Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The planes are not being inspected; we do not care what the Americans do in Shannon. Yesterday was the fifteenth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. The role this country has played in facilitating the destruction not just of Iraq but several other countries in the region is an absolute shame. We are still doing so. We should learn some lessons from Iraq and should remember it. Not only do we still owe an enormous debt to the people of Iraq, the war's goals also remain in place, namely, expanding US military domination, controlling oil and pipelines, facilitating US business, promoting the arms industry, and building an empire of military bases. The wars raging across the Middle East today find their origins in the Iraq war. We need to remember that it was Bush's occupation of Iraq that gave rise to ISIS. That terrorist organisation germinated in the cells of prisons in which Iraqis were being held. Is Ireland ever going to learn that America is not going to the Middle East to promote democracy? It has supported dictators there for many years. It is creating untold hardship, destruction and misery.

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