United States policy and the Good Friday Agreement

It was a Friday like no other. President Biden was speaking in Mayo and former President Clinton had just landed in Belfast to take part in a three day conference at Queens University marking 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement.

President Biden was accompanied by Secretary of State Blinken, Special Envoy Kennedy, and leading members of Congress. President Clinton was traveling with former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and they were both joined by George Mitchel at the event.

It was an unprecedented demonstration of US support for the Good Friday Agreement, peace, and progress in Ireland.

The message was clear and consistent. The US remains a player in the politics of the Good Friday Agreement. They have skin in the game. The Institutions should be working, the agreements honoured and the governments operating in partnership.

This was the latest in a long line of presidential visits. Every sitting President since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement has visited Ireland.

There are some commentators and British politicians who paint these visits as some kind of “paddywackery” or playing to an Irish American vote. These uninformed opinions are founded in racism, colonialism, and a cynical approach to politics that tells us more about the commentator than the issue. Tammany Hall is long gone and no American President is driven by naïve romanticism. Presidents Clinton and Bush had little connection to Ireland, but both acted to enable and protect the Good Friday Agreement.

Our peace process is viewed in Washington as the most successful foreign policy intervention of a generation. In protecting the Agreement, they are protecting US interests in peace and progress in Ireland. While we differ on other aspects of US foreign policy, in Ireland their intervention has worked.

The British like to promote the “Special Relationship” with the US. A strange invention for a nation that prides itself on having no permanent allies or enemies only strategic alliances.

The term “Special Relationship” was coined by Winston Churchill in 1946 after the end of World War 2. It came to prominence in the subsequent cold war. The British were the closest US political and military allies in Europe. Throughout the 1960’s successive US administrations encouraged Britain to join the EU and for the EU to accept Britain.

The collapse of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of Germany and the ending of the cold war changed the dynamic between Britain and the US. It was a time of great hope in terms of global politics. Peace processes were developing in Palestine, South Africa, and Ireland.

This was mirrored in Irish America. For years the British had asserted that the North was an internal matter. Throughout the late eighties and early nineties, the discussion in Irish American circles was about the potential of peace and agreement in Ireland. Into this stepped Bill Clinton when he committed to issuing a visa to Gerry Adams and to appointing an envoy. The North of Ireland was no longer an internal matter for the British Government.

The British objected, but under the leadership of Bill Clinton, the issue had moved on. The potential for a peaceful resolution to what had been adjudged an intractable conflict was now embedded in US policy.

The road ahead would not be without its twists and turns. But the US played a central role in reaching the Good Friday Agreement. Since then they have acted as guarantors. Our peace process was an international matter, our agreements became international agreements.

Fast forward twenty years and Brexit brings a challenge to the Good Friday Agreement and a change in the relationships between the US, EU, and Britain.

In EU terms partition was an issue between two member states. Since Brexit partition is now an issue between the EU and an external country. Irish unity is the easiest option to safeguard the internal market, manage borders and safeguard EU interests Britain was America’s key ally in the EU that is no longer the case. The relationship between Washington and Brussels now out trumps that with London. While the military alliance with Britain as part of the wider EU actions against the invasion of Ukraine is important the long-term strategic alliance for the US is with the EU and by dint of membership the Irish Government.

The US-Irish relationship runs deeper than strategic self-interest. It is forged in generations of immigration. It is shared stories, personal histories, and cultural pride. The connection between Irish America and Ireland is unique. That plays out in arts, economy, and politics.

The Good Friday Agreement is supported by both parties in a highly divided Congress. The US wants to see the Irish Peace process prosper. Political leaders and foreign policy experts are looking at the coming twenty-five years. The trends are obvious.

The US as a guarantor of the agreement recognises the right of the people to determine the constitutional future.

We share a common challenge to ensure progress is planned, peaceful, and democratic. It is for the people of Ireland, North and South to determine their future free from external impediments and threats. They are the rules and the US has a role in ensuring that they are followed.

Supporters of the Agreement have to deal with a British government that believes that it is not bound by the rules and Irish Government in denial about the future.

The 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement focused on past achievements and current challenges. This was reinforced with the local government results which saw for the first time a greater number of pro United Ireland voters than pro Union voters.

The message for the US since Brexit has been to protect progress, implement the agreements and work the institutions.

We are at a time of Global change and realignment. Once again Ireland can demonstrate that peaceful and democratic change can be managed. The US and International allies will continue to play a meaningful part in that process. We now need both the Irish and British Governments to live up to their obligations including planning and providing for Irish Unity referendums.