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Irish Times
18 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Bono criticises USAid cuts in lengthy interview with podcaster Joe Rogan
Bono has criticised cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAid) budget in a lengthy interview with influential US podcaster Joe Rogan. He cited academic research by Brooke Nichols, a mathematician and professor of infectious diseases at Boston University, that suggests some 300,000 people have died as a consequence of the cuts. The U2 frontman's comments riled billionaire Elon Musk, whose department of government efficiency (Doge) implemented the dismantling of USAid. Mr Musk formally exited his role in the Trump administration on Wednesday. On his social media platform X, the Tesla chief executive responded to Bono's remarks on the subject by calling him a 'liar/idiot' and saying 'zero people have died'. READ MORE During a three-hour interview on The Joe Rogan Experience, which is streaming service Spotify's top podcast, Bono talked about his role in encouraging former US president George W Bush to increase overseas aid spending, particularly on antiretroviral drugs intended to combat Aids. He said a broad coalition of support for the aid spending was built and it greatly benefited the US's image overseas. Now, he said, 'all of that was torn down without a heads-up, without any notice, because people thought foreign aid was like 10 per cent of the budget or 20 per cent and it was doing things that it shouldn't have been doing'. 'I'm sure there was some waste ... but I can tell you as a person who saw what the United States was doing around the world, I saw America display itself at its finest,' he said. 'I remember being in the Oval Office with president Bush and we had these antiretroviral drugs. I said, paint them red, white and blue, Mr President, because these are the best advertisements for America there'll ever be.' [ Bono: Stories of Surrender review: A punch-to-the-guts stage show once you get past the Bono-ness of it all Opens in new window ] He said that to celebrate the slashing of USAid, as some have, is an act of 'evil'. He said it felt like these vital programmes were vandalised and destroyed 'with glee'. Bono maintained an amiable tone with Mr Rogan throughout the interview, which aired on Friday. Mr Rogan, who has previously been accused of spreading misinformation during some of his podcasts, endorsed Donald Trump in advance of the 2024 US presidential election. The bulk of the discussion was concerned with Bono's new film Stories of Surrender, his book Surrender, U2, and the band's upcoming album.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Fact Check: Trump left West Point graduation early. Here's what we know about rumor he played golf afterward
Claim: Following U.S. President Donald Trump's May 24, 2025, commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he departed early without honoring a tradition of staying during the diploma ceremony, with a video showing him shortly thereafter golfing on the same day at his Bedminster, New Jersey, club. Rating: What's True: Trump did, during his address, honor the service and sacrifice of graduating cadets, but he left the West Point graduation early, after delivering his speech and prior to the diploma ceremony, breaking a tradition honored each year by recent former U.S. presidents. Those presidents included, for example, Joe Biden, Trump during his first term, Barack Obama and George W. Bush. During Trump's 2025 address, he did not specifically mention not planning to shake hands with the cadets but did say, "I'm going back now to deal with Russia, to deal with China." In an email to Snopes, a White House spokesperson labeled the rumor as "a non-story," then alleged without providing evidence that the president shook "hundreds" of hands prior to his speech. What's Undetermined: It's unclear whether Trump played golf later on the same day, or if a widely shared video of Trump riding in a golf cart shows him playing golf right after his speech, after arriving at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey. The video depicts a driver, whom we have not yet identified, transporting Trump in a golf cart near a helicopter that serves as Marine One. In the clip, Trump is wearing a suit — not golfing clothes — with no golf clubs visible on the rear of the cart. A rumor that circulated online in May 2025 claimed that after U.S. President Donald Trump delivered the commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York, he failed to honor a tradition set by past U.S. presidents of staying for the diploma ceremony. The rumor further claimed someone later recorded a video showing him riding a golf cart after the graduation, implying he left the cadets behind to play golf at his Bedminster, New Jersey, club. For example, a user on X posted (archived) an image from the video with the caption, "Instead of staying to acknowledge & shake the cadets hands at West Point… He lied to them & said 'I need to go deal with China & Russia!' China & Russia being 'Golfing.'" The user also called Trump a "coward and disgrace" to the U.S. Users shared the same video and/or the rumor on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram (archived), Reddit (archived), Threads (archived), TikTok (archived) and X (archived). (@BagdMilkSoWhat/X) While Trump did, during his May 24 address, honor the service and sacrifice of graduating cadets, it's true that he left the West Point graduation early, after delivering his speech and prior to the diploma ceremony, breaking a tradition honored every year by recent former U.S. presidents. Those presidents included, for example, Joe Biden, Trump during his first term, Barack Obama and George W. Bush. During his address, he did not specifically mention not planning to shake hands with the cadets but did say, "I'm going back now to deal with Russia, to deal with China." At the same time, it's unclear as of this writing whether Trump played golf later on the same day, or if a widely shared video of Trump riding in a golf cart shows him playing golf right after his speech, after landing at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey. We have not yet established the time and date when the clip was recorded, depicting a driver, whom we have not yet identified, transporting Trump in a golf cart near a helicopter that serves as Marine One. In the clip, Trump is wearing a suit — not golfing clothes — with no golf clubs visible on the rear of the cart. In other words, it's possible the golf cart simply transported Trump elsewhere on the property and had nothing to do with him playing golf. Snopes contacted the White House by email to ask various questions about this matter, all noted later in this story. In part, a White House spokesperson called the rumor "a non-story," and claimed without yet providing photo or video proof that Trump shook "hundreds" of hands of military leaders and cadets before delivering his graduation speech. The YouTube channels for FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth and West Point - The U.S. Military Academy hosted lengthy videos showing the majority of the May 24 West Point graduation, which took place at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York. Trump's address featured moments directly addressing cadets, as well as political remarks similar to his campaign rallies. During his speech, he singled out academic accomplishments and asked various cadets to stand for recognition. He also called onstage at least three cadets and shook their hands. Trump then closed his speech by telling the crowd, "So I just want to congratulate you all. I'm going back now to deal with Russia, to deal with China." He accepted a framed class photo as a gift from another cadet, shook four hands onstage and then walked out of the venue while clapping and pumping his fist in recognition of the graduates and crowd. After he departed the field at the stadium, organizers began the diploma ceremony. Research for this rumor located a presidential schedule on listing Trump's arrival at West Point at 8:15 a.m. ET, his speech at 10:15 a.m., his departure from West Point at 11:15 a.m. and his arrival to Trump National Golf Club Bedminster at 11:45 a.m. The schedule also displayed a "full lid called" by the White House Press Office at 12:11 p.m., terminology indicating no further planned events on that day for members of the press. Snopes did not yet learn any further details about activities occurring later that day. Regarding the video of the golf cart driver transporting Trump near the helicopter, that clip showed at least one other golf cart behind Trump's cart. A search for further information located a somewhat similar YouTube clip (archived) from April. That video, possibly recorded at Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach in Florida, showed numerous golf carts acting as a presidential motorcade to transport the president from one of his Marine helicopters to another on-site location — also with no golf clubs visible, just like the in-question clip. Another video (archived) posted by an Instagram user claimed to show Trump departing one of his Marine helicopters on May 24, possibly after his West Point address. The clip shows him walking over to a golf cart motorcade similar to the video from April, suggesting the motorcade's purpose was transporting him to another part of the property. In Snopes' email to the White House, we asked about users' claims of Trump not staying to observe the diploma ceremony and shake cadets' hands, as well as inquired about whether the in-question video shows Trump preparing to go golfing, or if it depicts someone simply transporting him elsewhere on