The imminent handover of power to the interim governing authority in a deeply unstable Iraq will dominate today's EU-US summit after another US air strike on a suspected terrorist "safe house" in Fallujah killed 25 people yesterday.
President George Bush was greeted by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, at Dromoland Castle last night as protests against his visit passed off peacefully in Dublin and Shannon. This morning's summit will attempt to repair the damage done to the transatlantic relationship over Iraqi policy and will agree a joint declaration in support of the attempted transition to Iraqi self-rule in just four days.
As at least 10,000 people marched in Dublin and 1,000 at Shannon in protest against US policy, the Taoiseach confirmed that he would raise the issue of the treatment of prisoners in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and at Guantanamo Bay with President Bush this morning.
Mr Ahern said the argument over the use of Shannon Airport by US forces was now "dead" and a matter for historians. Asked if he knew whether Shannon was being used to transport prisoners to Guantanamo Bay he said UN resolution 1546 had said member-states should help the coalition forces in Iraq in whatever way they could.
Seven joint EU-US declarations will be issued today covering Iraq, the Middle East, weapons of mass destruction, the fight against terrorism, HIV/AIDS, economic co-operation and the humanitarian crisis in Darfur in Sudan.
Participants will also discuss areas of disagreement including a European threat to impose more than $4 billion worth of sanctions on the US in response to Washington's flouting of world trade rules by giving favourable tax treatment to US companies abroad.
A common statement on the Middle East is expected to emerge, seeking to reconcile the US desire to propagate western-style democracy with Europe's wish to maintain the long-standing and cordial relations it enjoys with the Arab world.
More than 1,000 people, including local families with their children, joined a good-humoured and peaceful protest against President Bush last night outside the perimeter of Shannon Airport, amid some of the tightest security ever seen in the State. Some 4,000 gardaí and 2,000 soldiers were backed up by naval vessels in the Shannon estuary and armoured vehicles patrolling the roads. Specialist bomb disposal and chemical decontamination units, water cannon and floodlights were on standby.
Organisers claimed that up to 20,000 marched through Dublin last night in protest at the visit. Earlier yesterday four people were arrested in two separate incidents. Three, including a former Army commandant and campaigner, Mr Ed Horgan, were charged at a sitting of Ennis District Court last night with public order offences and failing to obey the order of a garda after their inflatable boat on the Shannon estuary approached the exclusion zone around the airport. The fourth was charged last night after being arrested when she disembarked from a flight at Shannon in possession of an implement deemed to be dangerous.
President Bush is accompanied by his Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, his Commerce Secretary, Mr Don Evans, and the National Security Adviser, Dr Condoleezza Rice.
The EU side is led by the Taoiseach, the European Commission President, Mr Romano Prodi, the EU foreign policy chief, Mr Javier Solana, the External Relations Commissioner, Mr Chris Patten, the Trade Commissioner, Mr Pascal Lamy, and the Transport and Energy Commissioner, Ms Loyola de Palacio.
The two sides will sign a co-operation agreement between the European Galileo and the American GPS satellite navigation systems, allowing the two systems to operate compatibly.