RAF jets – not connected to Libya or IS – request for clearance sought up ahead
Published:
February 3, 2015 at 10:00pm
The Malta Independent has just uploaded the government’s response to the story in Malta Right Now.
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http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2015-02-03/local-news/Military-aircraft-in-Malta-not-connected-to-Libya-crisis-or-attack-on-Islamic-State-government-6736130049
Oh right.
So were meant to land in Sigonella but got their navigation instructions from Karmenu Vella?
I understand the planes have been purchased by Saudi Arabia and are on their way there.
I’m pretty sure these aren’t Saudi shipments. The pictures I’ve seen are dark, but they do appear to have RAF squadron markings and roundells where you’d expect them to be on a RAF aircraft. Plus the Saudi Typhoons don’t usually fly with a tanker.
Though I feel obliged to point out, they don’t appear to be carrying any munitions, just external fuel tanks. The A330 MRTT tanker might be carrying some, but bombs and missiles are disassembled for shipment to prevent accidental ignition.
Confirmed as belonging to No. 3 Squadron based in Coningsby, Lincolnshire.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150203/local/updated-muscat-government-not-aware-of-any-islamist-threat-but-staying-vigilant.554636#
“There are several people who legitimately hold two passports, one from a European country and an Arab country.”
Is Prime Minister Muscat delusional? Does he believe we’ve forgotten that he’s spent most of 2014 peddling Maltese passports? Unbelievable.
True, but to tell all the truth, it was the PN administration in 2001 that introduced double or multiple citizenships. So there are some other ways that an Arab can hold double Maltese and other citizenship.
The ones who edited Charlie Hebdo had French passports.
It seems the only thing on Muscat’s mind is the citizenship scheme.
RAF fighter jets have been stopping in Malta to refuel every week since about November.
They are on their way to the RAF base in Cyprus which is the centre of operations for sorties on ISIS positions in Syria and northern Iraq.
Ask anyone who lives in Zebbug. They take off in groups of two or three and shake the whole village. I must admit that they are spectacular to watch from my balcony.
Shame on those who create such hysteria without first verifying the facts.
This is incorrect. Excluding the airshow arrivals the last RAF fighters at Luqa were emergency diversions from Operation Unified Protector in 2011. The previous mentioned Saudi shipments account for maybe 4 to 6 flights a year.
The facts!
Facebook has been full of hysterical people speculating and imagining things.
One person reported seeing military operations ongoing in Marsascala! And another said that all AFM personal were called back to headquarters.
I laughed when an AFM officer joined the thread and said that he knew nothing about it and was drinking a bottle of wine at home watching TV. Priceless.
It suits the PM though. Keep ’em guessing, keep ’em nervous, and they’ll follow you anywhere. We “remain vigilant”, says he. Duh. Isn’t that what any government has done since the dawn of time?
Not this one. He’s too busy preening and looking for photo ops.
Next up: Berlin today, where he plans to tell Merkel she should take the lead on fighting ISIS in Libya. I’d give anything to be a fly on the wall when she replies.
Yes, there were facepalms all round when that news came out. Each time he visits someone, the PM tells them they should be the lead on the latest hot topic.
I’m sure the Bundestag will be delighted to send the underfunded and under-equipped Bundeswehr on another pointless adventure.
Echoing what Beacom wrote: my social network feed blew up with comments from fearmongers and hamalli who desperately want Malta to be in some magical crusade as per their vision of a clash of civilizations.
They’d be among the first victims. Outside the magic circle of their imagination, they’re infidels.
Trouble is, I suspect no one ever read Muscat – or anyone in his cabinet for that matter – the story of the boy who cried wolf.
Trouble is, I suspect, that you misinterpret what you read. Probably blinded by foolish partisan politics. The RAF will not take the trouble to come here with 5 fighters and support, just because a wolf cried. What are you all expecting of the Prime Minister? As if Gonzi told us everything during the Libyan Gaddafi crisis. I do not blame them. It makes no difference for us if we know or do not know certain things. We have a tourism industry to look after, to start with.
Someone’s taken too many laxatives today.