500 Guarda for 9 Anti-War Protestors

Irish Times, March 3:

The security clampdown for US President George W Bush’s stopover at Shannon Airport in the early hours of yesterday morning (March 2) was in stark contrast with the garda presence at the Love Ulster march which sparked vicious riots in Dublin.

Overall, some 500 gardaí, army and airport personnel were on alert when Air Force One landed at Shannon en route to America from a state visit to India and Pakistan to generate support for the dubious ‘war on terrorism’. ...

At Shannon, only nine anti-war campaigners were on hand when the plane landed just after 2.30am. Kept outside the perimeter fence, they went unnoticed by Mr Bush who did not disembark during the 80-minute refuelling stop. Demonstrators see the use of Shannon for US troop movements as facilitating the war in Iraq where over 100,000 civilians, half of them children, have died. Despite White House denials, they also believe dozens of prisoners have passed through the airport on so-called ‘extraordinary rendition’ of CIA suspects for torture. ...