IN A WEEK where news of an alleged spy in Leinster House dominated headlines, it was a mere coincidence that Dupont Circle was the Taoiseach’s home-away-from-home while in Washington DC over the last couple of days.
If you’re a fan of the spy TV drama ‘The Americans’, Dupont Circle might sound familiar.
It is the neighbourhood where the main characters in the Cold War period drama, Philip and Elizabeth Jennings, two Soviet KGB intelligence officers posing as an American married couple, set up their front business, ‘Dupont Circle Travel Agency’.
When asked about the story of the alleged Russian spy, the Taoiseach said he had to be careful what he said, for national security reasons, but he said Ireland isn’t immune from bad actors seeking to influence and distort public discourse.
But public discourse can become negative all by itself, as it did around the debate about the Taoiseach’s visit to the White House this week.
Simon Harris hit back at criticism of his curtailed two-day trip to Washington DC.
The initial schedule for the trip included a large reception for hundreds of guests in the White House’s Rose Garden to mark the centenary of diplomatic relations between the US and Ireland.
The event was called off due to the US administration’s shifting focus to the hurricane which was barrelling towards Florida.
A visit to the Oval Office usually centres around St Patrick’s Day, when there is pageantry, paddywhackery, and of course, a bowl of shamrock.
There’s a debate each year about the appropriateness of it, with government officials stating that Ireland gets access like no other country and that yields bountiful opportunities for the country.
On the flipside, there are a number of opposition members who criticise the visit, generally pointing to the role the US plays in conflicts around the world.
With this week’s visit set around the centenary of the US recognising Ireland as a state, there were some who speculated that this might merely be a nice photo-opportunity for the Taoiseach ahead of an election back home.
Speaking to reporters at Georgetown University on Thursday, Harris hit back at the characterisation that the White House engagement might be a glorified photo op.
“Absolutely absurd”, said Harris, disagreeing that the trip might be a waste of taxpayers money. The Taoiseach also said any video footage in the Oval Office captured by his staff would not be used in any election material.
The Taoiseach said he had raised the issues of the UK Government’s Legacy Act, undocumented Irish citizens in the US, and the conflict in the Middle East – including the situation for Ireland’s peacekeepers.
“Find me one other European prime minister who doesn’t want to spend nearly an hour talking to the president of the United States of America in the Oval Office.”
He said it is “very significant” to keep lines of communication open with the US administration.
He added: “I’m not sure of any moment in our history and I’m not sure of any moment in the future where a taoiseach of Ireland – whoever he or she is – would not wish to take the opportunity to engage with the United States.”
The Taoiseach concluded: “This has been a brief but productive, important and – I hope – impactful trip.”
A meaningful impact of this trip would have been going back to Ireland with the satisfaction that the message from the Irish people that the US must stop supplying arms to Israel had been delivered to the man who could actually achieve that.
Harris should have been more like Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish Prime Minister.
No sooner had Harris touched down in Dublin, Sanchez did what Harris failed to do in Washington DC, urging the international community to stop selling weapons to Israel.
“In the light of everything that is happening in the Middle East, it is urgent that the international community stop exporting arms to the Israeli government,” Sanchez said on Friday.
Israel’s largest weapons supplier by far is the United States, followed by Germany.
Previously, Harris would speak of being in lockstep with Sanchez, in terms of both Ireland and Spain recognising the state of Palestine earlier this year.
Though Harris said Joe Biden is clear what Ireland’s foreign policy is on the matter, by all indications, there was no direct request issued to the US president.
A “wasted the opportunity” is how some members of the opposition dubbed it.
Following his meeting with the US president, Harris spoke about the briefing Biden gave him regarding a phone call he had had with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Harris said he left the Oval Office with “no doubt” that it was a significant conversation between the two leaders. One that he hoped would make a difference.
However, less than 24 hours later, Israel carried out the unthinkable, firing on UNIFIL peacekeepers. The attacks have now continued despite international outcry.
The readout from the White House on the conversation with Biden had with the Taoiseach focused on the actual reason for this trip to Washington DC – 100 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and Ireland.
With the shadow of the escalating violence in the Middle East, incursions in Lebanon, and the self determination of the Palestinian people being destroyed, it’s important to not take for granted the achievement of our own democratic state.
Taoiseach Simon Harris addressing students of Georgetown University in Washington DC.
— Christina Finn (@christinafinn8) October 10, 2024
He speaks of the centenary of the US recognising Ireland as a state, stating it was a ‘declaration of Ireland’s existence’. pic.twitter.com/UwzuTPkuZb
Speaking in Georgetown University, Harris told American students that a century ago, when Timothy Smiddy presented his credentials to US President Calvin Coolidge, it marked the beginning of Ireland’s first official diplomatic relationship.
He said this simple gesture by the United States was a declaration of Ireland’s existence on the world stage.
The Taoiseach juxtaposed this with Ireland’s recognition of the state of Palestine this year. He told students who at gathered at Rigg’s Library that there were “real parallels” between Ireland’s struggle for independence and the “plight of the Palestinian people”.
This flying visit to the States by Harris this week did not go off as the Taoiseach had planned.
However, it might have given him a brief reprieve from the general election speculation back home. Of course, when he was asked about the election date on his trip, he said there was legislation that he wanted to see passed.
When it was pointed out to him that the last time a Taoiseach was in Washington DC, a shock announcement followed with Leo Varadkar surprising everyone by stating he would be stepping down.
Before Harris set off to the airport to catch his flight back home, The Journal asked if he had any surprises planned, similar to his predecessor, in terms of shock announcements.
Harris said there would be no surprises. He slapped down the rumours that he might call an election once his plane touched down in Dublin Airport, stating there would be “no tarmac announcements”.
All Harris would say on his US trip is that he wants the government to come to a good end, promising that he would show his coalition partners respect when it came to any decision.
But with the budget done, the trip to the White House complete, and perhaps some ‘Harris 2024′ mugs picked up at Dulles Airport before flying home, all eyes will be on the Taoiseach’s next move.
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