The US Role In The Good Friday Agreem ent

By John McNally

The Good Friday Agreem ent signed 25 years ago heralded t he end of decades of violent conflict , euphuist ically know n as The Troubles, w as probably t he m ost successful US foreign policy achievem ent in t he past 50 years Prim ary negot iat ors w ere Tony Blair represent ing Brit ish int erest s, and Bert ie Ahern, represent ing Irish int erest s, but m ost agree US involvem ent w as int egral t o t he t reat y's success. Bold st eps by President Clint on changed t he dynam ic of t he deadlocked sit uat ion, but t he how and w hy of t his are oft en forgot t en.

The Irish Republican m ovem ent had been gradually shift ing t ow ards polit ics since t he elect ion of hunger st riker Bobby Sands t o t he Brit ish Parliam ent in 1981 Alt hough a st alem at e, t he w ar dragged on for anot her decade before t he Adam s-Hum e init iat ives and t he Dow ning St reet Declarat ion exposed a pat hw ay t o peace The Brit ish and t heir Unionist allies required an end t o republican violence before peace negot iat ions could begin, and t he IRA did not t rust t he Brit ish t o negot iat e in good fait h An int ernat ional dim ension could break t he im passe and ensure t he Brit ish honor t heir agreem ent s Irish Am ericans num bered as m any as 40 m illion and had gained subst ant ial influence since arriving poor and st arving in Am erica in t he 19t h cent ury While cam paigning for t he presidency in 1992, Bill Clint on adopt ed t he cause of ending t he Troubles t o get t he Irish Am erican vot e but also because it w as t he right t hing t o do Clint on w ent against t he advice of t he St at e Depart m ent , FBI, and CIA and jeopardized our special relat ionship w it h long-t im e ally Brit ain Inst ead, he list ened t o t he likes of Congressm an Bruce Morrison, Senat or Ted Kennedy, publisher Niall O'Dow d w it h his cont act s in Sinn Fein, and t he m any Irish Am erican organizat ions w ho saw t his as t he t im e t o apply som e new w orld know -how t o an old-w orld conflict Clint on gam bled t hat t he m agic w ould happen if w e could get all t he part ies around a peace t able..

In 1994, Clint on allow ed Sinn Fein President Gerry Adam s int o t he US for a speaking t our ending censorship of t he Irish Republican side of t he st ory And lat er, he allow ed Friends of Sinn Fein t o set up an office in Washingt on DC for fundraising and lobbying. The subsequent IRA ceasefire should have led t o peace t alks, but inst ead, t he Brit ish and unionist s added republican decom m issioning of w eapons t o t heir prequalificat ion t o be part of t he negot iat ions Aft er 18 m ont hs w it hout all-part y t alks, t he IRA ret urned t o a lim it ed m ilit ary cam paign t hat ended aft er Clint on appoint ed Senat or George Mit chell our first Special Envoy and sent him t o chair t he peace negot iat ions. Mit chell' s m ediat ion bet w een t he part ies w as crucial t o t he success of t he t alks and saw t hem t hrough t o t he signing of t he Good Friday Agreem ent (GFA) in 1998. The GFA has w orked im perfect ly but largely kept t he peace as it m oved t he Anglo-Irish conflict from a securit y/ m ilit ary st ruggle t o a polit ical cont est .

In 1994, President Bill Clint on allow ed Sinn Fein President Gerry Adam s int o t he US To Speak

In one sense, it ' s an agreem ent t o disagree, a fram ew ork for set t ling differences t hrough polit ics Unionist s got t heir principle of consent (of t he m ajorit y Nort hern six-count y populat ion), and Nat ionalist s got t he pot ent ial for a border poll should t he people decide t o join t he rest of Ireland. For t he first t im e in hist ory, t here's a peaceful and dem ocrat ic pat hw ay t o Irish Unit y and t he Irish Republic

The border poll w as a long shot before Brexit But t he Nort hern Irish people benefit ed from being m em bers of t he European Union, and t he m ajorit y vot ed t o rem ain in t he EU

The idea of a unit ed Ireland is becom ing increasingly m ore likely w it h pow er and populat ion shift s t ow ard Irish nat ionalist s

The crow n jew el of t he GFA w as est ablishing a Nort hern Irish governm ent at St orm ont , w hich t he Dem ocrat ic Unionist Part y current ly refuses t o join Not surprising since t hey w ere t he only part y t o cam paign against t he GFA in 1998.

President Biden w as in Ireland for t he 25t h Anniversary of t he GFA, and Form er US President Bill Clint on, form er UK Prim e Minist er Tony Blair, and form er Taoiseach Bert ie Ahern at t ended com m em orat ive event s at Queens Universit

y, Belfast

Irish Am erican s w ere never m uch of a vot ing bloc, st ill, w it h t he Friends of Ireland Caucus, w ell-placed business individuals, groups like t he Brehon Law Societ y, Ancient Order of Hibernians, and several Labor Unions, w e have subst ant ial polit ical clout

Addit ionally, all should support t he Good Friday Agreem ent , not just Irish Am erican