Libertas: Nato, Neutrality and the Arms Trade

national | anti-war / imperialism | opinion/analysis Thursday April 24, 2008 17:12 by Seabhcan

McEvaddy's Calls for No to Lisbon, Yes to Nato?

New Libertas supporter, Ulick McEvaddy is an arms dealer. His company, Omega Air, supplies planes, pilots and fuel to the US miltary in support of the Iraq war. In the past, he has called for Ireland to join NATO.

What is his, and Libertas' motivation in opposing the Lisbon Treaty.

Whatever your opinion of the Lisbon Treaty, the spectacular rise of the opposition group Libertas is interesting.

Libertas is a private limited company registered in 2006. It is managed by Declan J. Ganley, a businessman with US interests. Their most recent public supporter is Ulick McEvaddy, also a businessman with US interests. In fact, virtually all McEvaddy's business is US based, and a good deal of that is with the US Military. McEvaddy is on the record as supporting Irish membership of NATO:

From the Dail records: http://www.irlgov.ie/debates-99/2nov99/sect5.htm

"The McEvaddy brothers... are keen proponents of NATO membership for Ireland. A recent article in The Sunday Business Post made it clear when it stated:

"Ulick McEvaddy has confirmed that the McEvaddy brothers US operation has done business with the US military and tht the military have been their largest customer in the US. The brothers have supplied the US military with Boeing 707s to be used as part of very sophisticated radar, surveillance and target attack systems. Only the most trustworthy of people would be likely to get such contracts."

Amnesty International published a report citing McEvaddy's activities and calling for greater government oversight of Irish military companies:

http://ie.amnesty.org/amnesty/upload/images/amnesty_ie/...e.pdf

"The US Navy has stated that Omega Air's services have not been provided for US combat operations.
However,Omega Air’s owner has reportedly stated that Omega Air hopes to expand its military services for
combat operations, and the company is reportedly currently bidding for a contract to supply the US Air
Force with comprehensive refuelling services in both training and combat missions using 60 specially
modified DC-10 planes. In July 2006, a Dow Jones news journalist quoted Omega Air’s owner, Ulick
McEvaddy,stating that Omega Air's planes could support combat missions even using civilian personnel:

“The old bogey is always how do we know we can rely on you in war?...Nations don't go to war
without the public anyway...Vietnam, Korea – there were as many civilians in theater as there
were soldiers”

Many Irish people who intend to vote No to Lisbon have Ireland's neutrality in mind. Libertas and their supporters clearly do not share this view. What is Libertas' true motivation in pushing for a No vote. Is there an American connection to this? Do they want to push for NATO membership? McEvaddy's business interests would likely benefit by such a move.