“Why did you kill my brother? We’re not terrorists. We didn’t do anything to you”

dublin | anti-war / imperialism | feature

Saturday July 15, 2006 12:32

by Dave Donnellan/IMC Editorial Enlistees

Former US Marine Speaks of Iraq Experience

"Those words ring in my ears and haunt my dreams every night. Those words came from an Iraqi man after we shot into his car at a checkpoint near the Baghdad station. We had given a hand and arm signal to stop but they did not. There were four Iraqis in the car three of them were fatally wounded." - Former US Marine, Jimmy Massey.

Jimmy Massey was a member of the US Marines for 12 years. He was deployed to Iraq as a Staff Sergeant in command of 35 men. During his tour of duty in Iraq his troops were responsible for the killing of approximately 35 unarmed civilians including children. He refused to continue killing and asked to be seen by a psychiatrist and was then sent back to the US for treatment. He was honourably discharged from the military in 2003 and was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Jimmy Massey is a founding member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. He is currently in Ireland as a witness in the trial of five peace activists from the Pit Stop Ploughsahres who disarmed a US Navy war plane in Shannon airport on the 3rd of February 2003.

Also of Interest: A video of Jimmy speaking the last time he was over in Ireland | Interview From The Frontline | Pitstop Trial Begins in Four Courts | The Mysterious Indymedia Anti-war Archive Machine

The followoing is a report of a speech delivered by him at a recent public meeting in Dublin.

It’s definitely an honor to be back in Ireland and to be a part of this (Pitstop Plougshares) trial. I want to give you a little bit of history about myself. I grew up in western North Carolina and also along the gulf coast of Texas. My grandfather was co-owner of a dairy farm in western North Carolina. I used to spend my summers there working on a dairy farm so that I could get money to pay for my school clothes and what not. I grew up in a working class family. My father was shot and killed by police in Florida when I was very young so it was difficult growing up as far as money. I came from a trailer park in Texas. So it was funny, I was watching a show last night on MTV called ‘Trailer Park Boys’ and it was very reminiscent of my experiences in trailer park growing up.

I went to college. My dreams and desires were to become the pride of the automotive engineering community. I wanted to design new cars. That’s one thing. My first year of college my Mom called me on Spring Break and said ‘Bubba, I can no longer afford for you to go to college’. So I dropped out and decided to take a sabbatical and roam around the South. I found my way to New Orleans where I took a job working in the oil fields. Shortly after going to New Orleans I discovered Bourbon Street! And being 19 years old on Bourbon Street I soon lost my car, my apartment and my job. Then I was homeless living out on the streets and being very stubborn and headstrong and from Irish background myself, my mother is a red headed fiery Irish woman, I called her and I said ‘Mom, I’m gonna join the marines’. She said ‘Well, the only thing that you’re gonna do, if you still want to continue to be a part of this family, is you are going get on a Greyhound bus there in New Orleans and you’re gonna travel back to Houston and you’re gonna talk to me about wanting to go into the Marines. So over the course of that morning when I arrived back in Houston and over breakfast taking with my Ma about going in the marines she finally gave me her blessings and so off I went. So that began my career in the Marines.

When I eventually found out over time being a part of the Military Industrial Complex in America was that I was an economic conscript. In America we don’t have to have the draft. The draft was did away with after the Vietnam War. What they incorporated was something that was more clever than the draft. They basically sold off all the factories little by little in America, and especially in the South and moved them to China, which forced the youth of America to either leave their hometowns and find employment or try to find work within the fast food industry.

These were the types of situations that I heard continuously while I was a recruiter for three years as a Marine. Never once did I have a young man or woman come to me and say, you know Staff Sergeant the reason I’m joining the marines is for patriotism or for loyalty to country, or esprit de corp., all these intangible benefits. It was always for tangible benefits. It was for financial security, health care, technical skills and also money for college. The US military promises up to $50,000 to go to college. For a kid living in a trailer park who just doesn’t have the economic means, going in the military is definitely a way to go.

By doing away with the draft we incorporated the what’s called the IRR (Individual Regular Reserve). So now when you sign up for the military in the US you have a four-year obligation and then you have a 4-year obligation in the IRR. During the time after you’ve been discharged after four years and you’re in the IRR, the US government can call you back on active duty at any time in the case of imminent danger or war, which we’re in. So basically right now if you join the military you’re in for 8 years.

I’ve written a book. The Spanish Version is called ‘Cowboys From Hell’. The French version is called ‘Kill, Kill, Kill’. I have went through many English publishing companies from Britain to Amsterdam to Canada to the US. And no English publishing company will pick it up for fear of legal reprise. I name names in the book and that’s very threatening to a lot of English publishing companies. If you know any good Irish publishing company that has the intestinal fortitude to pick up the book please send them my way.

