HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
Mar 18, 2003 While the rest of the world was preparing for war with Iraq, it seems that Ireland was winding down a peace process that should set the model for the rest of the world. Sean Farren, former Minister for Higher Education and Further Education in Northern Ireland, spoke at the University of Notre Dame recently on the successes and failures of the Good Friday Agreement, signed in April 1998, between Great Britain and Ireland. He outlined that one of the most important tenets of the agreement was the disarmament of the Irish Republican Army, and the monitoring of that "decommissioning" of paramilitary groups supporting Senn Fein and the IRA. What did they do right that the rest of the world needs to emulate? Wasn't the American Revolution a model for oppressed countries around the world to break the chains of their overbearing masters and enjoy the freedom the United States proved they could have in 1781 and beyond? We would do well to support our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines as they approach a deadline set by their commander-in-chief. But our diplomats would also do well to study the diplomatic aplomb displayed by the likes of Farren and his compatriots in orchestrating the end of one of the bloodiest conflicts in world history. Farren admitted that once a cease-fire agreement was met, there was no one responsible for the maintenance of that agreement. There was no one who was responsible for holding the parties responsible for meeting criteria on deadlines set in the agreement. Sounds familiar, eh? Oh, yeah, twelve years later, we hold Saddam Hussein responsible for his repeated violations of a United Nations agreement. Isn't it the United States that represents the true teeth of the UN? Shouldn't we be the ones who sheds light on the violations of the UN, and be the anvil upon which the hammer of justice falls upon those nations who violate agreements they've agreed to? Yes, the argument has been made that the UN is empty, a shallow body of jaded nations fiending off the power of the United States to validate their existence. So? What is the moral responsibility of the most powerful nation in the world? Didn't your big brother (or sister) protect you from the bullies of the playground? Can't we do the same? God Bless America. About the author: Chuck Tyler is a freelance writer and journalist based in South Bend, Indiana. His credits include coverage for the South Bend Tribune (www.SouthBendTribune.com) of a triple homicide trial and a town hall meeting of concerned citizens and local officials for the Herald-Palladium (www.HeraldPalladium.com) following 9/11. Email him at: tyler_1420@yahoo.com ------------ Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
