US embassy cable - 04DUBLIN1841

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DUBLIN 001841 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2014 
TAGS: PREL, EAIR, CPAS, CVIS, MASS, PINR, PINS, EAID, PGOB 
SUBJECT: THE AMBASSADOR'S DECEMBER 22 DISCUSSION WITH 
FOREIGN MINISTER AHERN 
 
REF: DUBLIN 1811 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Jonathan Benton for reasons 1.4 (b) an 
d (d). 
 
1.  (C) Summary: In a free-flowing December 22 meeting, the 
Ambassador and Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern agreed 
that President Bush's planned February visit to Europe 
presented an opportunity to reenergize trans-Atlantic ties. 
Ahern noted a "huge willingness" among his counterparts 
within the EU to repair relations.  Ahern said that there had 
been no recent movement on Northern Ireland, with the parties 
preparing to resume talks after the holidays.  He also 
cautioned that any substantiated link between the IRA and the 
December 21 Belfast bank robbery would have a "very grave" 
effect on peace efforts.  The Ambassador commended Ireland 
for recent anti-terrorism legislation, and Ahern cited GOI 
efforts to monitor the Embassy's security.  He added that 
information explaining USG policy on terrorism, Iraq, and 
Afghanistan would help the GOI to address unfavorable Irish 
public perceptions of the United States.  The Ambassador and 
Ahern also agreed on the importance of bilateral cooperation 
on problems concerning Irish citizens in the United States 
without proper documentation.  End summary. 
 
 
2.  (U) On December 22, the Ambassador, DCM, and econoff met 
with Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern, Department of 
Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary General Dermot Gallagher, and 
DFA Political Division Director David Cooney.  The extremely 
cordial 90-minute meeting was the Ambassador's first official 
call on the Foreign Minister since Ahern had taken his post 
in a September 29 Cabinet reshuffle.  The discussion focused 
primarily on U.S.-EU relations, Northern Ireland, terrorism, 
and bilateral cooperation on travel/visa issues. 
 
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U.S.-EU Relations: Willingness to Repair 
---------------------------------------- 
 
3.  (C) Ahern observed that there was a "huge willingness" 
within the EU to repair trans-Atlantic ties, and he agreed 
with the Ambassador that President Bush's planned February 
visit to Europe would be a key event for U.S.-EU relations. 
Ahern noted that U.S.-EU coordination on the Ukraine had been 
instrumental in securing an election rerun and that 
Washington and Brussels could also cooperate to good effect 
in the Middle East.  Ahern thought it would be helpful to 
meet with Secretary-designate Rice in February ahead of the 
President's visit to Europe, and the Ambassador suggested 
that St. Patrick's Day might offer a better opportunity for a 
meeting.  Ahern observed that President Bush would be 
visiting a Europe poised for significant changes, with the 
December 16-17 European Council decision to begin accession 
negotiations for Turkey.  He recounted that Turkish Prime 
Minister Erdogan had angered EU Member State counterparts 
with a champagne toast at the Council meeting's conclusion 
that underscored Turkey's unwillingness to recognize Cyprus. 
As a champion for Turkey during the Irish presidency, Prime 
Minister Bertie Ahern had taken particular offense at the 
remarks. 
 
--------------------------- 
Northern Ireland: All Quiet 
--------------------------- 
 
4.  (C) There had been no movement on Northern Ireland since 
the visit of Special Envoy Reiss the week of December 13, 
with parties recessing until the week of January 3, said 
Ahern.  During Christmas week, the GOI had had contact with 
DUP leader Rev. Paisley, who had reiterated that republican 
acts of decommissioning without photographic evidence would 
have severe consequences for negotiations.  Ahern noted that 
although Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams had told the GOI on 
December 22 that photos were a non-starter, Martin McGuinness 
had earlier indicated some flexibility, provided the photos 
were not published.  Ahern added that, during the December 
16-17 EU Council meeting, Prime Minister Ahern and Tony Blair 
had agreed on the need to continue intensive mediation 
efforts.  FM Ahern said that he was pressing Brussels to 
maintain EU contributions to the International Fund for 
Ireland (IFI), and he expressed thanks for U.S. IFI 
allocations, which had benefited the Louth border 
constituency that he represents in Parliament.  He added that 
the GOI had not received information from Northern Ireland 
police on the December 21 euro 30 million bank robbery in 
Belfast.  He cautioned, however, that any substantiated link 
to the IRA would have a "very grave" effect on peace efforts 
because of what it would say about the IRA's commitment to 
give up paramilitary and criminal activity. 
 