With that in mind when I first heard the possibility of the US going to war with Iraq I believed President lies like many other Americans. It’s no secret that Saddam Hussein was a horrible dictator and done unspeakable acts against humanity. He did things like use chemical warfare on the Kurds and tortured prisoners, now the American Forces are doing the same. These things and so much more ended with the mass killings of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians.

As I was going over all this information in my mind I began to ask myself deep questions. How did we get into the situation where the use of military force was about to possibly cause a global war? How was Saddam linked to weapons of mass destruction? I knew that we put Saddam into power and sold lots of military hardware to Saddam government during the Iran Iraq war. This was confirmed when I was in Iraq my platoon and I saw left over US munitions and abandoned ammo stores facilities throughout Iraq. Also US maintenance left over after the Iran Iraq war.

I had many briefings during my career about the Middle East and in each briefing I was led to believe they, along with North Korea, were a constant threat to the US. The Marine Corps had to train for this moment since the end of the Cold War
I joined the marines at the end of the Gulf War in 1992. I remember training with the use of Soviet infantry pop up targets in boot camp. We shifted to use Middle Eastern pop-up targets by the time I got to the regular Marine force. The Cold War was dead and we needed a new enemy to supply the Military Industrial Complex. The Middle East was the new target. Osama Bin Laden knew this early on. Maybe he came to this rationalisation while conducting business with the CIA during the Russian Afghan war.

What I believed when I cycled all this information though my mind was that my president would not send me to war for no good reason. I felt this because I knew his job is to uphold the constitution of the United States, the Geneva Conventions and abide by International Law even though we, as Americans, don’t belong to the International Court system I voted for Bush in his first election. I had faith in this man but I was wrong and thankfully it didn’t take me too long to figure that out once I got into Iraq.

I remember passing the UN checkpoint entering into Iraq, entering the town of Safwa. I was wondering if we were going to provide medical assistance to any of the civilians in the town. After the constant bombardment of artillery I knew they would be desperate for it. I thought we would provide humanitarian food to the people of Safwa or area that had been affected by the dropping of cluster bombs. But much to my dismay this was the first of many disappointments. When we were packing up our gear to leave to invade Iraq we were ordered to leave the humanitarian aid and medical supplies behind us in Kuwait which we so proudly displayed to all the embedded that this is the level of humanitarian assistance we were going to give to alleviate the 13 years of sanctions which never came true.

I remember hearing about one of the Marines who lost his leg standing on one of the cluster bombs in the city. Staff Sergeant (?) became the first American casualty of the Iraq war. But it was how he became a casualty that bothered me.
He basically stepped on a landmine that we shot out of a cannon into the city of Safwa, which is a violation of the Geneva Conventions. Land mines are a cruel and psychological way to bring constant fear not only to civilians in Iraq but also the military. Every step you take could be your last.

My first mission in Iraq was not to help the people of Safwa but to head North towards Basra and the Ramallah oilfields. We were told to secure this area from the potential destruction of the pumping station. We were also told that this mission would save millions of dollars of lost revenue if the pipeline was not destroyed by Saddam loyalists. The mission to secure the pipeline was nothing new to the marines. They had been secretly conducting drills in California since the summer of 2002. The Marines had detailed personal computer software to do 3-D imaging of the target area at the pumping stations. These images enabled marines to simulate walking though the pumping stations on their personal computers. The CIA also told us that they would try to recruit some Iraqi agents from within the pumping stations to points out any bad guys once we were in the station. So they had operatives working within the Iraqi infrastructure. Many US Marines had participated in a one-week course into oil-field operation and hazards. The Marines had just become and the savior of oil rich companies.

I felt betrayed. Betrayed over oil, money and guns. We sneaked our way through Iraq occasionally stopping to waste and destroy US taxpayer dollars. We would shoot at abandoned Iraqi military compounds because this was a crowd favorite among the embedded journalists. It would allow them to get a story and get live footage of us in action to beam into American households as the story of the hour on CNN or Fox.
During my stay in Iraq I only came under direct fie a couple of times. The firing lasted several seconds and then it was gone. Much like a Saturday night in south central Los Angeles.

