EDITORIAL: What game is the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, playing? Immediately after the Coalition Government sanctioned the deployment of troops at Shannon airport, to provide security along with the Garda Siochana, he assured the public on RTE radio that there was no question of the troops opening fire.
It was absurd, he said, to suggest that people would be shot. His comments raised the question of why the Army was being sent there in the first place. As cheap manpower, on a par with night club bouncers? Or as a real and effective deterrent to a possible terrorist attack?
A smug befuddlement has marked the Government's handling of security at Shannon, which is used by United States planes and by troops preparing for a possible war in Iraq. In a single week, a US Navy plane has been attacked and damaged by protesters wielding hammers and pickaxes - the first time, while it was on the runway; the second time, under guard in an aircraft hanger. There was an element of the Keystone Cops about it all. No wonder the US State Department was "seriously concerned" about the potential consequences of such poor security and conveyed its displeasure to the Government.
But the Cabinet's response, in light of the comments by the Minister for Defence, has done little to reassure. It would seem the Government was only concerned about anti-war protesters based at a local peace camp and at minimising public disquiet. A far more dangerous threat could be posed by militant supporters of al-Qaeda. In the past, the Government sought the closure of Sellafield because of the possibility it might become a target for that organisation. Would Shannon not make a far softer objective?
The movement of US troops through Shannon is taking place under the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 1441 which, under threat of troop deployment and other measures, gave Iraq a final opportunity to comply with arms inspections and to destroy any weapons of mass destruction. Ireland supported that resolution and it passed unanimously. Some weeks ago, in order to facilitate the United States, long-standing regulations which prohibited the passage of armed foreign troops through our airports were amended.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has said the Government will review that situation should the United States engage in war with Iraq in the absence of a fresh UN mandate. Irish people are entitled to engage in peaceful protests against war. What happened on two occasions at Shannon, however, was neither peaceful nor constructive. The damage caused will cost taxpayers heavily and the negative publicity may affect future job prospects. The courts will eventually deal with the lawbreakers. In the meantime, however, the Government must be shaken out of its complacency. The Minister for Defence should treat a serious security situation as such.