Who makes peace? Is it the officials who forge an agreement and then sign the documents? Or is it the people who inspire others to change their minds.

In Northern Ireland you need both. And that is why it is "silly" to question Hillary's role in the peace process there.

No, her name does not appear on the Good Friday accord that formally ended hostilities, but Hillary Clinton not only helped to win the peace there, she is still working to maintain it. The people of Northern Ireland understand this, and they did so long before anyone on this side of the Atlantic questioned Hillary's role in the peace process.

In August 1999 the British Secretary for Northern Ireland, Mo Mowlam, told Ireland's Talk Magazine:

Hillary is one of the essential reasons we've had 18 months of relative peace. Without her we would have no economic boom.

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