the grounds for non-golfing purposes. We also asked about a photo posted (archived) to Trump's Truth Social account on the following morning allegedly showing a white swan biting a "friend" on a golf course, specifically inquiring if the incident occurred on May 24, May 25 or another day, seeing as Trump may have golfed with the pictured person. A White House spokesperson quickly replied to the email but did not specifically address the video or the swan photo. Instead, the person called the rumor about Trump not staying for the diploma ceremony "a non-story" and that, without providing evidence, he "shook hundreds of hands of military leaders and cadets right before his speech." The White House did not yet provide proof of this claim of Trump shaking "hundreds" of hands right before his speech. The statement read, in part: This is a non-story--President Trump shook hundreds of hands of military leaders and cadets right before his speech and has shaken the hands of thousands of military members during his first and second term. He has done more to support military men and women than any president in history which is why military recruitment is soaring under his leadership as Commander in Chief. The President has scheduled important calls with Russia and China to end the wars and ensure lasting peace. Regarding the claim about "soaring" military recruitment, a U.S. Department of Defense article and a story, both published in the weeks before the 2024 election, reported a rise in recruitment — positive news occurring in the final year of Biden's term in office — and that, at the time, all military branches met recruiting goals following years of not achieving those goals. The White House' Facebook and Instagram accounts featured a photo album and an edited video from the graduation, as well as pictures on the White House website (archived), though none of the pictures or brief clips showed Trump shaking "hundreds" of hands prior to his speech. The photo libraries for The Associated Press and Getty Images also contained no media depicting Trump shaking "hundreds" of hands before his address. Snopes will update this article should any evidentiary photos or videos surface following the publishing of this story. Online searches for information about recent past U.S. presidents delivering military commencement addresses and remaining present for diploma ceremonies found evidence going back at least a quarter century. Biden delivered military graduates' diplomas during ceremonies in all four of his years in office. In 2021, he mostly just posed for photos after handing out diplomas, while in 2022, 2023 and 2024 he shook hands. During Trump's first term, he delivered diplomas, shook hands and posed for photos in 2017. In 2018 and 2019, he handed out diplomas and shook hands. Then, in 2020, during a socially distanced ceremony early in the COVID-19 pandemic, he stood and saluted numerous times as speakers called out graduates' names. Evidence showed Obama observing diploma ceremonies with handshakes and posed photos in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, as well as George W. Bush in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Additionally, former Vice President Kamala Harris delivered commencement speeches at military branch graduations in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, including staying to shake hands and observe diploma ceremonies in all four years, as did Vice President JD Vance following his commencement address at the U.S. Naval Academy in May 2025. "Biden Delivers Commencement Address at the US Air Force Academy." YouTube, Fox Business, 1 June 2023, Boghosian, Joyce. "President Bush Delivers Commencement Address at United States Coast Guard Academy." The White House | George W. Bush, 23 May 2007, Branum, Don. "Obama to Class of 2012: Your Spirit Is Essence of America." U.S. Air Force Academy, 23 May 2012, "Donald J. Trump's Public Schedule." Roll Call Goddard, Taegan. "Lid." Political Dictionary, Hewitt, Kimberlee. "President Delivers Commencement Address at the United States Merchant Marine Academy." The White House | George W. Bush, 19 June 2006, Kai, Gin. "File:President Barack Obama Shakes Hands with a Graduate of The ..." Wikimedia Commons, 24 May 2013, Kaplan, Mike. "President's Handshake." U.S. Department of Defense, 2 June 2016, Kim, Seung Min, and Ali Swenson. "Trump's Speech to West Point Graduates Mixes Praise, Politics and Grievances." The Associated Press, 24 May 2025, "LIVE: Trump at West Point Commencement | FOX 4 News." YouTube, FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth, 24 May 2025, "LIVE: Kamala Harris Delivers Commencement at US Military Academy West Point." YouTube, Reuters, 27 May 2023, McGhee, Tom. "Bush Preps Cadets on Modern War." The Denver Post, 28 May 2008, Morse, Paul. "President George W. Bush Waves to Family and Friends of a Cadet during Graduation Ceremonies at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD Friday, May 25. WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BY PAUL MORSE." The White House | George W. Bush, 25 May 2001, "Naval Academy Commencement, Diplomas | Video." 