The first address of Ireland's presidency of United Nations Security Council was made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, today when he re-iterated Ireland's position that there could be no neutrality in the fight against international terrorism.
In a speech to the organisation's General Asembly debate on action to be taken against the perpetrators of the September 11th attack on the US, Mr Cowen said that Ireland had offered its airspace and airports in response to UN resolution 1368 which aims to apprehend and punish those responsible for the attack.
"We must meet the threat of international terrorism on three levels," Mr Cowen said on the second day of Ireland’s leadership of the UN Security Council.
"First, we must, as member States of the United Nations, do all we can, in accordance with Resolution 1368, to bring to justice the perpetrators, organisers and sponsors of the attacks.
"Secondly, we must combine in a longer-term initiative to defeat the monster of international terrorism... by denying it the bases from which it plans and prepares its actions.
"Thirdly, we must redouble our efforts to put an end to the many conflicts and injustices, which, while they can never, ever justify the horrors of 11 September, are exploited by the terrorists to garner support for their warped philosophies."
Mr Cowen also justified Mr Bush’s current position, saying the United States had suffered "a most grievous assault" and that no one had the right to say the US should not defend itself.
However, he also made it clear that any action against the Taliban government in Afghanistan should not be directed at the the Afghan people themselves.
"[The Afghan people] who are already suffering terribly from the effects of drought, civil war and political instability, are not to blame for the actions of the Taliban and must not suffer the consequences of the Taliban's defiance," he said.
"The international community is rightly mobilising to deal with the worsening humanitarian situation facing the people of Afghanistan."
He also called for continued aid for the country to prevent what aid workers are predicting will be the biggest humanitarin disaster in recent history.