Irish-Americans last week lobbied US
President George Bush to cancel
a £158 million Iraq security contract
awarded to Aegis Defense
Services, the company run by
controversial former British Army
officer Tim Spicer.
Spicer was the commanding officer of
Scots Guards Mark Wright and
James Fisher, who shot dead 18-year-old
Peter McBride in the New
Lodge area of Belfast on 4 September
1992. Spicer defended the
actions of the soldiers and campaigned
for their release after they
were subsequently convicted of murder.
Father Sean Mc Manus, President of the
Washington-based Irish
National Caucus, has written to
President Bush, asking him "in the
name of decency to cancel the Spicer
contract as it has Peter
McBride's blood on it".
He goes no to tell Mr. Bush, " This
could undo any credit you gained
from Irish-Americans for you support of
the Irish peace-process. US
dollars should not subsidize such a
person as Lt Col Spicer. And
long-suffering Iraq needs him no more
than Northern
Ireland needed him".
" We are determined not to accept this
terrible insult to the
McBride family and to Irish-Americans. I
cannot believe that
President Bush would have approved such
an outrageous contract. He
has got to undo this great wrong. Iraq
does not need the likes of
Spicer , and U.S. dollars should not be
funding him - and, in
effect, endorsing the murder of Peter
McBride", he concluded.
Fr. McManus also raised the issue during
a briefing at the State
Department last week by Dr. Mitchell
Reiss, Special Envoy for
Northern Ireland.
"Dr. Reiss acknowledged he had concerns
about the contract,” Fr.
McManus said.
The Irish National Caucus has also
written to Democratic
presidential candidate Senator John
Kerry and other members of
Congress.
"We are calling on them to denounce the
awarding of the contract to
Spicer and demanding that it be
cancelled. We are determined to make
this an election issue,” Fr McManus
said.