22 May 2009, "Obama Gives Coast Guard Commencement." CTPost, 19 May 2011, Olay, Matthew. "Recruitment Rises 12.5% Despite Ongoing Challenges." U.S. Department of Defense, 31 Oct. 2024, "President Biden Delivers Commencement Address at the Coast Guard Academy." YouTube, Yahoo Finance, 19 May 2021, "President Biden Delivers the 2024 Commencement Address at the U.S. Military Academy." YouTube, The Biden White House, 25 May 2024, "President Bush Delivers Graduation Speech at West Point." The White House | George W. Bush, 1 June 2002, "President Bush Speaks at Air Force Academy Graduation." The White House | George W. Bush, 2 June 2004, "President Delivers Commencement Address at Coast Guard." The White House | George W. Bush, 21 May 2003, "President Donald Trump Speech At Coast Guard Academy Commencement (Full) | The New York Times." YouTube, The New York Times, 17 May 2017, "President Obama at West Point Commencement." The White House | President Barack Obama, 22 May 2010, "President Trump Addresses the Army Academy's Class of 2025." YouTube, The White House, 24 May 2025, "President Trump Goes Off-Script at West Point Commencement Speech, Brings Cadets on Stage | News 12." YouTube, News 12, 24 May 2025, "President Trump Shakes the Hand of Every Cadet Graduating from the Air Force Academy." YouTube, Denver7, 30 May 2019, @realmichaelsolakiewicz. "President Donald J Trump Spending the Memorial Day Holiday Weekend at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster!" Instagram, 24 May 2025, Schwarz, Hunter. "Obama Does Some World-Class Mugging for the Camera with Coast Guard Grads." The Washington Post, 20 May 2015, Tierney, Kevin H. "050127-M-0000A-072." U.S. Marine Corps, 27 Jan. 2005, Toropin, Konstantin, et al. "Prep Courses, Policy Tweaks Largely Drove the Military's Recruiting Success in 2024." 7 Feb. 2025, "Trump Gives Commencement Speech at U.S. Naval Academy." YouTube, Washington Post, 25 May 2018, "TRUMP Turns GOLF CART into Makeshift 'PRESIDENTIAL LIMO' after Stepping off MARINE ONE." YouTube, Diario AS, 4 Apr. 2025, "US President Barack Obama Shakes Hands with a Female Cadet at Graduation Ceremonies at the U.S. Military Academy May 28, 2014 in West Point, New York Stock Photo - Alamy." Alamy, 28 May 2014, "USMA Class of 2025 Graduation Ceremony." YouTube, West Point - The U.S. Military Academy, 24 May 2025, "Vice President Harris: Commencement Address-US Air Force Academy's 2024 Graduation Ceremony (Entire)." YouTube, The Coalition Radio Network, 2 June 2024, "Vice President JD Vance Addresses the Naval Academy's Class of 2025." YouTube, The White House, 23 May 2025, "Vice President Kamala Harris Delivers Commencement Address to US Naval Academy's Class of 2021." YouTube, Yahoo Finance, 28 May 2021, "Vice President Kamala Harris Delivers Keynote Address at U.S. Coast Guard Academy Commencement." YouTube, FOX 61, 18 May 2022, "WATCH LIVE: President Biden Addresses the United States Naval Academy's Graduating Class of 2022." YouTube, Yahoo Finance, 27 May 2022, "West Point Commencement Address | Video." 13 June 2020,
Free Malaysia Today
2 days ago
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
Bernie Kerik, NYC's 9/11 top cop who fell from grace, dies at 69
Bernard Kerik was charged with lying to White House officials and with tax evasion in 2007. (AP pic) NEW YORK : Bernard Kerik, who was hailed for his role in leading the New York City police department (NYPD) during the Sept 11, 2001, attacks but later went to prison for tax evasion, died today at the age of 69. His death followed a private battle with illness, FBI director Kash Patel said. During Republican mayor Rudy Giuliani's administration, he spent two years as the city's commissioner of the department of corrections starting in 1998 before being appointed police commissioner in 2000. He oversaw the response, rescue, recovery during the Sept 11 attacks before leaving the NYPD in December 2001. Kerik was later nominated by president George W Bush to lead the department of homeland security during the early stages of the US' war on terror. AdChoices ADVERTISING 'Bernie Kerik understands the duties that came to America on Sept 11. The resolve he felt that morning will guide him every day on his job,' Bush said in 2004. The nomination was short-lived as Kerik withdrew from consideration days after. His employment of an undocumented migrant as a nanny was later stated as the reason for his withdrawal. In 2007, he was charged with lying to White House officials and with tax evasion. He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison. He was pardoned by president Donald Trump in 2020.
