Bush visit – Summit ends in triumph for Ahern

President George W Bush left the Dromoland summit conscious of the serious concern the majority of Irish people harbour towards the war in Iraq and American treatment of prisoners there.

That concern was firmly conveyed to him by President Mary McAleese and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in the course of the EU-US summit, although he may also have been made aware of the depth of feeling throughout the country because his presence occasioned the biggest security operation ever mounted in the State.

Ultimately, the summit passed off without any major incident, belying the extraordinary measures taken in terms of garda and army personnel and military equipment put in place to defeat perceived threats from protesters.

Allowing for the security element the summit was a remarkable success, marking the end of Ireland’s EU presidency in a manner which had characterised its efficiency for the past six months.

It was a personal triumph for Mr Ahern. Having overseen the enlargement of the EU during his presidential term and negotiated final agreement on the first EU constitution, he saw the Dromoland meeting effect a strengthening of EU and US relationships.

Bitter differences over the war in Iraq have been largely put aside to forge a concerted international support for the emerging democracy.

Against a background of mounting violence and deaths, the transfer of power to Iraq’s interim government from the US-led coalition forces will take place on Wednesday next.

The accord achieved in Dromoland will at least ensure the international community is as one in supporting that nascent government, which is likely to face a civil war if faction fighting continues to escalate.

To that end both the US and the EU have pledged to back the United Nation’s effort in rebuilding the country and achieve the objective of holding elections by the start of 2005 at the latest. That pledge includes reducing Iraq’s foreign debt of $120 billion as well as training security forces to handle the violence.

The fraught situation in Iraq will also be on the agenda of the NATO summit in Turkey today and tomorrow, which will be assisted by the agreement reached in Dromoland.

Domestically, Mr Ahern will welcome Mr Bush reiterating the US’s commitment to contribute to the peace process in Northern Ireland.

On a personal note, it would be appropriate if Mr Ahern’s choice of Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso as the new president of the European Commission were agreed at tomorrow’s EU Council summit in Brussels.