U.S. holds critical role in solving crisis in Northern Ireland
By MIKE CONNOLLY
Associate Sports Editor
The United States' role as a mediator in the conflict in Northern Ireland can serve as the model for future diplomatic resolutions in other parts of the world, according to Congressman Peter King.
Americans have a "moral influence, diplomatic influence and the power of persuasion by being the most powerful democracy in the world," and this influence can be used to bring about peace in troubled situations, King said.
U.S. influence has brought about the Good Friday Peace Accord and a temporary cease fire on both sides in the ongoing Northern Ireland conflict. All these breakthroughs came without troops, bombings or extra money spent by the government. This is the kind of role the U.S. should play in future negations in areas of conflict, King said.
He said that Clinton is the perfect kind of person for resolving the conflict in Northern Ireland.
"When you have the most dysfunctional political system in Western Europe, who better to understand it than Bill Clinton?" he said.
Under Clinton's leadership, the United States has taken an active role in the conflict in Northern Ireland. Before Clinton, most presidents were unwilling to go against the United Kingdom, a major U.S. ally, and therefore could not effectively work for peace in Northern Ireland, King said. Past administrations had been so concerned with offending the United Kingdom that they did not allow the congressional ad hoc committee on Irish affairs — which King co-chairs — into the White House.
Due to the more active role that the U.S. has played in North Ireland, peace accords and cease fires have been reached. When the U.S. became involved, the British government changed its position toward Northern Ireland.
"The British could no longer say that the troubles were a law and order issue," King said. "It became an international issue because the U.S. got involved."
King has been involved with Irish affairs ever since he first held public office. He was compelled to speak out when he realized the extent to which the American government has stayed out of the conflict. For example, Irish nationalist leaders such as Gerry Adams were refused American visas, he said.
"If you hold a public office, if you hold a title, people listen to you," he said. "It's an opportunity but it is also a responsibility to speak out on issues."
King has traveled to Ireland over 20 times and has gained an understanding of the Irish people that one cannot get from behind a desk in congress, he said.
"It's easy to talk about names and numbers," he said. "But unless you've been there, it loses its human dimension."
The human dimension in the conflict would be enhanced if Irish-Americans were more vocal on the issue, he said.
"If afflicted groups do not speak out," he said. "Others will not get involved."
King expressed disappointment that Notre Dame and other Catholic universities with strong Irish-American enrollments like Boston College and Georgetown did not invite Adams to speak on campus when he was denied a visa by the United States government.
King said that if the universities had demand that Adams be granted a visa, the government would have granted him one. When Clinton finally did grant Adams a visa, the peace accords were finally taken seriously because the British government realized that the U.S. was going to take an active role in the peace conflict, he said.
All News Stories for Monday, October 11, 1999