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
Why Shannon Airport remains a key gateway for the US military
Questions over Ireland's role in the United States' military supply chain have long been asked. Millions of US soldiers have passed through Shannon Airport over the past two decades as it transformed into a significant transit point for the US military, particularly for its operations in the Middle East. But while US on the ground military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq has come to an end, figures show that Shannon Airport continues to be constantly and consistently used by the United States. Data obtained and analysed by RTÉ News shows that between 2022 and 2024, nearly 2,000 US military aircrafts and US civil air operators with declared munitions of war on-board applied for exemptions to stop in Ireland. The flights were frequently to and from Germany, Poland, Bulgaria and Kuwait. These planes are not routinely searched or inspected by Irish authorities. Only 0.1% of applications from US civil aircraft were refused to land or fly over Ireland due to the "nature of the total munitions of war proposed to be carried", the Department of Transport told RTÉ News. No US military aircraft was prevented from landing in Ireland over that three year period, according to figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs. The Government maintains that while Ireland is not politically neutral, it is militarily neutral - meaning it is making a distinction between armed engagement and foreign policy positions. However, Shannon is used frequently by the United States, with dozens of military and civilian aircraft with weapons onboard landing and taking off every month, with little intervention or checks. To what extent is this military traffic within the parameters of Ireland's long-standing practice of neutrality? Shannon Airport On the edge of Europe, Shannon Airport is at a strategic location. It is the most westerly airport in Europe - a key and quiet facility that does not have the hustle and bustle of transport hubs of London and Amsterdam. Shortly after it opened in 1945, Shannon Airport became a convenient transatlantic refuelling stop for US military and diplomatic flights. Soviet carrier Aeroflot had established a base there, allowing flights from the Soviet Union to refuel in Ireland before travelling onwards to countries such as Cuba and Angola. Shannon became the biggest Soviet transit airport outside Moscow until the 1990s. Pictures of world leaders stopping at the airport can be seen in its departure halls. US President John F Kennedy flew into Shannon Airport in 1963 for his historic tour of Ireland and more than 40 years later another US President, George W Bush, posed for photos with US marines headed to Iraq. Already this year, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have held press conferences and meetings at the Co Clare airport. Links with the United States go back decades. The early 90s marked an uptick in the airport being used by aircraft connected to the US military during Operation Desert Storm in the Gulf. It was ramped up further at the turn of the century when, following 9/11, Shannon Airport became a key transit hub for US troops travelling to Afghanistan and Iraq. The Irish government had offered the use of Shannon to the US government for landing and refuelling facilities after the terror attacks after a UN Security Council Resolution which requested states work together to bring to justice those responsible for 9/11. In 2003, the Dáil voted to support the government's policy of continuing to grant overflight and landing rights in Ireland to US military and civilian aircraft. Defence and Security consultant Dakota Wood told RTÉ News that Shannon is attractive because it is less trafficked than a very large airfield like Frankfurt and has good ramp space. Mr Wood, who served for two decades in the US Marine Corps, said there are many considerations that go into choosing an airport and Shannon "has proved to be a very useful through put point". Over ten years from 2001 to 2011, over two million US military personnel flew through Shannon Airport. 2005 was the busiest year when nearly 2,000 aircraft carrying 336,000 personnel flew through the airport. What are the rules? Under the Air Navigation Order 1952, no foreign military aircraft is permitted to fly over, or land in the State without the 'express invitation or permission of the Minister'. However, under the terms of a specific arrangement dating from 1959, US military aircraft can overfly without prior notification on condition they are unarmed, carry only cargo and passengers, and comply with navigational requirements. Permission must also be sought to land and take off in Ireland as long as there are no arms or munitions on board, no involvement in military exercises or operations originating in Ireland, and no intelligence gathering. Civil and military aircrafts intending to carry munitions of war, or weapons through or into Irish territory must apply for a special exemption from the Irish Government to land or fly over Irish airspace. Permission must be sought even if the weapons on the aircraft are not loaded with ammunition or immediately usable, which is part of the policy to support Ireland's neutral stance. US civil aircraft apply for permission from the Department of Transport to carry troops and equipment across Irish airspace or land at airports, such as Shannon. Charter and cargo carriers, including Omni Air International and Atlas Air, which often operate under government and military contracts are the most commonly