This article is from page 6 of the 2014-07-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
A LEADING security analyst has described Shannon Airport as a “tempting” target for terrorists.
Dr Tom Clonan, a retired Irish army captain, was giving evidence at the case of two peace activists at Ennis District Court on Tuesday.
Dr Clonan, who is a security analyst with the Irish Times, said that 2.25 million US troops have passed through Shannon since 2002 “making it the largest invading force to have ever passed through Ireland in its history”.
He said 70,000 US troops transited through Shannon Airport in 2013. In evidence, Dr Clonan recalled a conversation he had with a senior politician with Hezbollah – an Islamic militant group based in Lebanon.
He told the court he was attempting to speak about the situation in Syria to Dr Ali el Mekdad. He said Dr Mektad told him that he did not want to talk about Syria but about “your airport over there in County Clare. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”
Dr Clonan said it would be a concern to him that one of the most high profile Islamic resistance groups knows about the use of Shannon Airport by the US military.
He said it could subject Irish troops serving in the Golan Heights and other areas to “hostile scrutiny”.
Later in his evidence, Dr Clonan said the fact that Hezbollah are referring to Shannon mean Irish people abroad could be subject to hostile scrutiny. He said the airport could be seen as “soft” or “tempting” target for Jihadists returning from Syria. He said this was an increasing cause for concern in the Irish intelligence community and among senior gardaí he had spoken to.
Dr Clonan was asked about the term ‘Teeth to Tail’, which refers to the ratio of logistics support to the front line. He said, “Shannon is an integral part of that teeth to tail ratio.”
He described how Shannon has entered the aural culture of the US military. Dr Clonan said US soldiers refer to trips to hostile environments as “a pint of Guinness in Shannon” followed by a “wake up”.
Dr Clonan was giving evidence on behalf Margaretta D’Arcy (80), with an address Woodquay, Galway.
Ms D’Arcy and co-accused Niall Farrell (60), with an address at Ballynacloghy, Maree, Oranmore, Galway, were convicted September 1 (2013) of interfering with the proper use of Shannon Airport by going on the runway without permission on September 1, 2013. The pair denied the charge. After a lengthy hearing, Judge Durcan found Ms D’Arcy and Mr Farrell guilty. He imposed a two-week prison sentence on each accused; suspended on condition they refrain from entering unauthorized areas of the airport.