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PrintJanuary 23, 2009
Ireland may take Gitmo prisoners
Perhaps longing for the bad old days of the terrorist IRA, Ireland's Justice Minister Dermot Ahern may be willing to take some of the remaining prisoners from Guantanamo in Ireland.
As Minister for Foreign Affairs in 2005, the TD was the first EU minister to call for the closure of the prison and also lobbied then US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the issue.
The Government turned down informal requests in the past to resettle detainees because it was opposed to the Guantanamo facility.
“However, the priority which President Obama is giving to closing Guantanamo is very welcome and creates a new context in which this matter can be addressed,” said Mr Ahern.
“I believe that there should be a united and positive response at EU level to any request made by the new US administration for help in bringing about the closure of Guantanamo.”
The Government turned down informal requests in the past to resettle detainees because it was opposed to the Guantanamo facility.
“However, the priority which President Obama is giving to closing Guantanamo is very welcome and creates a new context in which this matter can be addressed,” said Mr Ahern.
“I believe that there should be a united and positive response at EU level to any request made by the new US administration for help in bringing about the closure of Guantanamo.”
According to Amnesty International Ireland
“Ireland can be part of the solution to Guantanamo. Ireland must help President Obama to close Guantanamo,” said executive director Colm O’Gorman.
And why can't the Guantanamo detainees be returned to their home countries?
Amnesty International Ireland said 50 prisoners have been cleared for release from Guantanamo but they cannot be returned to their home countries because they are at risk of torture or death.
Ahern has a soft spot in his heart for terrorists.
Families of Omagh bomb victims have called on the Irish Justice minister to resign after it was revealed he had made representations on behalf of the leader of the Real IRA.
Dermot Ahern admitted passing on emails on behalf of Michael McKevitt, one of five men suspected of involvement in the 1998 blast — the Troubles’ biggest single loss of life.
The minister, who met victims’ families in Dundalk during 2006, has expressed “regret” but has so far declined to apologise for his actions five years ago.
Dermot Ahern admitted passing on emails on behalf of Michael McKevitt, one of five men suspected of involvement in the 1998 blast — the Troubles’ biggest single loss of life.
The minister, who met victims’ families in Dundalk during 2006, has expressed “regret” but has so far declined to apologise for his actions five years ago.
Yes, the Guantanamo prisoners should feel right at home in Ireland. But the decent Irish citizens might not be so comfortable in their homes.
And what do the citizens in western Pennsylvania think about their newly re elected representative, John Murtha (D-PA), who invited them to his district?
"Sure, I'd take 'em," said Murtha, an outspoken critic of the Iraq war. "They're no more dangerous in my district than in Guantanamo."
Murtha added that there was "no reason not to put 'em in prisons in the United States and handle them the way they would handle any other prisoners."
Murtha added that there was "no reason not to put 'em in prisons in the United States and handle them the way they would handle any other prisoners."
Oh, so these terrorists are just like any other prisoner--a run of the mill burglar, murderer?
Well, let's also put them in prison in Hollywood.