I started to question what our real mission was in Iraq after the first civilians were killed. It was near the Rashid military compound. When we pulled up I saw ten Iraqis standing about 150 meters from us. They were standing in a road waving banners chanting anti-American slogans. They were holding two big pictures, one of Saddam and one apparently of a cleric. I walked over to a marine who was watching the demonstration though his binoculars. He told me they were having a peaceful demonstration. And that they didn’t have any weapons. I walked back to my Humvee to check on my men and I heard a stray gunshot that went directly over our heads. The next thing I knew we were opening up on the demonstrators. No one asked us where the gunshot had came from before they fired their weapons The intelligence reports we were getting had painted every Iraqi as a terrorist. We were on high alert at all times. My Lieutenant and I did a reconnaissance of the area when the shooting was over and I guess you could say we were shooting first and asking questions later.

We had killed at least four of the ten demonstrators. I kept looking around the bodies for weapons but didn’t see any. The only weapons I saw were lying up against a concrete pillar about 150 meters away from the demonstrators. They could have shot at us if they wanted to but they didn’t. They were just holding a peaceful protest telling us to leave and that they didn’t want us in their country. I was so angry at what we were doing in Iraq I tried to tell myself that maybe it was an accident maybe it was that those things sometime happen that it was just the fog of war. But I couldn’t let it go and hoped and prayed it wouldn’t happen again.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse my fears became a reality. “Why did you kill my brother? We’re not terrorists. We didn’t do anything to you” Those words ring in my ears and haunt my dreams every night. Those words came from an Iraqi man after we shot into his car at a checkpoint near the Baghdad station. We had given a hand and arm signal to stop but they did not. There were four Iraqis in the car three of them were fatally wounded. The driver of the car was miraculously unscathed. He was screaming and crying, pointing his fingers at my face saying, “You did this. You killed my brother.”

The words of that Iraqi man made me take a step back and think about what our true mission in Iraq really was He made me question my own humanity and my own conscience. I was starting to change not only as a marine but as a man too. My grandfather was a WWII vet who stormed the beeches at Normandy. He always taught me that it was an honor to defend your country but he also told me to stand up for what I believe in. He used to tell me that even the government doesn’t always make the smartest decisions. It was at that point I was beyond certain that we were violating the Geneva Conventions and International Law. The hardest part of the war is that you can actually see the effect on the civilian population. It fells like your heart is being ripped out of your chest every time you see an innocent person die, especially a child because of the war machine. The war machine could get all the supplies the US forces needed like food and water across the desert. But I couldn’t find anyone who had just one vial, one vial of insulin to save a diabetic Iraqi boy’s life. I had to turn him away knowing he was going to die because of the war machine.

The ugly side of the war machine is something the war leaves behind years after the war is over. It’s a nasty little thing called Depleted Uranium. Depleted Uranium is my generation’s Agent Orange. Depleted Uranium comes in the form of ammunition. This ammunition can be used on anything from a tank to an aircraft to a heavy machine gun. On a peace trip to Japan I befriended an Iraqi doctor. I watched his presentation on how Depleted Uranium causes birth defects and cancers like Leukemia. I was horrified to find out that he had documentary evidence going back to the first Gulf War. Mr. Bush said we went into Iraq looking for Weapons of Mass Destruction but if you ask me we are using Weapons of Mass Destruction.
I have nightmares about what I witnessed and participated in while I was in Iraq.
I have to live with the fact every day that I hated the destruction and devastation of the Iraqi people. The horrors of war are forever burned into mind. When I close my eyes I see death, destruction and carnage we inflicted on the Iraqi people. It’s something I cannot mentally escape from.

I am a co-founder of Iraq Veterans Against The War. IVAW was formed in the summer of 2004. We currently have over 300 members and getting larger every single day. Each member is doing different things liking writing books or plays and speaking about their experiences just as I am today. From my understanding you have one of my members coming shortly. We all have one common goal and that is the request for immediate withdrawal of troops and taking care of them when they get home. Our taking care of them is a program we set up called Vets for Vets. Vets for Vets is a way for Veterans to be with other Veterans to share their stories and their experiences. And help them get benefits and medical attention both mentally and physically they desperately need and deserve. From psychological trauma to being poisoned by Depleted Uranium.

James Hillman said in ‘A Terrible Love of War’ the return from the Killing Field is more than a de-briefing it is a slow ascent from Hell. Well my ascent from hell has been a difficult one and I know it’s not over yet.

Now that I’ve given you some bad, let’s talk about what my organisation is doing as far as pressuring congressman and senators. We have given a mission statement to our Senators and Congressmen as to what we should do as Americans:

1) Withdraw all American troops and support services from Iraq immediately
2) Turn over all responsibility except financial to the International community.
3) Pay the cost of repairing all the damages we have done. We broke it we should have to pay to fix it.
4) Recognise the War Courts and turn over to them everyone who is responsible for starting this war. Let them face justice.
5) Many American corporations are profiting mightily from this war let the corporations show their patriotism by sacrificing their profits.
6) Vote out of office every congressman and senator that supported the war.