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Irish Steps on Terrorism 
------------------------ 
5.  (C) The Ambassador expressed appreciation for Ireland's 
Criminal Justice Act, which had passed the lower house of 
Parliament on December 14 and would, when enacted in 2005, 
strengthen the GOI's ability to address potential terrorist 
threats (reftel).  The Ambassador also highlighted the attack 
on the U.S. Consulate in Jedda, other potential threats to 
U.S. interests in Ireland, and continuing concerns about the 
Embassy's security, particularly the need for enhanced 
perimeter protection.  Ahern responded that the national 
police (Garda) monitored the Embassy's security closely.  He 
added that the GOI watches suspected extremists very closely 
and is looking for ways to deport a Palestinian who had been 
worrisome in that regard.  (The person is one of two who had 
come to Ireland after having been among the roughly 120 
Palestinians involved in the Church of Nativity stand-off in 
Bethlehem in 2002.)  Reiterating Ireland's willingness to 
allow U.S. military transits at Shannon, Ahern asked for more 
Embassy information regarding the war on terror, as well as 
Iraq and Afghanistan, to help the GOI counter negative Irish 
public opinion about the United States.  DFA David Cooney 
recommended that the USG more widely publicize the fact that 
Guantanamo prisoners were availing themselves of the U.S. 
justice system to protect their rights. 
 
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Travel/Visa Issues 
------------------ 
 
6.  (C) The Ambassador highlighted the importance of 
bilateral cooperation on travel/visa issues, noting that the 
Whelan cousins (two Irish citizens who had received media 
attention here for being jailed in the United States after 
overstaying J visas) would return to Ireland on Christmas 
eve.  Ahern expressed hope that such cooperation could extend 
to undocumented Irish illegals in the United States, many of 
whom he had met on U.S. trips during his tenure as Minister 
for Community, Family, and Social Affairs.  The Ambassador 
said that immigration legislation introduced by President 
Bush in 2004 and due for Congressional action in 2005 might 
offer at least partial solutions.  He also underscored the 
pressure that many U.S. states faced with illegal 
immigration, particularly in the southwest.  On other travel 
issues, Ahern remarked that Ireland had recently opened a 
state-of-the-art passport production facility that would make 
Irish passports among the most secure in the world.  He added 
that the GOI would begin a pilot project this year to put 
biometric chips in passports, but he cautioned that Ireland 
might not be ready by October 2005 to include biometric 
features in all new passports, in accord with U.S. 
requirements. 
 
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Miscellany 
---------- 
 
7.  (C) The Ambassador and Ahern also touched on the 
following issues: 
 
-- Open Skies.  Ahern cited the GOI's impression that U.S.-EU 
air transportation negotiations would take much longer than 
expected to produce an agreement.  Ireland thus wished to 
explore opportunities for liberalization at the bilateral 
level. 
 
-- Afghanistan.  DFA was reviewing with the Irish Department 
of Defense the USG request for Ireland to provide Explosive 
Ordnance Disposal (EOD) training for Afghan troops.  (DCM 
provided FM Ahern a paper prepared by Embassy DAO outlining 
the benefits of such a program.) 
 
-- Iraq.  Ahern expressed condolences for those killed and 
injured in the December 21 attack on the U.S. military mess 
hall in Mosul.  He noted that several Arab countries had 
sounded out Ireland on the option of delaying the scheduled 
January 30 elections.  Ireland had rebuffed these suggestions 
in the belief that it would be better to hold elections 
sooner rather than later, even with the expected escalation 
of insurgent violence. 
 
-- Colombia Three.  Ahern said that he would not raise with 
the Ambassador the case of the Colombia Three (alleged IRA 
members who remain in hiding after a Colombian appeal panel 
gave the men 17-year prison sentences for allegedly training 
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)).  Ahern 
noted his personal hope, however, that the case would remind 
Irish citizens, as well as Irish Americans, of the IRA's 
dangerous history.  The Ambassador warned of the serious 
repercussions for U.S.-Irish relations if terrorist acts by 
the FARC against U.S. interests were to be tied back to 
training provided by the Colombia Three. 
 
8. (U) Ambassador Kenny was unable to clear this cable prior 
to his departure from Post. 
BENTON