George Dubya makes me glad there isn’t a drop of oil here

WATCHING the interview with former US president Bill Clinton on the BBC’s Panorama programme the other night, it was inevitable to compare him with the present incumbent. George Dubya Bush came third.

It may not have been too plain during the 50-minute interview with David Dimbleby that Bill Clinton regretted the Monica Lewinsky affair, until the name of Kenneth Starr came up.

Understandably, he became rattled and angry at the persecution he and those around him were subjected to by the special prosecutor, and the rabid Republicans who were hounding him over his relations, or lack of them, with "that woman".

Whether or not you think Bill Clinton should have suffered some sort of consequences, politically, for his dalliance, two-thirds of the American people very sensibly realised it had nothing to go with running the country.

Hilary Clinton wasn't too impressed with the liaison, as we already knew, and Bill was in the doghouse for quite a while for having slipped the leash.

But during the interview he gave insights into that period which most people men, anyway could relate to. He conjured up an image of the most powerful man in the world having to sleep on the couch, which he admitted to having had to do, because the wife wouldn't let him into the bed. That's something even Republicans, domestic and foreign, could certainly relate to.

And he confessed, with a broad, roguish laugh, that there were days during that time when he was glad to escape to the safety of work from domestic hassle. A big club, Mr President, a very big club.

The thing about Bill Clinton is that he comes over as a highly intelligent, amiable and warm-hearted person with human flaws, like the rest of us.

George Dubya Bush comes across as somebody going around with his home state motto of "Don't mess with Texas," tattooed on his forehead and the mirrors have been swept by the CIA so he doesn't see it.

The difference between the two men, in fact between Dubya and the other US presidents who have come to Ireland, irrespective of their politics, is epitomised by the quality of the reception they were afforded and what he's facing.

The fact that the biggest protest ever mounted here is likely to happen during his brief stay, is not indicative of anti-American feeling in this country, but of the odium in which he is personally held. As president of America, and therefore the most powerful man in the world, he is perceived as wanting to rule the world, especially those parts of the globe which harbour huge reserves of oil.

Far from being seen as the policeman of the world, a role it largely filled, America is now considered rather like a Dick Turpin puppet, with multi-national companies pulling the strings, for their vested interests rather than those of America.

In pursuing those interests, an accommodating White House administration is immune to world opinion in undermining the United Nations, invading Iraq and denying human rights with torture and degrading humiliation as an occupying force.

Is it any wonder that in a recent opinion poll the majority of Irish people did not want George W Bush anywhere near the country. In fact, such is the trauma surrounding the visit that it has occasioned an episode of historic proportion: Irish lawyers are giving advice for nothing.

The words "foal" and "fee," and "money up front" were not even mentioned when a group of more than 170 lawyers issued a statement opposing the Bush visit to Ireland. Such is their loathing of the Texan that the lawyers, including 16 of the country's most senior barristers, were dispensing their advice without the clock running.

Even the Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin and other clergymen couldn't find even a smidgen of Christian charity in their hearts to welcome Dubya.

They called a news conference to tell people to join protests against the visit, where Dean Robert McCarthy said that it was important to protest against the policies of the US President.

He said Ireland cannot claim to be neutral if the US military continues to use Shannon Airport.

IN the midst of all this protest from clergymen, the legal profession, politicians and protestors, came support from an unlikely source the US Ambassador to Ireland, James Kenny.

In an RTÉ interview he said everyone had the right to peaceful protests and that is what the US is fighting for.

Now, I don't think that he imagined he was actually conferring that right on us, and I wouldn't have too much faith in the present US administration going to bat for such a right if we lacked it. Actually, it was one of those times when it was comforting that, apart from petrol pumps, there isn't a drop of oil in the country.

He went on to say that the protests were not that important as the dialogue between America and other countries is improving.

He should have asked the people of Shannon, who are virtually under siege for the duration of the visit and who do not have the right to come and go as they please to their own homes because of the inordinate security surrounding his boss. Mr Kenny pointed to the recent unanimous UN vote on the Iraq draft resolution as proof that America's external relations were improving although other countries may not have agreed on some of the military action.

However, he didn't mention the other resolution, the one which the Americans wanted to give their lads carte blanche to do what they want when on foreign soil.

Because they knew they had as much hope of getting it passed as a detainee in Abu Ghraib jail being treated like a human being, they withdrew it.

What they wanted was a Security Council resolution renewing immunity for US troops for war crimes prosecutions. In other words, the Americans wanted a guarantee that American troops on UN missions could not be tried at the International Criminal Court.

Given some of their inhuman behaviour in Iraq, it's not surprising that they would want to seek to protect their boys from the inspiration of Donald Rumsfeld.

It will be reassuring for all those engaged in protests against the Bush visit that Tánaiste Mary Harney has declared that the security response to them would be "proportionate" to the need.

Seeing that there will be 4,000 gardaí, 2,000 army, air corps and naval personnel as well as the Emergency Response Unit involved in keeping the protestors under control, you can imagine as well as I can what "appropriate" means. We won't have to wait too long to find out.

And insofar as this country's displeasure about some US foreign policy is concerned, Ms Harney promised that the Government would make it clear to Mr Bush that Ireland and the EU did not agree with him on many foreign policy issues. In the meantime, he can still have a loan of Shannon Airport for his military transport. According to Aer Rianta, over 55,000 US troops have passed through Shannon on almost 1,000 flights so far this year.