refuse any requests for overflights or landings in Ireland by US military aircraft. Without reporting these flights they have in truth been doing the exact same thing, only without the pretence of following their own legal standards that are there to maintain the illusion of ‘sovereignty’ and ‘neutrality’.
When Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee was questioned about overflights during her visit to the US on St Patrick’s Day, she gave an outstanding performance as a clueless jester stating she had “no reason to believe” US aircraft are using Irish airspace to participate in the war in Iran.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin is also very experienced at playing the fool to defend US imperialism. In response to Trump’s threat to “bomb Iran back to the Stone Age” Martin explained it wasn’t “clear” to him “whether he’s directing that at the civilian population”.
James Connolly once remarked that this method of “ruling by fooling, is a great British art – with great Irish fools to practice on”. But Irish workers won’t be so easily duped by the government’s tricks. It is clear to all that this deeply unpopular government is hellbent on carrying out the militaristic diktats of the imperialists, such as scrapping the Triple Lock and facilitating US transports to Europe and the Middle East.
They de facto participate in US wars and try to pull the wool over our eyes. In the past such wars were often justified by grand speeches about ‘democracy’, ‘human rights’ or ‘international law’, but now with Trump abandoning even these false pretences the Irish ruling class are being left increasingly exposed for what they truly are: lapdogs of imperialism. The point is that as long as capitalism remains, the Irish ruling class will be unwilling and unable to fight imperialism – they are fully dependent on it for their position and wealth. Only a socialist revolution where the big multinationals are nationalised and placed under workers control would see an end to US imperialism in Ireland, while inspiring workers of the US, Europe and all across the world to overthrow their rulers and stab the imperialist beast right in its heart.
