In case you missed this, you really have to see it to believe it. When Obama and his entourage of hundreds traveled to Ireland and Germany for the G8 Summit a last month, not everyone welcomed them with open arms. In fact, one woman basically eviscerated President Obama on the floor of the Irish Parliament over his policies for expanded war in Syria by arming the rebels and the use of drones to “assassinate thousands including hundreds of children”. Clare Daly, a 14-year politician, is an independent-leaning socialist and a passionate and vocal advocate for Ireland’s downtrodden. Never taking her eyes off Ireland’s Prime Minister, Daly spent over five minutes lambasting President Obama. From the transcript: Clare Daly [all emphasis is mine]: “And of course the biggest irony of all, the protestations of Obama himself in his speech to children in Northern Ireland about peace, when he said, ‘Those who choose a path of peace, I promise you the United States of America will support you every step of the way. We will be the wind at your back.’ Now I ask you, is this person going for the hypocrite of the century award? Because we have to call things by their right names. And the reality is, by any serious examination, this man is a war criminal. He has just announced his decision to supply arms to the Syrian opposition, including the jihadists fueling the destabilization of that region and continuing to undermine secularism and knock back conditions for women. This is the man who is in essence, stalling the Geneva peace talks by trying to broker enhanced leverage for the Syrian opposition by giving them arms. And to hell with the thousands more who lose their lives, or the tens of thousands more who are being displaced as this war goes on. This is the man who has facilitated a two hundred percent increase in the use of drones, which have killed thousands of people including hundreds of children. And you Taoiseach [Irish Prime Minister], you are the one who’s turned a blind eye on these activities. You’ve talked about the G8 being an opportunity to showcase Ireland. But is it not a reality that you have showcased us as a nation of pimps, prostituting ourselves in return for a pat on the head?” Daly did not forget about Michelle, either. According to Daly, the President having distant ancestral ties to Ireland does not justify Mrs. Obama calling Ireland “home”. “We’ve had separate and special news bulletins by the state broadcaster to tell us what Michelle Obama and her daughters had for lunch in Dublin, but very little questioning of the fact that she was having lunch with Mr. Tax Exile himself [Bono from the band U2]. We’ve had very little challenging of the fact that she’s glad to be home, home a country that she’s been in less than a week and her husband has very tenuous links in.” In response to the denouncement by Prime Minister Enda Kenny of her “disgraceful” criticisms of President Obama, Daly had this to say: “Of course I said nothing about the Northern Ireland peace process, a process which everybody supports, but is not one that gives you a license to do whatever you like anywhere else around the globe. There isn’t much peace in Iraq where 26 people lost their lives yesterday. There isn’t much peace in Afghanistan. There isn’t much peace in Pakistan. And there certainly isn’t much peace in Syria. And the side I’m on in Syria is the one, what I agree with is the statement by Oxfam [Irish human rights group], where Oxfam said, ‘Sending arms to the Syrian opposition won’t create a level playing field. Instead, it further risks fueling an arms free-for-all, where the victims are the civilians of Syria. Our experience tells us that the crisis will only drag on far longer if arms are poured in.’ And that’s in essence what the Americans have done here. I can only take from your non-answer to the question you were asked is that you’re going to take no steps to insure that those arms will not be sent through Shannon in breech of our neutrality. You said here last week, no arms ever came through Shannon. How do you know that seeing as no investigations take place? The reality is, in 2012, 548 US planes landed in Shannon. How do you know what was on them if you haven’t examined them? Your Minister for Transport reveals in a Parliamentary question that 239 civilian planes landed in Shannon, where they sought permission because they were carrying munitions of war or dangerous goods on a civilian aircraft. What steps are you going to take to intervene in this situation? And the last point I’ll make is that people in this country are very fond of our American brothers and sisters. And I think we stand far more shoulder-to-shoulder with them by making valid criticisms of their President, who has broken his election promises, rather than just pimping this nation as a tax haven for their corporations. I’m sure the Americans would far prefer that their multi-nationals pay their taxes at home rather than offshore here so they can develop their healthcare, so they wouldn’t be wasting money on arms being sent to slaughter people in other countries.” Wow. To hear Daly’s tone and passion–which most seem too afraid to express– is…unbelievable.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Jul 2013 20:36:53 +0000
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