THE NORTHERN FRONT IN WAR ON TERROR:

Bush Visit Seen as Hopeful Sign for Ulster Impasse (WARREN HOGE, 4/07/03, NY Times)

The power-sharing assembly that is the centerpiece of the agreement was suspended in October over allegations of I.R.A. spying. But the underlying problem that has continually halted progress in putting the new government permanently in place has been the clandestine guerrilla army's refusal to dismantle its arsenal and declare its war with the British and Ulster's Protestant population at an end.

Sinn Fein has demanded action first on its concerns, like gaining more control of policing and the administration of justice, the further scaling down of the British military presence and the guarantee of human rights and equality for the Catholic minority. It also seeks an offer of some form of amnesty to I.R.A. members abroad who want to return to Northern Ireland without fear of prosecution on charges they consider outdated and politically inspired. [...]

The visit tomorrow will be the first to Northern Ireland for Mr. Bush. President Clinton played a significant role in the negotiations that led to the agreement, and he made three high profile trips to the province.

Mr. Trimble said today that he did not suspect Mr. Bush of any less commitment to Northern Ireland.

"He has kept in touch with the situation here," he told the BBC on Saturday. "He does things in a different way to Bill Clinton, but that doesn't mean he takes less interest or will be less effective. President Clinton had a sentimental attachment to Irish republicanism, but that doesn't mean that he was in any way weak on the principles of democracy."

Unfortunately, though generous, Mr. Trimble's comments about Bill Clinton aren't quite true. As we've discussed previously, the very act of suitting down for negotiations like those between the IRA and the Brits often represents a defeat for one side, regardless of what the ensuing talks produce. Thus, the IRA "lost" when it agreed to talk rather than fight--just as the Israelis "lost" at Oslo when they began to discuss a Palestinian state and America lost in 1994 when it tried to trade food to the North Koreans for their nuclear program. However, because of his sentimental republicanism, Mr. Clinton inflated Gerry Adams at a time when he had been defeated and helped to make the IRA more truculent. Had the U.S. turned up the pressure on Adams rather than feting him, the agreement might be a done deal by now. Such are the hidden costs of the Left's long romance with terror.
Posted by Orrin Judd at April 7, 2003 9:51 AM