A SENIOR Irish official told American diplomats in 2004 that Irish government lawyers might be forced to conclude that Ireland had violated torture conventions if US aircraft transiting through Shannon airport were found to have been involved in rendition flights, according to a leaked US diplomatic cable.
The dispatch, which was classified as secret, is part of the cache of US diplomatic correspondence obtained by whistleblower website WikiLeaks.
It details a meeting between the senior Irish civil servant, whose name is redacted in the document released by WikiLeaks, and Jonathan Benton, then deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Dublin.
The unnamed Irish official said some government ministers felt they “were going out on a limb” defending US use of Shannon.
“He cautioned that if it were ever to be discovered that the US was not good on its word or had transported prisoners through Shannon in the context of the war on terrorism, there would be enormous political pressure on the government,” the cable stated.
The meeting took place at a time when the government felt “increasingly under pressure” over the issue.
“On a weekly basis, members of parliament question the ministers.Parliamentarians draw on allegations from journalists, activists’ websites and tail spotters to suggest [the US government] has used Shannon for nefarious purposes,” the cable noted.
Of “particular difficulty” were questions in the previous two weeks about a Gulfstream jet that had allegedly been used to transport prisoners and had its tail number changed.
The Irish official cited this allegation as “both politically and legally difficult” for the government.
He also observed that the “political problem is that the government’s defence of Shannon rests heavily on friendship with the US and the Irish government saying it relies on the ‘good faith’ of the [US government].”
He said the allegations that the tail number had been changed “raise suspicions and caused confusion within the [Irish government], along with the hope that there is a ‘benign explanation’ for the change.”
The Irish official noted that the Government’s line on Shannon had been “consistent” and that this must not be shown later “to have holes in it”.
The cable stated that Mr Benton told the Irish official “that the [US government] would be in no position to respond to the detailed questions asked about particular planes, such as the Gulfstream jet.
However, it “stood by its commitment to abide by Irish law, consult with the Irish and avoid actions that would bring embarrassment to the Irish government”.