The strongest indication yet that the Government would back a military campaign against Osama bin Laden and the Afghan Taliban provided such action was sanctioned by the UN mandate, was given last night by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen.
Mr Cowen stopped short of pledging explicit support for a UN-sponsored strike on bin Laden and the Kabul regime that continues to harbour him, but he said the Republic would stand firm with the international community as it prepared to weed out the terrorist organisation behind last week's atrocities in New York and Washington.
The Minister accused the Taliban of flouting successive UN resolutions demanding the surrender of bin Laden, widely believed to have orchestrated the devastation at the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. The UN must be prepared to enforce its orders, he said.
Speaking on the RT╔ television's Questions and Answers, Mr Cowen said Government policy should reflect public outrage over the carnage in the US.
Islamic terrorists threatened global stability and posed a threat to Ireland.
Irish neutrality did not preclude the State supporting a UN-sponsored campaign against religious extremists, the Minister said.
"We've never been ideologically neutral when it comes to terrorism. We have used our military capacity for the purposes of providing peace keeping operations under UN remit," he said.
Pouring cold water on hope for a short-term diplomatic solution, Mr Cowen said it was "incredibly naive" to believe the Taliban would engage in talks and offer up bin Laden quietly.
The Saudi born militant had overseen a war on the free world since the early 1990s, Mr Cowen said. In its resolutions against the Taliban, the UN explicitly recognised that the terrorist jihad, or holy war, posed a threat to international peace and endangered citizens throughout the world.
But Mr Cowen also cautioned against a "knee-jerk" attack on the Taliban. Attempts at a "quick-fix" solution would only entrench bin Laden supporters and further jeopardise the west he said.
Also speaking on Questions and Answers, the former Taoiseach, Dr Garret FitzGerald, condemned Israel's occupation of the west bank and shooting dead of Palestinians as a "crime against humanity".