True democrats would support the decision of the Spanish people
In the aftermath of the horrific carnage in Madrid, Bertie Ahern appears to have the inside track of the mindset of the international terrorist group, at least to the extent that he is confident this country will not become a target.
We hope he’s right, but it’s amazing how a man whose endeavours to find traces of Ray Burke in North Dublin failed abysmally is so far ahead of the western world’s intelligence organisations regarding al-Qaida’s intentions.
Putting on a brave face, and leaving the comparative safety of Ireland, most of the cabinet and junior ministers ventured abroad to celebrate St Patrick’s Day, without any consideration for their own safety.
From China to South Africa, and Singapore to New Zealand, and points in between, our Government was well-represented, as they clocked up air miles in their commendable defiance of any international threat from al-Qaida.
Oddly enough, in the list of destinations they were reported to have scattered to, I failed to notice Spain.
Only three Ministers stayed at home. Noel Dempsey, Martin Cullen and Willie O’Dea chose to party locally, possibly endorsing their leader’s confidence that it was the safest place to be.
However, the Taoiseach may not be as sanguine about Ireland not being a target as his public utterances might suggest: in a recent interview he declined to elaborate on the issue.
What he is definitely worried about is the fact, not a mere possibility, that his good old buddy George Dubya will not be given a céad míle fáilte by the entire population when he visits Ireland next June.
The Taoiseach has laid down a marker, almost a public warning, that any protests during the visit would be more than frowned upon.
Under no circumstances must the most powerful man in the world be upset when he arrives in Ireland for the EU-US summit in the summer because, according to Mr Ahern, it could threaten American investment here.
Instead, we must kowtow and I got the distinct impression of an implicit threat that any protestors would attract the undivided attention of our security forces.
Not that our Taoiseach said that, but it would be an embarrassment to the Government, especially during the EU presidency if the President of the US of A might be reminded that not everybody in this country agrees with his war-mongering in Iraq.
The fact that a considerable number of Irish people object to the war in Iraq is not an anti-American thing. It might be an anti-George Bush position, but, inherently, it is opposition to a war which was embarked upon without UN support, one that Mr Bush intended to start with or without international backing from day one.
The awful campaign of terrorism being waged by al-Qaida is also condemned here for the mindless acts they are, and no reasonable person could but support the determination of the international community to end it.
Bertie Ahern would much rather that George Bush be given an overwhelming popular reception when he comes for his first visit here.
That’s not going to happen.
There will be an anti-war protest and as long as it is peaceful, the people so inclined have every right to carry it out. The fact that even a peaceful one would prove politically embarrassing for the Government is utterly irrelevant.
Many people resent the fact that the Bush administration assumes it knows what’s best for democracy, and any dissenting opinion is, consequently, anti-American and anti-democracy.
Democracy, as far as the current White House is concerned, is delineated by American interests. Abroad, fulfilling those interests can involve ignoring
or undermining the will of the majority of the people of another country. For instance, the most senior Republican politician in the US Congress had the arrogance to accuse the Spanish electorate of appeasing terrorists by voting for a change of government in the wake of the bombings in Madrid.
It is now accepted that what motivated the Spanish people to get rid of the Popular Party was its opposition to the war on Iraq and the fact that the government had lied about who was responsible for the bombings.
From the outset, Prime Minister José María Aznar blamed ETA for the bombings because it would have been politically to his advantage had the Spanish terrorist group been to blame, rather than al-Qaida.
For trying to politically manipulate the terrible tragedy and in the process lying to the people, the electorate voted massively for Socialist José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero as Prime Minister.
The first thing he did was to decide that the 1,300 Spanish troops would be brought back from Iraq when he took over, and he also accused Mr Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair of organising a war “with lies.”
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, the most senior Republican, condemned the Spanish electorate as terrorist appeasers, and criticised the pledge by the incoming Socialist-led Spanish government to withdraw their forces from Iraq.
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