Bush visit – Silence on US abuses will be wrong

As a visiting head of state, US President George W Bush will be accorded all the diplomatic courtesies that protocol demands he be afforded during his short visit to Ireland this weekend.

At an official level, his presence here will be attended with the due respect his office is entitled to and will reflect the goodwill and close friendship which has always existed between Ireland and America.

His visit here is not a courtesy one and, while it fortuitously coincides with an election year, the purpose of President Bush’s presence here is to attend the EU-US summit, which is being held as part of the Irish presidency of the European Union.