A bit of good news out of Ireland

Nora Owen is a former Irish Justice Minister, and a member of Fine Gael, a party that is struggling for political survival. The Irish Independent (registration required) reports that she wants George Bush’s planned visit in June for a US-EU summit cancelled, because it could invite an al-Qaeda attack.

Former Justice Minister Nora Owen has said the planned visit of President Bush to Ireland in June poses an unnecessary risk.
Ms Owen strongly hinted the EU/US summit should not go ahead here following the heightened terrorist threat in the aftermath of the Madrid bombings.

The response? Not even her own party backs her.
The Fine Gael spokesman on Foreign Affairs, Gay Mitchell, said he believed the summit should go ahead provided the Government is happy it can provide the security.
The Irish Examiner’s (registration required) editorial response?

Former Justice Minister Nora Owen called yesterday for a rethink on George W Bush’s planned visit here next June, because of the danger that al-Qaida might target this country.
As Justice Minister she did not advocate surrendering to the Real IRA in the wake of the Omagh bombing, so why does she advocate pandering to al-Qaida now?

. . .

Suggesting that Mr Bush should call off his visit would not only amount to surrendering to terrorist blackmail; it would also set a dreadful precedent.

. . .

The bombings in Bali, Istanbul, Tangiers, Madrid and elsewhere were indiscriminate attacks on innocent people around the globe. In effect, everybody is being held hostage to the crazed whims of these militant fanatics.

Appeasing terrorists and bullies does not work. It merely feeds their rapacious appetites.

The Irish Independent makes a similar response:
George Bush will be very welcome in Ireland in June, or any other time. The idea that he should cancel the US-European Union meeting due to take place here on June 25-26 is absurd for many reasons, of which only two need be mentioned.
Ireland will always greet with warmth and courtesy any President of the United States. We may have our differences, but we have been in that country’s debt for a long time.

Secondly, the June event is not a bilateral US-Irish meeting but one between the US President and the EU presidency, held by Ireland. The obvious place to stage it is Ireland. The atrocity in Madrid has not changed that.

The Labour leader, Pat Rabbitte, has summed up the argument by saying that neither state-to-state business nor US-EU business should be disrupted by the threat of terrorism. He might have added that cancelling a meeting in an atmosphere of heightened fear would itself constitute a surrender. A pity that some other politicians have not displayed similar good sense.

That she cannot even get support from the Labour Party is good news.