Shannon security - Al-Qaida threat can’t be ignored

DEFENCE Minister Willie O’Dea’s demand for an urgent review of security at Shannon will be welcomed by all who believe the movement of US troops through the airport makes Ireland a target for al-Qaida.

Aptly, this reiteration of the need for the highest security in the face of global terror, came on a particularly dark day as the remains of 17-year-old Tara Whelan, victim of the minibus bomb at Kusadasi in Turkey, were received by her grieving family and friends last night.

Illustrating the indiscriminate nature of terrorism, there is every likelihood that the mindless atrocity attributed to separatist Kurds at the Turkish resort could some day be perpetrated by al-Qaida at Shannon or elsewhere in Ireland.

Undoubtedly, if Britain can be described as a pillion passenger of the US in Iraq, then Ireland falls into the same category, albeit to a lesser degree. On the twisted landscape of Islamic fundamentalism, the concept of guilt by association is a real factor.

Hot on the heels of last week’s suicide bombings in London, an analysis of security and terrorism in Britain has warned of gaps in emergency resources in dealing with terrorist threats outside the British capital.

This lends even greater urgency to the threat posed to Shannon where serious deficiencies came to light in checks last May. It is comforting to note Mr O’Dea has since been assured these have been dealt with. But it is even more important to assuage public fears in this regard.

Hence the importance of ordering an independent and unannounced security check to, as he put it, “assure everybody, that everything was OK”. Significantly, the glitches at Shannon were exposed several weeks after major lapses were found at Dublin airport during a covert visit by an international inspectorate.

Having sought an urgent report from the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning, which includes senior army and garda personnel plus key civil servants, Mr O’Dea was absolutely right to insist the audit be carried out by independent experts and not by an agency of the State.

While the Government continues to play down the al-Qaida threat, this country’s profile as a target for bombers has undoubtedly been heightened by the sharp escalation in the number of US troops going through Shannon en route to Iraq.

In the first six months of this year, troop levels almost doubled to 150,000 compared to 158,549 during the previous 12 months. In light of this, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is flying in the face of reality when he claims Shannon is not a terrorist target.

The unpredictable aspect of terrorism has been brought home with chilling force by the mindless murder of Tara Whelan in the blast which claimed five lives at Kusadasi. Who could not be moved by the haunting sense of grief manifest in the poignant words of her heartbroken parents? Or by yesterday’s harrowing scenes at her school, Our Lady of Mercy in Waterford city, as classmates and staff joined in mourning her untimely death.

When Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern visits Turkey this week, he must impress upon the authorities the urgency of ensuring strict security measures are in place for the protection of Irish and other tourists in Kusadasi and other popular resorts.

Hopefully, when the Department of Foreign Affairs completes its review of travel advice for Turkey, it will do better than its pathetic warning that Irish citizens should “exercise caution and be particularly vigilant at all times”.