Those Irish eyes not smiling at Bush

Published June 21, 2004 9:55PM (EDT)

Even the Irish are hopping onto the anti-American bandwagon these days, the Boston Globe reports: "[N]ext Friday, when George W. Bush touches down at Shannon Airport for a United States-European Union summit, many Irish people are expected to give him their equivalent of a Bronx cheer instead of the traditional cead mile failte, or a hundred thousand welcomes. There were about 10,000 demonstrators when Reagan visited Ireland; Irish police say they are preparing for at least 10 times that number next week."

"Determined to keep an expected crush of protesters away from Bush, the Irish police are mounting the biggest security operation in the country's history, which, on an island that endured a fierce 30-year Irish Republican Army insurgency, says something.Bush's war in Iraq, which the Irish people oppose while the Irish government diplomatically keeps its mouth shut, has led to an unprecedented level of anti-American vitriol."

"Correspondents to the letters page of The Irish Times, a rough barometer of Irish opinion, have urged their government to bar Bush from the country."


By Stephen W. Stromberg

Stephen W. Stromberg is a former editorial fellow at Salon.

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