Sir, In his letter to The Irish Times (June 26th), Mr John Gibson seems to have been under the impression that those currently protesting against the visit to Ireland of the USS John F. Kennedy were silent when its Commander in Chief, President Bill Clinton, paid a visit to this country last November. This is not the case, though from the level of coverage afforded in our "free press" for those who did make protests, one could excuse Mr Gibson's lack of awareness.
Mr Gibson is right of course Bill Clinton was conferred with the freedom of the city of Dublin but this was not a unanimous decision by the City Council the Workers' Party councillors, amongst others opposed the conferring of this honour, as we felt it was inappropriate when one takes into account the excesses of US foreign policy, the involvement of that country in arms sales to repressive regimes, and the United States' attempt to strangle the island nation of Cuba into submission to its diktats.
For the very same reason, we are opposing the visit of the JFK a grotesque machine of death which has already been a launching pad for murderous attacks on the civilian population of Iraq and for other warlike acts. It is an absurdity for the United States to send a warship as a token of peace when its entire existence is dedicated to war and destruction. Yours, etc., Press Officer, The Workers' Party, Gardiner Place, Dublin 1.