Bill Clinton: “Well, I agree with George Mitchell's assessment that decommissioning is an essential element of the Good Friday accord…”

“Well, I agree with George Mitchell's assessment that decommissioning is an essential element of the Good Friday accord, and it has to be achieved in the overall implementation of the agreement. All parties have a collective responsibility here, and I think what we should do is to give the agreed-upon process the chance to work. I have great confidence in General de Chastelain. I believe the parties have great confidence in him. And I don't think you can underestimate the terrific importance of the IRA naming its representative to General de Chastelain's commission, and I hope they do that today. And the Loyalists should do the same. And all of us on the outside, rather than speculating on this day about what might happen bad, I think we've got a roadmap for the future. We've got a process, and we've got a commission with a leader that the parties respect, and I think we ought to give it a chance to work. Ulster Unionist Deadline on Decommissioning of Arms Mr. Grimason. The problem that we have had with last weekend's events, although today's events are genuinely historic, is that the Ulster Unionists under David Trimble do--have set effectively a deadline. And if by February there is no decommissioning, they will return and all the signs are that they could bring all of this work down.”