Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has spoken about the past 50 years, but he knows well that the beginning of the war in Afghanistan in 2001 was a game-changer in terms of how Shannon Airport is used. The American military has been using Shannon to funnel death and destruction around the world. What it is doing in Yemen today has to be the most inhuman and disgusting episode yet. What is happening to that country is horrific, and we do not even get proper news coverage of it because the mainstream media is controlled in terms of the information being presented on that conflict. The line bandied about is that the people being targeted are Houthis and supported by Iran. That is absolute nonsense. They are ordinary people, fighting for their lives and their dignity.

White phosphorous was dropped in north Yemen by the bucketful. Did it come through Shannon? Do we care? The Minister has said that other Departments are making these calls, but the Defence Forces are in Shannon and are looking after planes that could be carrying cluster bombs or white phosphorous on their way to Yemen, the Saudis or the United Arab Emirates. It is simply immoral.

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