The Government hoped the military campaign in Afghanistan would "achieve its objectives in as short a time-frame as possible", the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, told the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
"Every effort must continue to be made to spare civilian casualties. And it is crucial that the military campaign be accompanied by a visible and effective humanitarian strategy.
"There must also be a concerted international effort, co-ordinated by the UN, to assist the people of Afghanistan in establishing a broad-based government, representative of all the ethnic groups which make up the country.
"This must be accompanied by a comprehensive and generous programme of support for the post-military rehabilitation and reconstruction of Afghanistan. The international community must stay engaged once a representative government is established there."
Ireland's position had been steadfast and clear: "We stand with the US and the rest of the international community in asserting that the barbarism of September 11th cannot be allowed to succeed; that the threat posed by international terrorism must be permanently ended; that there must be a total commitment by all governments to this task, with all the energy and resources at our disposal."
On Northern Ireland, he said it was necessary to rise above "the politics of the last atrocity: "There is a particularly compelling message here for those charged with advancing the peace process in the Middle East."
While action against terrorism must be resolutely pursued, "with retributive justice must come distributive justice".