used. Ireland could deny or ground flights if it were to become clear that weapons or undeclared military cargo were on board. How many flights? In recent years, from 2022 to 2024, almost 2,000 US military and US civil flights with munitions of war on board stopped in Ireland. Over those three years, a total of 978 US military flights landed at Irish airports, mostly in Shannon. New data from the Department of Transport, obtained and analysed by RTÉ News, shows that during the same period, more than 1,000 applications were made by US civil operators with munitions of war on board to land at Shannon Airport. These applications were for what the department calls "tech stops" - brief landings to refuel and perform maintenance checks. Only 0.1% of them were refused due to the "nature of the total munitions of war proposed to be carried", according to the department. More than 1,700 applications were made from US civil aircraft with munitions of war on board to fly over Irish airspace. A majority of the munitions of war were unloaded "personal issued weapons of troops, with no ammunition". One flight in 2022 had "ammunition only" listed in the description of munitions of war. More than 820 applications were made for US civil aircraft with munitions onboard to stop or fly over Irish airspace in 2024 - 279 of them stopped at Shannon Airport. Two of the 543 applications made to fly over Ireland with munitions of war were refused. On 8 July, an Omni Air International flight travelling from Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport in Hungary to Pittsburgh International Airport in the US was refused permission to overfly. Three weeks later, on 30 July, another aircraft from the same airline was refused permission to fly in Irish airspace from Pittsburgh International Airport in Pennsylvania to Hungary's Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport. The Department of Transport told RTÉ News that they were refused "based on the nature of the total munitions of war proposed to be carried". In relation to US military aircraft, 357 landing requests were granted in 2024. In 2023, 860 applications were made by US civil aircraft with munitions of war on board to land or fly over Ireland. 258 stopped at Shannon Airport, one at Dublin airport. Nearly 600 flew over Irish air space that year. Former US president Joe Biden visited Ireland in April of that year when there was a clear increase in traffic. The same year, there were 530 landings by US military aircraft granted at Irish airports, mostly in Shannon. However, it is worth noting that the US Embassy submits the statistics on military aircraft overflights to the Department of Foreign Affairs on a monthly basis - it is not data collected by the department. 2022 saw just more than 1,000 applications made by US civil air operators to overfly or land with munitions of war. Permission was denied to one of the 467 made to stop at Shannon Airport for the same reason as the Hungary flights in 2024, said the Department of Transport. The flight refused was an Omni aircraft on 21 May 2022 from Washington Dulles International Airport to Poland which was due to land at Shannon Airport. The same year, 91 US military aircrafts landed in the country. Hundreds of the flights were to and from common destinations such as Germany, Poland and Bulgaria - all key hubs for NATO operations. Germany is home to the Ramstein Air Base and several major US military installations. There was a noticeable increase in traffic when the US was boosting troops in Europe following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Kuwait, a long-standing US military hub in the Middle East, is also regularly travelled to which is home to approximately 13,500 US forces based in Camp Arifjan and Ali Al Salem Air Base. It is used as a staging area for troops rotating in and out of many Middle East countries and onward links to Israel or Gulf allies. Are they checked? There is little intervention or checks when it comes to these aircrafts. Calls have been made for inspections to ensure they are not carrying weapons or detainees. Retired US army officer and analyst of US foreign policy, Daniel L Davis, stopped at Shannon Airport via a civil aircraft following his deployment to Iraq in 2009 and told RTÉ that he was required to have his weapons on him. "I was required to have my side arm and rifle with me at all times but it was definitely not loaded, had no ammunition with it. But I was very much required to maintain positive control over it at all times," he said. In 2009, Amnesty International alleged that rendition flights operated by the United States passed through Shannon. It claimed that the State was facilitating uninspected CIA flights through Irish airspace which were bringing detainees to centres such as Guantanamo Bay. Most recently, the Irish Government is examining a report that a flight carrying deportees from the United States to Africa, against a judge's order, stopped Shannon. Professor of International Law at the University of Notre Dame Mary Ellen O'Connell said Irish authorities should be "very clear" that it will not permit the United States to transport weapons bound for unlawful armed conflict through Ireland. "This is my area of expertise for almost 40 years… the United States is using military force all around the world unlawfully especially in the Middle East and Africa," said Prof O'Connell, who has worked in areas of international law on the use of force, international dispute resolution and international legal theory. She said there could be problems for Ireland if there are any munitions landing at Shannon