There are those who say it is not the fault of the Congress such as members like Carey. They are many who are good, decent people who got caught up in the politics of patriotism. But it is the responsibility of Congress to provide checks and balances to the Executive branch. To allow the Executive Carte blanch to implement in Iraq a criminal policy is dereliction of their responsibility. Why should we allow them to stay in office when they have not been responsible? We need to set a precedent so that future Congresses will take their responsibilities seriously.

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Comments (35 of 35)

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Poor Responses

by Allyates

Mon Jul 24, 2006 22:16

I notice the responses only made futile attempts to question the logic or as in the respone above, spew garbage, and thats why defeat is inevitable. None of the replyers have been able to do anything but ignore the truth.

Good, that makes it easier for the terrorists. Even today 'good germans' deny the halocaust, keep going guys PNAC has its failed leninist grip on you. : )

Allyates

by Dmitri

Mon Jul 24, 2006 01:32

Allyates said;"Does a gada commit a crime when he uses spikes on the road to stop a criminal?

No.

Equally if you disarm a plane to delay its partaking in Bush's warcrime then thats a good and moral act.
Its an attack up a legitimate military target. -{Ermm... if you kill all pregnant american women, their lice cant grow into fascist soldiers & you will have no more american started wars, simple, no?}

The same cant be said for the US when their Marines rape 14 year old children murder her brothers and sisters and cynically fail an attempt to burn the corpse to cover up their admitted crime.-{ #1 it was alledgedly Paras from the 101st, not marines. #2 "Cynically"? what word were you trying to use?}

The US is a terrorist state then if it does these things but does nothing to leave Iraq.-{ under who's definition? Yours Boyo? tell you what walt, you beleive they need defeating, go somewhere & take up arms against them, no walt talk, action. I'm so sick of those who talk but wont do, internet heores the lot of you}

And in a couple of years when Iraq is over -{ seems like it'll be at least 4 more years}and the Americans understand that they have been defeated by the same kind of ideaology of the Taleban and go home confused as to why their 'democracy' keeps failing to win wars (who could not love the US when they illegally inaved you, rape your kids and bomb you for nothing), Bertie and the corrupt sychophants of pigs that rule over the irish will pretend that 'they were anti-war all along'.

Jesus used the word 'hypocrite', its Greek for 'actor', but Bertie and Bush are not actors, we see them for what they are, evil.

Response

by Kofi Anan

Mon Jul 24, 2006 00:50

"The war is the crime, dude"
-Kofi Anan

Not the best of analogies, is it?

by Andrew

Mon Jul 24, 2006 00:12

"Does a gada commit a crime when he uses spikes on the road to stop a criminal?

No.

Equally if you disarm a plane to delay its partaking in Bush's warcrime then thats a good and moral act.
Its an attack up a legitimate military target. "

But are you a guard? No.
Does that mean you can decide you are above the law? No.
When it comes down to it, it's called criminal damage, act of conscience or not.

Does a garda committ a crime when he.....

Sat Jul 22, 2006 18:16

Does a gada commit a crime when he uses spikes on the road to stop a criminal?

No.

Equally if you disarm a plane to delay its partaking in Bush's warcrime then thats a good and moral act.
Its an attack up a legitimate military target.

The same cant be said for the US when their Marines rape 14 year old children murder her brothers and sisters and cynically fail an attempt to burn the corpse to cover up their admitted crime.

The US is a terrorist state then if it does these things but does nothing to leave Iraq.

And in a couple of years when Iraq is over and the Americans understand that they have been defeated by the same kind of ideaology of the Taleban and go home confused as to why their 'democracy' keeps failing to win wars (who could not love the US when they illegally inaved you, rape your kids and bomb you for nothing), Bertie and the corrupt sychophants of pigs that rule over the irish will pretend that 'they were anti-war all along'.

Jesus used the word 'hypocrite', its Greek for 'actor', but Bertie and Bush are not actors, we see them for what they are, evil.

Belfast solidarity

by AWI (Belfast)

Tue Jul 18, 2006 22:57

Seven antiwar activists - including a nun - handed out hundreds of Anti-War Ireland leaflets in solidarity with the Pitstop Ploughshares in Belfast this evening. The next AWI solidarity leafleting will be on Friday between 1pm and 2pm outside Tesco's on Royal Avenue.

Turn up and show your support for the Ploughshares Five!

