Steve Holland
Bush Lands in Ireland for EU-U.S. Summit
Fri Jun 25, 2004 18:52
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Bush Lands in Ireland for EU-U.S. Summit
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/reuters20040625_351.html

June 25, 2004 — By Steve Holland

SHANNON, Ireland (Reuters) - President Bush flew into Ireland Friday for a summit with European Union leaders which has sparked protests and rekindled anger over American policy in Iraq and the Middle East.

Bush's plane, Air Force One, touched down at Shannon Airport, on Ireland's west coast, shortly before 8:00 p.m. (3 p.m. EDT), marking the start of the first U.S. presidential trip to Ireland since Bill Clinton's visit in 1995.

The president was whisked 10 miles up the road to the fairytale setting of Dromoland Castle, a 16th century turreted mansion set in secluded woodland in County Clare.

There, he and first lady Laura Bush were welcomed by Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency.

Bush was due to spend the night at the castle, where he will meet EU leaders Saturday to discuss a range of primarily political issues such as Iraq, the Middle East, counter-terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.

The visit has sparked protests in a country where visiting U.S. presidents, from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan, have traditionally been feted due to their Irish ancestry and the strong historical links between the two nations.

Between 5-10,000 people marched through Dublin Friday night to voice their opposition to Bush, and a smaller protest of around 600 people was staged at Shannon, although demonstrators were kept well away from the presidential entourage.

The focus of the protests is U.S. policy in Iraq and Ireland's own role in the war there. Ahern's government has been heavily criticized at home for allowing U.S. jets to refuel at Shannon en route to the Middle East.

IRAQ ARGUMENT IS DEAD

But the Irish prime minister says the rift between Europe and the United States, so deep 15 months ago when the U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq, has been bridged by the recent signing of U.N. Resolution 1546, which provides for U.N. members to support the coalition in the Gulf.

"Whatever the arguments of last year, those arguments are dead," Ahern told Irish state television RTE shortly before Bush landed. "(Resolution) 1546 specifically deals with these issues, so that argument is now part of the history books."

Instead, Ahern said, the summit would concentrate on the signing of what he described as "seven major issues."

They are: Iraq, the Middle East, Sudan, counter-terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, the fight against HIV/AIDS and the strengthening of the transatlantic economic partnership.

Bush will be accompanied by Secretary of State Colin Powell, Commerce Secretary Don Evans and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, while the EU side will be headed by Ahern, European Commission President Romano Prodi and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

Bush is due in Ireland for only around 18 hours before heading on to Istanbul, Turkey, for a NATO summit. Security in both countries is tight, particular following Thursday's bombs in the Turkish cities of Istanbul and Ankara.

In Ireland, some 6,000 police and troops, backed by fixed-wing planes, helicopters, ships and surface-to-air missiles, have been deployed to protect the president.

Irish police arrested three people who tried to row up the Shannon estuary in a tiny boat Friday morning to protest against the visit.

A police spokesman said they were the only detentions carried out all day and that the Dublin march had passed peacefully.

(Additional reporting by Adam Entous, Gideon Long, Carmel Crimmins, Sebastian Alison and Kevin Smith)


photo credit and caption:
President George W. Bush waves on his arrival at Shannon Airport, Ireland, accompanied by First Lady Laura Bush, June 25, 2004. Bush landed at Shannon airport in western Ireland in Air Force One at the start of an 18-hour visit to attend a summit between the United States and the European Union. Photo by Paul Mcerlane/Reuters REUTERS/Paul McErlane

Copyright 2004 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved
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Terrorism concerns have Europe on edge
Kentucky.com, KY - 7 minutes ago
With a NATO summit beginning Monday in Istanbul, Turkey, a European soccer ... one in Istanbul, where 26 heads of state, including President Bush, will gather, and ..

Posted on Fri, Jun. 25, 2004

Terrorism concerns have Europe on edge

BY MATTHEW SCHOFIELD

Knight Ridder Newspapers

BERLIN - (KRT) - Welcome to Europe's summer of terror.

With a NATO summit beginning Monday in Istanbul, Turkey, a European soccer tournament scheduled to finish up July 4 in Portugal and the Olympics set to begin in Athens on Aug. 8, security has become an overwhelming issue throughout Europe.

Turkey has deployed more than 23,000 soldiers in Istanbul to guard against any possible attack, and the Bosporus Straits will be closed to shipping throughout the summit. Still, two bombs exploded Thursday, one in Istanbul, where 26 heads of state, including President Bush, will gather, and the other in Ankara, where Bush will meet with the Turkish prime minister on Sunday. The Istanbul explosion killed four, including the young woman who police believe was transporting the bomb on a city bus when it went off, ripping her in half.

"After the terror attacks on the United States on September 11, we didn't need the wake-up call that came with the attacks on Madrid in March," said Athens Police Col. Eleftherios Ikonomou, who's arranging security for the Olympics. "Security was already a top priority. But recent events have reinforced our resolve. We have spared no expense in providing security."

Security experts agree that there's no need for a wake-up call. The war in Iraq continues to be a source of animosity in Europe. There was a bombing near a Greek police station just last month. And memories of the March 11 subway bombings in Madrid, which killed almost 200 people and injured about 2,000, and the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States remain strong.

Especially during a summer of high-profile events.

Olympics organizers in Athens hope to sell 5 million tickets to visitors from around the world and showcase their country to a worldwide television audience. At least 1 million people are expected to have visited Portugal for the three-week European Championships soccer tournament by the time it ends July 4.

The NATO conference won't attract many visitors, but it's expected to attract 50 world leaders and worldwide news coverage.

"Terrorists look for soft targets," said Jonathon Stevenson, a senior fellow and counterterrorism expert with the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. "These event sites are no longer soft - they're very hard targets. In Istanbul, after these bombings, I'd expect the city to be in total lockdown."

All the events have security plans that resemble invasion defense strategies. Greece will have 70,000 security officers on the ground. There are about 4,000 officers in and around each of the soccer stadiums in Portugal.

"We've got fighter jets to protect against an attack from the air, as many as 70,000 security people to protect against attacks on the ground, boats to protect the coastline and quite a bit of satellite support to make sure we see everything that's happening," Ikonomou said recently as he sat in a conference room that looks out over his ancient city. "It's an integrated plan. We feel we should be very secure with it."

All the events share air, land and sea defense strategies. In Istanbul, officials are closing the Bosporus Straits for the duration of the NATO summit. In Portugal, where there's the double threat of soccer-hooligans and terrorists, police have 15,000 canisters of pepper spray to go with the fighter jets overhead.

Hans-Joachim Giessmann, the deputy director of Hamburg's Institute for Peace Research and Security, said that in a sense, the preparations are both too much and not enough.

By making security such a high-profile concern, he said, people are showing that terrorists are changing the way we live. He said that while event security is essential, unless the Western world deals with the root causes, it will never be enough.

"Whenever you think you know where terrorists will strike, they don't," he said. "One of their weapons is surprise. If all eyes are on Athens, or Istanbul, maybe the bombs go off in Paris."

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http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/world/9014568.htm

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