that is ending up in unlawful conflicts. "Ireland should have complete control over planes that land at Shannon that are carrying munitions… anything destined for a war zone. It's important for Ireland which stands tall on so many of these issues of international law to take seriously this principle not to assist a country in any way that's using military force unlawfully" she added. Former Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.), Daniel L Davis said that much of the travel is to Bulgaria and Germany which has nothing to do with combat. "For me it seems like it wouldn't violate any neutrality unless they were… are helping the US in a combat operation," he said. "The United States had an issue for helping Saudi Arabia around 2015… to help it to combat missions against Yemen and the Houthis. Even then we tried to claim that we were not party to the conflict, even though we were directly helping refuelling etc. But something like this where you literally just land at the airport and refuel, and use the facilities I think that would be two or three levels distant from it," he said. Use of Shannon by the US does not affect Ireland's policy of military neutrality, according to the Irish Government. A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs said Ireland's policy of military neutrality is characterised by non-membership of military alliances and non-participation "in common or mutual defence arrangements". "This policy is fully consistent with foreign military and state aircrafts being allowed to enter Irish sovereign airspace or land in the State under certain circumstances," they said. A peace activist and contributor to Shannonwatch, a group which has monitored US activity at the airport for twenty years, said he believes Shannon Airport is a 'de-facto' military base for the United States. Edward Horgan, who has spent two decades protesting the use of Shannon Airport by the US military, said now is the time for the US to be forbidden from using the airport. Last year, the Department of Transport confirmed that nine civilian aircraft, reported by The Ditch website, carried munitions of war which were destined for Israel over Irish sovereign airspace. "I spent 22 years in the Irish Defence Forces, was heavily involved in logistics and logistics play a huge role in modern warfare. Shannon Airport is being used as a logistic hub for the US military. "This is particularly important at the moment and particularly inappropriate with the genocide that is happening in Gaza," he said. Military bases deployed in a foreign territory usually have a formal legal agreement or treaty with the hosting nation. A base usually has a permanent military presence and control over part of a secure site for the use of military-specific operations or missions. The Department of Foreign Affairs said this week that they have not been notified of any US Military Officers permanently based at Shannon Airport. Figures show that US military aircraft and civilian aircraft regularly and routinely land and refuel there with minimal oversight by the authorities here. However, the Irish Government insists that the US military's use of the airport is subject to strict conditions include no arms or ammunition without specific permission and that no operation missions are launched from Shannon. Other civilian airports in neutral countries with significant US military logistical use, but not military-controlled or designated bases, include Switzerland and Austria. Similar to Ireland, all US military flights must declare their purpose and contents but physical inspections are limited. Retired US army officer Davis said that he believes it is not a de-facto military base. "What would distinguish it from a military base if you had fighter jets on there. If you had routine military transport aircraft, if you had US air force facilities… like what we do in the Middle East, in Qatar for example or Kuwait. "We have parts of the whole airfield that are fenced off and it's just US territory there, that's what I consider a base but this sounds more like a leasing agreement and an arrangement to use existing facilities," he said.
Reuters
3 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Bernie Kerik, New York City's 9/11 police chief who fell from grace, dies at 69
May 29 (Reuters) - Bernard Kerik, who was hailed for his role in leading the New York City Police Department during the September 11, 2001, attacks but later went to prison for tax evasion, died on Thursday at the age of 69. His death followed a private battle with illness, FBI Director Kash Patel said. During Republican Mayor Rudy Giuliani's administration, he spent two years as the city's commissioner of the Department of Corrections starting in 1998 before being appointed police commissioner in 2000. He oversaw the response, rescue, recovery during the September 11 attacks before leaving the NYPD in December 2001. Kerik was later nominated by President George W. Bush to lead the Department of Homeland Security during the early stages of the United States' War on Terror. "Bernie Kerik understands the duties that came to America on September the 11th. The resolve he felt that morning will guide him every day on his job," Bush said in 2004. The nomination was short-lived as Kerik withdrew from consideration days after. His employment of an undocumented migrant as a nanny was later stated as the reason for his withdrawal. In 2007, he was charged with lying to White House officials and with tax evasion. He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison. He was pardoned by President Donald Trump in 2020.