The Right wing

by MG

Tue Jul 18, 2006 17:15

The right wing in America consisently have been shown to be complete and utter liars. This includes the President and all the other Neo Cons. How many stories would you need hmmzzz before you start to say that you don't believe a word out of their mouths. Why should we believe an embedded reporter, or that neo con you linked to?

massey

by hmmz

Tue Jul 18, 2006 16:53

I posted those links purely for information purposes and like the ones you posted they prove nothing, Massey could be telling the truth or he could indeed by the biggest fraudster around.

Eithier way you should let people make up their own minds--with all the information, not attack people that point out very important things like him being accused of being a liar and a cheat

You people should not be so defensive/reactionary, makes it seem like you are hiding/lying about something, indeed this guy could be the next Michael Moore :P

I'm fairly sure they didn't have a licence

by John Jefferies - AWI Cobh

Tue Jul 18, 2006 16:10

Good point, unfortunately I didn't think of it until after they had left, but I'm fairly sure they did not have a casual trading permit to sell their 'goods' on Deepwater Quay, Cobh. Not that they sold an awful lot.

Hey John

by Anti-War Irelander

Tue Jul 18, 2006 15:29

Did those US Navy guys selling souvenirs in Cobh have a hawkers licence? Lots of casual traders have been busted by the cops in the past for selling without a licence. Remember when the comedian Dave Savage was done some time back for flogging CDs on Grafton Street? I'm betting these yankees had no hawkers licence. Can this be checked out and a prosecution brought? Could they be citizens arrested if they do this in future and fail to produce the appropriate documentation?

Jimmy ...

by Elaine

Tue Jul 18, 2006 15:09

Massey with Damien and Ciaron, outside the four courts. (taken last week)

Solidarity In Shades, eh Spades

"Why did you kill my brother?"

by Dave Donnellan

Tue Jul 18, 2006 01:34

Ever since I heard Jimmy Massey talk that question has been ringing around in my head too: "why did you kill my brother?" Looking at the incident it's clear there's no evidence to suggest that the people who died at the checkpoint were anythng other than ordinary Iraqi civilians driving around in their own country when they came across the checkpoint manned by a foreign army. No arms were ever found in the car. Yet three people ended up dead. It's understandable that some of the contributors above would wish to discredit Jimmy Massey and silence that question "why did you kill my brother?" because the question is not only directed at Jimmy Massey. It's directed at all apologists for this war like the contibutors above. It's directed at those who planned and executed the war. It's directed at those who are complicit by providing support. And it's even directed at the rest of us who could be doing so much more to oppose it. It's also a question that rings out from the blood of the hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi men, women and children who have died as a result of two wars and 13 years of genocidal sanctions. "Why did you kill my brothers and sisters?"

hey hmmz - Ron Harris' smear on Massey was debunked last Dec 21, 2005

by redjade

Mon Jul 17, 2006 22:18

Why is Ron Harris 'SwiftBoating' Jimmy Massey?
Dec 21, 2005
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=73310#com...32631

and by the way, anyone that links to Michelle Malkin as a credible source is automatically laughed at - not sure if you knew that.

LINK-Counterpunch - Jimmy Massey, Ron Harris & Ambush Journalism

by Knock Out Round

Mon Jul 17, 2006 21:35

Hmzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz,

Keep snoring dude. Have another pint and we'll wake you up when the war is over.

If you believe embedded journos you'll blieve any bed time story.

Like there's not a war on in Iraw and like the U.S. isn't losing military and like they haven't got an army of economic conscripts (1100 a day passing through Shannon) to kill and be killed in Iraq. And like the two fat cat rich kids sending the cannnfodder - Bush & Cheney - didn't avoid service in the Vietnam War. And like George Jr. didn't get a sweetheart deal with the Texas National Guard through elitest family contacts knowing the Guard weren't going to be sent to Vietnam. And like Dick "I had better things to do in the '60's" Cheney didn't get four (count'em four) deferments to avoid the draft. And like the nonviolent Pitstops are criminals and the Irish government isn't collaborating in an illegal, immoral, unwinnable in vasion making Dublin a/Shannon increasingly likely target (now that Italy & Spain have dropped out of the war effort leaving to Euro collaboraters - Poland (troops) & Ireland refueling the war machine.

And like the state department don't use embedded journos on big money & Hmzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
one liner talk back spam volunteers to set out to destroy Cindy Shehhan, Jimmy Massey & any dissenting voice who have been explouted by their war machine and now oppose it.
Check link below for Hmzzzzzzzz & embedded Harris counterpunched.

http://www.counterpunch.org/goff11082005.html

Mon Jul 17, 2006 16:29

Did Massey mention that he has been accused of making stuff up in the grand old USA

http://michellemalkin.com/archives/004073.htm

Large turnout to hear Kathy Kelly and Jimmy Massey in Cork

by John Jefferies - Anti-war Ireland, Cork.

