The Taoiseach and Minister for Foreign Affairs have insisted they took an anti-war stance earlier this year on the US invasion of Iraq, rejecting Labour claims that this was an insult to the public's intelligence. Mark Brennock in Brussels and Arthur Beesley report
Mr Ahern said yesterday the Government's anti-war credentials were "beyond question".
He said the Oireachtas had passed a Government motion when the war began reaffirming Ireland's commitment to the United Nations and regretting "that the coalition finds it necessary" to start the war.
It had further stated that Ireland would not participate in the invasion and expressed hope that the action should be short.
"It is beyond question or debate since that motion was passed by the Dáil what was the position not only of me and the Government but the Dáil. There is no debate. This is the position. We were opposed to the war," said Mr Ahern.
Despite an angry response from anti-war groups, Mr Ahern yesterday stood by his assertion that the 100,000 people who marched against the war in Dublin were in support of Government policy, rather than opposing the Government's decision to allow the US military use Shannon during the war preparations.
"Many people I know personally, very good friends of mine, they were marching against the war. That's what they went out marching against."
The Government decision to allow the US military land at Shannon Airport and overfly the State did not amount to support for the war, Mr Cowen said. To say otherwise was "incorrect in international law", he said.
However, the Labour leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, expressed incredulity yesterday after the Taoiseach told reporters in Brussels on Thursday that he was "always dead against the war". Mr Ahern responded by accusing him of "incompetence" for allegedly failing to remember accurately the Government's position.
In a statement, Mr Rabbitte rubbished Mr Ahern's assertion that Ireland had been excluded from the list of countries deemed eligible by the US to seek lucrative contracts for rebuilding Iraq because of the Government's anti-war position.
"Why, then, did he tell me in the Dáil during the course of the war that he presumed that Ireland was one of those included on the 'list of the willing' - the list of countries produced by the United States of those who supported the war?"
Mr Ahern also suggested in the Dáil last May that he was proud of the assistance Ireland had provided to the US. On May 28th, he had said he was not prepared "to apologise for any small role we might have played in helping to remove a dictator who made his people suffer for 20 years, carried out horrific acts and didn't care about democracy".
The chief steward of the Dublin march, Mr Roger Cole of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance, last night rejected Mr Ahern's claim as "completely untrue". One of the key demands was that the Government end the use of Shannon by the US military as part of the war build-up.