As another Gulf War looms, claims that Shannon Airport is being used as part of the US military build-up are coming thick and fast, writes Deaglán de Bréadún, Foreign Affairs Correspondent
Ireland holds a position of military neutrality which means this State is not a party to any mutual defence pact. But Ireland is not politically neutral. This is traditionally understood to mean that we may cheer on one side or the other in a conflict - usually a Western state or alliance of states - but we do not take part in the fighting.
It was comparatively easy to maintain that position during a time when the world was divided into two camps, dominated by the US and Soviet superpowers respectively. But now that there is only one world policeman, the old categories are coming under strain.
Thus, when the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1368 pledging support for the war against global terrorism, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, authorised the use of Shannon Airport by US forces as a transit and refuelling stop for their war in Afghanistan. Terrorism is as difficult to define as neutrality, but in the immediate aftermath of the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in 2001, few people were asking critical questions.
The Afghan war came and went, or at least subsided into a manhunt for al-Qaeda and Taliban stragglers. But now a much bigger operation looms.
Whether the cause is just or otherwise, even in advance of any outbreak of sustained hostilities, this appears to be one of the most unpopular wars for a long time. Europe is particularly unenthusiastic and an Irish Times/MRBI opinion poll showed the public in this State has deep misgivings about any possible conflict.
Opposition has focused on the alleged use of Shannon as part of the US military build-up to an Iraqi invasion. Opposition parties have called for clarification of the position as claim and counter-claim accumulate.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said yesterday that 553 landings by foreign military aircraft were sanctioned during 2002. These came from "about 40" different countries, including Mexico, Ethiopia, Italy, Spain and the US but a spokesman said: "We don't give a breakdown by country."
This means that the number of US landings could theoretically be anything between one and 514, or anything from one landing per annum to nearly 10 per week. The first step on the road to clarification, therefore, would be for the Government at least to release the US figure.
Civilian aircraft are used to transport military personnel as well as guns and ammunition. A spokesman for the Department of Transport said yesterday that civilian carriers transporting guns, munitions or other dangerous goods must ask for permission to use Irish airspace or landing facilities. Last year, 29 requests for overflights and one landing request were granted but again no breakdown was available.
In addition to claims that US military personnel and weapons bound for Iraq are coming through Shannon in large numbers, there are further allegations that this does not always happen with legal sanction from the Irish authorities.
A spokeswoman for the US Embassy in Dublin said her government "takes great care to ensure that all legal procedures are followed". All flights carrying US military personnel through Shannon and other Western European airports were "cleared with the appropriate authorities and come through in full compliance with national laws". Besides, US forces travelling via Shannon were not necessarily on their way to combat missions but could be on "routine official business, change in duty stations, peacekeeping, humanitarian and medical missions and training". Many of these missions were conducted under UN mandate, she added.
The official picture, then, from Irish and US government sources is that anything that happens is done in strict compliance with the law, the US is only one of two score countries involved and only one civilian aircraft of unspecified origin landed in Ireland last year with weapons or other dangerous materials on board.
A rather different perspective is outlined by peace activists who have set up camp at Shannon for the purpose of monitoring the passing traffic. Mr Tim Hourigan, a peace activist, told The Irish Times he had been keeping the airport under observation since October 2001, just a month after the "9-11" attacks.
He reports that yesterday, for example, he saw "hundreds" of US soldiers in desert camouflage uniforms alighting from a civilian aircraft at Shannon and heading for the transit lounge for refreshment. They were not carrying arms but Mr Hourigan pointed out that standard military procedure required them to leave their M-16's in the plane, although these would not have been loaded.
He added that he had seen landings by two other civilian aircraft - one passenger and one cargo flight - from companies under contract to the US military. He and a friend contacted the Garda Síochána to ask that the cargo plane be checked for weapons. They were subsequently told that "immigration officials" had spoken to the pilot of the cargo plane who were assured there were no weapons on board, and that the plane had since left. Mr Hourigan claims the plane he had inquired about was still on the tarmac at this stage.
A local Garda spokesman said Mr Hourigan had made an allegation but he would not give details of the Garda response.
Mr Hourigan says that he and his associates have video footage of the traffic at Shannon to back up their claims. He says that last Wednesday there were "10 or 11" military flights (including civilian aircraft used for military purposes) and seven the following day.
A Department of Transport spokesman stressed that foreign military personnel could not carry weapons on civilian aircraft without express permission from the Irish authorities, a complex procedure involving consultation with the Departments of Justice and Foreign Affairs and the Irish Aviation Authority.
An anti-war protest is planned for Shannon next Saturday, and any suspicion of dark doings will serve to fuel the anger and size of the demonstration. If the Government wishes to allay fears and anxieties it should, in the words of former taoiseach Albert Reynolds, "let in the light".