Mon Jul 17, 2006 16:25

(086) 3004573

As mentioned in earlier contribution, there was a full-house at the Metropole Hotel last Friday night (14th July) for the meeting organised by Anti-War Ireland and to hear speakers Kathy Kelly, Jimmy Massey and Prof. John Maguire. Here's a few photographs of same.

Speakers at Cork Meeting (before the room filled to capacity)

Some of the Cork audience (more sat on the floor at back out of camera shot)

L-R: Jimmy Massey; Dominic Carroll (AWI), Prof. John Maguire (AWI)

US Army in Cork Harbour - Officer on Cobh's Deepwater Quay during last weeks protest at visit of USS The Sullivans

US Navy 'souvenir' stall at Cobh 11.07.06

Pics from the Galway Meeting......

by Galway Ploughshares supporters

Mon Jul 17, 2006 13:18

last Saturday

Meeting at the back of the Human Rights Centre

Ciaron O'Reilly

Kathy Kelly

Jimmy Massey

Carmen does elvis

Solidarity with Ploughshares

Mon Jul 17, 2006 10:17

Anti-War Ireland solidarity with the Ploughshares continues in Belfast on Tuesday when leaflets in support will be distributed outside City Hall between 5.30pm and 6.30pm. Come along and show your solidarity with the Pitstop Ploughshares. All help and support welcome!

The Rev. Billy Graham is No Phil Berrigan

by Jonah

Mon Jul 17, 2006 02:18

http://www.jonahhouse.org/HughesPhilBerrigan.htm

Solidarity Vigil Outside Irish Embassy in Warsaw

by DM

Mon Jul 17, 2006 01:41

A number of anarchists from Warsaw Indymedia, Food Not Bombs and Student Initiative centre at Czarna Emilka in central Warsaw gathered outside the Irish embassy to demand the acquittal of the Pitstop Ploughshares 5 on Friday last, July 14th. The following is a translation of their report of the solidarity action and letter to the Irish Ambassador, Declan O'Donovan.

*******************************

'On the 3rd of February 2003, as a peace protest, 5 members of the Pitstop Ploughshares from the pacifist Catholic Worker movement
entered the American military base at Shannon Airport and disarmed a military plane. On July 10th this year their trial began. For causing huge material damage they're facing up to 10 years imprisonment. On Friday, outside the Irish embassy in Warsaw, there was a solidarity action for Irish activists. During it a petition demanding the acquittal of all the people who took part in this action at Shannon Airport was handed in to the Irish Ambassador.

All who would like to express their solidarity with the Pitstop Ploughshares are asked to send a petition to the Irish embassy.

*******************************

3 lutego 2003 r., w ramach pokojowego protestu, 5 członków 'Pit Stop Ploughshares' z pacyfistycznego ruchu Catholic Workers weszło na teren amerykańskiej bazy wojskowej na irlandzkim lotnisku Shannon i rozbroiło wojskowy samolot. 10 lipca tego roku rozpoczął się kolejny proces w ich sprawie. Za spowodowanie olbrzymich strat materialnych grozi im kara do 10 lat więzienia.
W piątek w Warszawie pod ambasadą Irlandii odbyła się akcja solidarnosciowa z irlandzkimi aktywistami. W jej trakcie przekazano ambasadorowii Irlandii petycję z wnioskiem o uniewinnienie wszystkich osób biorących udział w akcji na Shannon Airport.

Wszyscy, którzy chcieliby wyrazić solidarność z Pit Stop Plougshares, proszeni są o wysyłanie petycji do amasady Irlandii: '

Embassy of Ireland/Ambasada Irlandii
ul. Mysia 5
00-496 Warszawa

Tel: (48 22) 849 66 33
Fax: (48 22) 849 84 31
E-mail: ambasada@irlandia.pl

Ambassador/Ambasador
Mr./Pan Declan O'Donovan

Wzór petycji:

Szanowny Panie Ambasadorze,

List ten jest wyrazem solidarności z Damienem Moranem i innymi aktywistami, których proces rozpoczął się 10 lipca. Oskarżono ich o udział w pokojowej akcji bezpośredniej na irlandzkim lotnisku Shannon 3 lutego 2003. Oskarżeni są członkami pacyfistycznej organizacji Catholic Workers.

Uważam, że w obliczu nieusprawiedliwionej wojny w Iraku, w której giną tysiące cywili, a ogarnięty chaosem kraj pogrąża się w ruinie, wyrażenie sprzeciwu jest naturalnym działaniem, jakie podejmuje człowiek w odpowiedzi na niesprawiedliwość i okrucieństwo. Pragnę zwrócić uwagę na fakt, że w wyniku działań Damiena i innych aktywistów nikt nie ucierpiał, a strat finansowych nie da się porównać ze spustoszeniem sianym co dzień przez wojnę.

