The largest commercial airline carrying American soldiers through Shannon Airport to the Gulf suspended its use of the airport a week ago amid mounting concerns over security, it emerged last night. By Mark Brennock, Political Correspondent
As 120 troops prepare to begin security duty at the airport today, it emerged that World Airlines told Aer Rianta eight days ago that it would be rerouting their next 17 troop-carrying flights through Frankfurt. All 17 of these flights are understood to have taken place but World Airlines has given no indication whether they will resume using Shannon. A spokeswoman for the airline refused to comment last night.
The news came as President Bush's special envoy, Mr Richard Haass, said he was "confident" the Government had taken measures to ensure no repeat of the security breaches at Shannon. Troops from the Southern Command will begin patrolling at Shannon Airport at noon today to back up the Garda.
Conscious of the extreme political sensitivity of deploying the Army to assist the US military build up in the Gulf, a Department of Defence spokesman said last night the soldiers would not simply guard US planes.
They would also provide security for radar installations and fuel depots not necessarily used by the Americans, he said. They will be armed but the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, said that, while they were entitled to protect themselves if their lives were at stake, this did not extend to firing on people attacking property.
The Taoiseach repeated in the Dáil that the UN arms inspectors in Iraq should be given more time, and Government spokesmen continued to say they wanted to see a second UN resolution before any military action.
Both the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs assured Mr Haass the Government was taking steps to ensure there was no repeat of the two attacks on a plane at Shannon in the past week. Mr Haass later played down the impact the attacks might have on the future use of the airport, saying the security breaches had been "a technical problem that is on its way to being fixed".
Mr Haass praised the Government for making Shannon available to US troops "despite domestic controversy in some quarters". The Government had "stood up for the rule of law and for Iraq's disarmament when not everyone in this society or in this continent was standing up and saying the same sort of things".
He was confident any decision to attack Iraq would receive "considerable support in this country and elsewhere".
He added: "People here now are fully aware of the lengths to which these so-called peace activists are willing to go. What we have seen are several demonstrations that they are anything but peaceful. It's not simply ironic that these self-proclaimed peace activists are resorting to violence. It's outrageous. There is simply no place for it in a democratic society such as this."
He said Shannon was "extremely useful" to the US because of its capacity and its location. "Are there alternatives or substitutes? Yes. Would they be as good? No. Shannon is one of the most capable facilities in this part of the world."
World Airlines told Aer Rianta of its decision to suspend the use of Shannon yesterday week, the day before the attack on an aircraft that caused substantial damage to it. The airline is thought to have handled 35 to 40 per cent of the total throughput of troops.
Green Party chairman Mr John Gormley last night condemned "lies and distortion" about the security breaches at Shannon.
Initial reports that a Garda had been hospitalised after the most recent attack had turned out to be untrue, he said. In addition, he believed the reports that €500,000 worth of damage had been done to a plane in the first incident had been "greatly exaggerated".
He called on protesters "to adhere strictly to a passive resistance code. We cannot afford to lose the battle for the hearts and minds of ordinary people."