Bush in Ireland for EU-US summit

US President George W. Bush flew into Ireland yesterday for a summit with European Union leaders which has sparked protests and rekindled anger over American policy in Iraq and the Middle East.

Mr Bush's plane, Air Force One, touched down at Shannon Airport, on Ireland's west coast, shortly before 8 p.m. (1900 GMT), marking the start of the first US presidential trip to Ireland since Bill Clinton's visit in 1995.

The president was whisked 16 kilometres up the road to the fairytale setting of Dromoland Castle, a 16th century turreted mansion set in secluded woodland in County Clare.

There, he and first lady Laura Bush were welcomed by Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency.

Mr Bush was due to spend the night at the castle, where he will meet EU leaders today to discuss a range of primarily political issues such as Iraq, the Middle East, counter-terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.

The visit has sparked protests in a country where visiting US presidents, from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan, have traditionally been feted due to their Irish ancestry and the strong historical links between the two nations.

About 10,000 people marched through Dublin last night to voice their opposition to Mr Bush, and a smaller protest of around 600 people was staged at Shannon, although demonstrators were kept well away from the presidential entourage.

The focus of the protests is US policy in Iraq and Ireland's own role in the war there. Mr Ahern's government has been heavily criticised at home for allowing US jets to refuel at Shannon en route to the Middle East.

But the Irish prime minister says the rift between Europe and the United States, so deep 15 months ago when the US-led coalition invaded Iraq, has been bridged by the recent signing of UN Resolution 1546, which provides for UN members to support the coalition in the Gulf.

"Whatever the arguments of last year, those arguments are dead," Mr Ahern told Irish state television RTE shortly before Mr Bush landed. "(Resolution) 1546 specifically deals with these issues, so that argument is now part of the history books."

Instead, Mr Ahern said, the summit would concentrate on the signing of what he described as "seven major issues".

They are: Iraq, the Middle East, Sudan, counter-terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, the fight against HIV/AIDS and the strengthening of the transatlantic economic partnership.

Mr Bush will be accompanied by Secretary of State Colin Powell, Commerce Secretary Don Evans and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, while the EU side will be headed by Ahern, European Commission President Romano Prodi and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

Bush is due in Ireland for only around 18 hours before heading on to Istanbul, Turkey, for a Nato summit. Security in both countries is tight, particular following Thursday's bombs in the Turkish cities of Istanbul and Ankara.

In Ireland, some 6,000 police and troops, backed by fixed-wing planes, helicopters, ships and surface-to-air missiles, have been deployed to protect the president.

Irish police arrested three people who tried to row up the Shannon estuary in a tiny boat yesterday morning to protest against the visit.

A police spokesman said they were the only detentions made all day and that the Dublin march had passed peacefully.