Proszę o uniewinnienie wszystkich oskarżonych.

Z poważaniem,

Dear Mr. Ambassador,

This letter is an expression of solidarity with Damien Moran and other activists whose trial began on the 10th of July. They are accused of participating in a direct peace action at Shannon Airport on February 3rd 2003. The defendants are members of the pacifist Catholic Worker movement.

I believe that in the context of the unjustified war in Iraq which has caused the death of thousands of civilians, and the whole country in chaos and falling into ruin, an expression of objection is a natural act in response to injustice and cruelty. I'd like to draw your attention to the fact that as a result of the action from Damien and other activists nobody suffered, and the financial damages can not be compared with the pillage spread by war everyday.

I ask for the acquittal of all the defendants.

Yours faithfully,

http://poland.indymedia.org/pl/2006/07/21903.shtml?comm...=true

Anarchists Gather Outside the Irish Embassy in Warsaw

Enough Court Repressions Against Peace Activists

Letter Submitted to the Irish Ambassador

addition to the stats

by greenie

Sun Jul 16, 2006 22:17

There was a green party member present at the galway meeting too. Thanks for coming down and talking to us folks. Will discuss meeting and relay info to other interested members.

Hi stats - 65 plus in cork

by cork activist

Sun Jul 16, 2006 21:02

Attendance at Cork AWI public meeting was between 65 and 70. How come only 50 in Dublin?

Pipsqueak, Thea and Mr V- Catholic Worker, Arrests & Jail

by Statin the Obvious

Sun Jul 16, 2006 19:04

OK 3 stooges we'll take this real slow like.

Why don't the Catholic Workers arrest Jimmy Massey??, you ask
.
Do some reading, try this link. Catholic Workers don't kill people and they don't jail'em....because they are faith based anarcho pacifists.

CW's celebrate every time a soldier puts down thei sword (see Phil Berrigan WW 2 Vet, Howard Zinn who
helped reduce Dresden to rubble, Les who did 3 tours out of Crossmaglen, Peter Demott presently jailed for resisting this war ( www.stpatricksfour.org ) St. Francis, St. Ignatius, Leo Tolstoy etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc

Dennis Halliday also gave evidence at 2nd. trial under oath, he resigned (like Jimmy) because he felt his UN role eas complicit in a genocidal warfare - sanctions on Iraq targetting the young and old.

Your obssession with Massey and not the still active U.S. military elite passing through Ireland with monotonous regularity betrays your class bias. You just want to jail the working class, or economically draft 'em to fight your oil wars.

Stats from Galway Meeting

by Stats

Sun Jul 16, 2006 18:18

Stats from Galway meeting held in the sunshine on the lawn of the Irish Centre for Human Rights.

35 people gathered on the lawn for afternoon presentation from Kathy Kelly (Voices in the Wilderness) who was present under the Shock & Awe" U.S. bombing in March/April '03, Jimmy Massey deployed as a U.S. Marine Staff Sgt who was deployed to Kuwait (Jan'03) and participated in the invasion & occupation of Iraq and Ciaron O'Reilly from the Pitstop 5. Also present was Dubliner Michael Birmingham who lived in Sadr City during the invasion & occupation of Iraq.

Of the 35 gathered-6 were directly associated with the Pitstop case and had travelled from Dublin, 5 were local libertarian activists primary involved in Rossport, 50% were Irish, several U.S. students, crowd was quite young. Galway Alliance Against the War had refused an invitation to host the event, promote it or attend. There were no members of organised anarchist, socialist or church groups present at this high quality meeting

Stats from the three public meetings are interesting for any one considering serious nonviolent resistance in Ireland (& to Irish complicity at Shannon) to the expanding war in Middle East. An indicator of level of active support you can expect from the left, NGO's or the church should you front trial or risk jail (Not much!)

The left (moderate, libertarian & authoritarian), social just church folks & NGO's have largely put the war (& Irish complicity at Shannnon) in the "too hard basket" in terms of political organising priorities.

There exists broad passive sympathy for the PItstop 5 amongst the left but little proactive support or solidarity as they enter the last days of their trial.

Hypocrites

by K.Voroshilov

Sun Jul 16, 2006 17:16

Aah, the whiff of hypocrisy here is amazing-"why dont you arrest him if your a citizen".

