I've written about Hillary's work regarding the peace process in Northern Ireland several times over the past week because this is an issue I followed closely and pushed for back in the mid-90s.  I read everything I could get my hands on.  I poured through The Irish News, the Belfast Telegraph (both out of Belfast) and the Irish Times (Dublin) on a daily basis.  I talked with friends on the ground up there and was very active in discussion boards on line (you think I post here a lot!).  And I've known people from both traditions who've lost loved ones to the senseless violence.

I'm hardly an expert but I know more than most Americans about what went down back then.  And my respect for those who risked everything to make the Good Friday Agreement possible is immeasurable.  The process had been going on for years and a lot of other major agreements among the British, Irish and those in the North laid the groundwork to be sure.  But the peace process was given a huge shot in the arm when Bill Clinton granted Gerry Adams (President of Sinn Fein) a visa to come to the US, and then appointed Senator George Mitchell as his envoy to Belfast in an effort to bring the parties together to work out a lasting peace agreement.

The success of the parties to the Good Friday Agreement represents the single-most significant foreign policy accomplishment in recent US history.  And this model's being used to try to bring peace to other parts of our world in turmoil.

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The campaign just put together this wonderful video of Hillary talking about her experiences in Northern Ireland, and a bit of her recent visit with Northern Ireland's First Minister, Ian Paisley and Deputy Minister Martin McGuinness.  Given all of the BS out there by people claiming she didn't contribute anything to the process, I thought it was important to get this out there.  Take a look...

I know there's probably not much to add after Linfar's excellent diary last night, but I got a great email a few weeks ago from a woman who worked closely with Hillary during the time of the peace process in the mid-90's, and I thought this might be a good time to share it.

Follow me over the fold....

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I heard Obama's wondering why Hillary was offering him the VP spot when he's the front-runner.  My first thought was - well why isn't he acting like the front-runner then?

He's whining about things like her tax returns (when there are already 20 years worth of disclosures out there), intimating that White Water's still alive and well in the world of scandals, and making silly mistakes like offering up the 5th explanation of NAFTA-Gate. This after a week where his top foreign policy advisor called Hillary a monster & told the BBC that his plan to get us out of Iraq was just a best case scenario, and another top advisor (Susan Rice) admitted that he's not ready to take that 3 am call.

And when Rice was asked about Obama's foreign policy experience, she pointed to his work on ethics reform

Hmmm... with all that bad news out there I wonder if it's time for them to manufacture some more of that outrage he's oh so good at.  Oh wait - he is!

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I've seen a lot of posts challenging some of what I and others have written about Hillary's vast experience when it comes to foreign policy.  So I thought I'd post some facts about what she's done to help those caught in two areas of the world that have seen conflict and misery - Kosovo and Northern Ireland.

For anyone who might doubt Hillary's connection to Northern Ireland, take a look at this recent picture of her with two of the particpants in those peace talks in the mid-90s, (Big) Ian (blood & thunder) Paisley (DUP), and Martin McGuinnes(Sinn Fein).  They used to hate each other (hell maybe they still do) but are now serviing as the top two members of the Belfast government.  They came over to DC on a trip to promote investment in Northern Ireland and stopped by to visit their old friend, Hillary.

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Preface

"This position is such an odd one," the First Lady said. "In our country we expect so much from the woman who is married to the President--but we don't really know what it is we expect." The only way for a First Lady to "escape the politics of one's time," Hillary said, is "to totally withdraw and perhaps put a bag over your head, or somehow make it clear that you have no opinions and no ideas about anything--and never express them, publicly or privately." The audience cheered, egging her on, and Hillary became even more combative and self-revelatory. "There is something about the position itself which raises in Americans' minds concerns about hidden power, about influence behind the scenes, about unaccountability. Yet if you try to be public about your concerns and your interests, then that is equally criticized. I think the answer is to just be who you are and do what you can do and get through it--and wait for a First Man to hold the position." - Time's coverage of Hillary Clinton's remarks at a gathering in Sydney, Australia in 1996.

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