Madam, -The Minister for Foreign Affairs accepts the "categorical assurance of a friendly nation" that the US is not flying internees through Shannon. His innocence no doubt has a certain endearing charm, but can he really be unaware that the US has lied and lied and lied again since it decided to steal Iraq? - Yours, etc,
BRIAN J. GOGGIN, Castleconnell, Co Limerick.
Madam, - Two news items caught my attention in recent days:
1. Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern has said he accepts the "categorical assurance" from US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Shannon Airport has not been used for "anything untoward" in relation to CIA flights.
2. The US knew and approved of Indonesia's invasion of East Timor in 1975, which led to a 24-year occupation of the former Portuguese colony, according to newly declassified documents. It adopted a "policy of silence" and even sought to suppress news and discussions on East Timor, including credible reports of Indonesia's massacres of Timorese civilians, according to the documents.
It seems the only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history, particularly when we do not wish to learn. - Yours, etc.,
MICHAEL K. POWER, Greenlands, Sandyford Road, Dublin 16.