Fascist marine Massey is a SELF-described war criminal, admits to killing people of iraq. Yet is defended here because he wrote a book deploring what he'd done in the name of Fascism, bizarre.

thea

by eoin

Sun Jul 16, 2006 13:34

"Why has there not been any 'citizens arrests' made on him"

Good point Thea. Why don't you do it - presuming you're a citizen?

Massey is a war criminal.

by Thea

Sun Jul 16, 2006 12:09

And a self confessed one at that. Why has there not been any 'citizens arrests' made on him, like the one on the other marines of late... Because in all fairness, his crimes of being responsible for civilian deaths is a bit more deserving of punishment compared to wearing a US Army uniform on Irish soil!

pitstops at shannon

by edalsk - the human race

Sun Jul 16, 2006 03:47

It is commom knowledge that the Americans are using Shannon to let their soldiers stretch their legs and have a wee. And ,according to the American ambassodor , to buy crayons for distribution among the children of Iraq (pass the puke bag). BUT..... is it not also a fact that the Russians are using Shannon as a pitstop for their planes that are bringing armaments to Venezuela for use in the next war? Is this not also a deplorable use of Irish facilities? I don't know if this has been discussed before as I don't visit very often but I am against war. All war. Chavez abu.

epublishing

by blacklines

Sat Jul 15, 2006 21:25

if this gentleman is having trouble getting an english version published, perhaps he should publish it online, or see if he can interest the folks over at crimethinc (www.crimethinc.com) in it... just a thought.

Answer:

by Another POPSIQAL reply

Sat Jul 15, 2006 14:30

Question: Why is [Massey] not arrested & turned over to the Hague for Genocide?
Answer: Because currently very few people who commit war crimes, such as the killing of innocent men, women and children are being held accountable for their actions. In particular those who hold the most reponsibility by initiating the wars are not being held accountable. Also those who facilitate the killing such as the current regime in Dublin are not being held accountable for their actions. You have have hit one of the main poiints of the trial of the Pitstop Ploughshares which is to hold all to account for the bloodshed. So although he has, on his own admission, commited war crimes his efforts to come clean and have these highlighted I think somewhat mitigates his guilt. Even so, I suspect he would be happy to be brought before a court to answer for his actions if it was the start of process to hold all accountable for their actions concerning the atrocities in Iraq.

Reply to Pipsqueak

Sat Jul 15, 2006 02:03

1100 troops passing through Shannon Airport in contravention of the Hague Convention, CIA kidnappers refueling in contravention of the Geneva Convention. You confuse cynicism with sophistication in honing your prosecutor skills. Go back to your court case and get some sleep google boy, sounds like you feel your losing the jury down there in Court 23!

Massey=War Criminal

by Popsiq

Sat Jul 15, 2006 01:41

Mr.Massey seems to have committed war crimes, yet is welcomed in eire? Why is he not arrested & turned over to the Hague for Genocide?

His own words state he murdered innocent Iraqi's & participated in these killings. Even if he is against he countries actions now, he still committed atrocities in their name.

He is just as guilty as an SS man, why the Hypocrisy?

Stats

Sat Jul 15, 2006 00:23

50 attended the meeting in Dublin. Little evidence of socialists or anarchists. Audience approx 50% Irish.
60+ attended the meeting in Cork Fri night.

It would have been interesting if the Pitstop trial had occured in the context of a vibrant anti-war movement (as did their action 3/1/2 years ago). These five stand pretty much alone in directly confronting the Irish state's ongoing involvement in a war that spreads tonight to Lebanon. The war coming home to Ireland (more likely public transport in Dublin rather than Shannon) is inevitable as Spain and Italy are no longer considered accomplices & likely targets. Ireland is promoted as one of the most significant Euro nations aiding & abettng in the escalating war on Islam.

Good luck to the five and thanks for bringing Kelly & Massey over and moving them around the country. How do the anarchists and socialists explaining their lack of solidarity as these five go through the courts and (given the nature of the Irish legal system ) jail?

Too much killing

by Apalled...

Fri Jul 14, 2006 17:50

What's disturbing is how the flagrant disregard for human life has become normalised in Iraq with the help of the US and British military. That we, in Ireland, have any hand act or part in it - and we do through the provision of support facilities in Shannon - is a source of shame. Shame on all who support it.

Speaking in Cork tonight

by Cork AWI

Fri Jul 14, 2006 11:31

Jimmy Massey (and Kathy Kelly, another leading US anti-war activist) will speak in Cork tonight, alongside Professor John Maguire of Anti-War Ireland.

Time: Friday, 14 July, 8.30pm

Place: Metropole Hotel, MacCurtain Street, Cork.

All welcome!

Organised by Anti-War Ireland.

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