BRENNAN HECKLER TO VISIT IRELAND – unpublished letter to Irish Times, 130213.

CIA nominee John Brennan was more than heckled at the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing (Peter Murtagh, IQ 9 February) last week.

In fact a total of eight women peace activists were removed and arrested. One of these was Col. Ann Wright, the highest ranking US soldier to resign in protest against the invasion of Iraq. She is also a former US diplomat who oversaw the opening of the US Embassy in Afghanistan in 2001 as Deputy Chief of Mission. At the Senate Committee protest she wore a placard with the name of Tariq Asiz, a 16 year old boy killed by Drone strike in 2011 that also read ‘Brennan = Drone Killing’.

Col. Ann Wright will be in Ireland this week for a series of events including meetings with politicians in Leinster House and speaking at a public meeting in the Teacher’s Club, Parnell Square, Dublin at 8pm on Thursday 14 February.

Given the horrific statistics of civilian fatalities of drone strikes of which John Brennan is a ‘strong supporter’ and the role successive Irish Governments have played in supporting the CIA’s illegal rendition programme, as exposed this week in the report from the Open Society Justice Initiative (News Review, 9 February), this dedicated US peace activist should be given a fair hearing by both Irish politicians and the media.

Yours etc.

CIA nominee John Brennan was more than heckled at the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing (Peter Murtagh, IQ 9 February) last week.

In fact a total of eight women peace activists were removed and arrested. One of these was Col. Ann Wright, the highest ranking US soldier to resign in protest against the invasion of Iraq. She is also a former US diplomat who oversaw the opening of the US Embassy in Afghanistan in 2001 as Deputy Chief of Mission. At the Senate Committee protest she wore a placard with the name of Tariq Asiz, a 16 year old boy killed by Drone strike in 2011 that also read ‘Brennan = Drone Killing’.

Col. Ann Wright will be in Ireland this week for a series of events including meetings with politicians in Leinster House and speaking at a public meeting in the Teacher’s Club, Parnell Square, Dublin at 8pm on Thursday 14 February.

Given the horrific statistics of civilian fatalities of drone strikes of which John Brennan is a ‘strong supporter’ and the role successive Irish Governments have played in supporting the CIA’s illegal rendition programme, as exposed this week in the report from the Open Society Justice Initiative (News Review, 9 February), this dedicated US peace activist should be given a fair hearing by both Irish politicians and the media.

Yours etc.