Chimp Finds Irish Do Not Like Him--But Love America
IHT: Bush faces a hostile reception in Ireland
"ENNIS, Ireland President George W. Bush was set to arrive at the heavily guarded Dromoland Castle in County Clare on Friday night as the authorities braced for what were expected to be large demonstrations across Ireland against the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
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In contrast to the jubilant welcomes accorded to Presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and John F. Kennedy, Bush's reception was already developing as frosty, if not outright hostile. Widespread opposition to the Iraq war and revulsion at the Abu Ghraib prison scandal have turned a large portion of Irish popular opinion against him.
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Big protests were expected in Dublin and in Shannon, where Air Force One was to land before Bush headed to the EU-U.S. summit at Dromoland Castle. Smaller protests were expected for the cities of Galway, Sligo, Waterford and Tralee in County Kerry.
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"Fury and fear as town is turned into a fortress," said the headline in the Irish Examiner. The newspaper quoted the mayor of Shannon as saying that the town's residents were being made into potential targets for a terrorist attack.
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Mary O'Rourke, leader of the Irish Senate, refused to attend a recent dinner in celebration of Bush's impending visit at the home of the American ambassador, James Kenny, out of objections to American prison policy at Guantánamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, and for going to war with Iraq, she said.
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"Nobody denies we have an affinity with the United States, but that is a different matter from having an affinity with the president," O'Rourke said in the Irish Parliament this week.
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But the centrist Irish Independent said in an editorial Friday that while Bush's trip would be the equivalent for the protesters of "a visit from the Devil Incarnate," the demonstrations "seem a bit out of touch."
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The newspaper added that with the planned transfer of power from the United States to the Iraqis on June 30, Ireland was "now tantalizingly close to the big step that the Americans have been promising all along."
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It was unclear if Bush would even see the protestors, who were to be kept back at least one and a half kilometers from the castle.
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But the president got a taste of his reception during a contentious television interview broadcast here Thursday night on RTE, the Irish state broadcaster. The reporter, Carole Coleman, began the interview by asking Bush how it felt to come to Ireland knowing that the majority of the Irish did not want him in their country.
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"I hope the Irish people understand the great values of our country, and if they think a few soldiers represent the entire of America, they don't really understand America," Bush replied, referring to the prison scandal.
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When Coleman observed that the world is a more dangerous place, Bush replied, "I do think the world is a better place."
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Often, when Bush paused, Coleman started another question, and Bush held up his hands defensively and said "let me finish," perhaps a half-dozen times."
"ENNIS, Ireland President George W. Bush was set to arrive at the heavily guarded Dromoland Castle in County Clare on Friday night as the authorities braced for what were expected to be large demonstrations across Ireland against the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
.
In contrast to the jubilant welcomes accorded to Presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and John F. Kennedy, Bush's reception was already developing as frosty, if not outright hostile. Widespread opposition to the Iraq war and revulsion at the Abu Ghraib prison scandal have turned a large portion of Irish popular opinion against him.
.
Big protests were expected in Dublin and in Shannon, where Air Force One was to land before Bush headed to the EU-U.S. summit at Dromoland Castle. Smaller protests were expected for the cities of Galway, Sligo, Waterford and Tralee in County Kerry.
.
"Fury and fear as town is turned into a fortress," said the headline in the Irish Examiner. The newspaper quoted the mayor of Shannon as saying that the town's residents were being made into potential targets for a terrorist attack.
.
Mary O'Rourke, leader of the Irish Senate, refused to attend a recent dinner in celebration of Bush's impending visit at the home of the American ambassador, James Kenny, out of objections to American prison policy at Guantánamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, and for going to war with Iraq, she said.
.
"Nobody denies we have an affinity with the United States, but that is a different matter from having an affinity with the president," O'Rourke said in the Irish Parliament this week.
.
But the centrist Irish Independent said in an editorial Friday that while Bush's trip would be the equivalent for the protesters of "a visit from the Devil Incarnate," the demonstrations "seem a bit out of touch."
.
The newspaper added that with the planned transfer of power from the United States to the Iraqis on June 30, Ireland was "now tantalizingly close to the big step that the Americans have been promising all along."
.
It was unclear if Bush would even see the protestors, who were to be kept back at least one and a half kilometers from the castle.
.
But the president got a taste of his reception during a contentious television interview broadcast here Thursday night on RTE, the Irish state broadcaster. The reporter, Carole Coleman, began the interview by asking Bush how it felt to come to Ireland knowing that the majority of the Irish did not want him in their country.
.
"I hope the Irish people understand the great values of our country, and if they think a few soldiers represent the entire of America, they don't really understand America," Bush replied, referring to the prison scandal.
.
When Coleman observed that the world is a more dangerous place, Bush replied, "I do think the world is a better place."
.
Often, when Bush paused, Coleman started another question, and Bush held up his hands defensively and said "let me finish," perhaps a half-dozen times."
posted by A. J. Franklin @ 12:33
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