Political Quotes

“Mr. President, on April 10, 1998, the governments of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland signed the Good Friday Agreement, giving birth to a new era of peace in Northern Ireland. On this 25th anniversary, I join my colleagues in sponsoring a resolution commemorating a historic success that marked the end of decades of conflict and that remains crucial to peace today and in the future. This resolution passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously just yesterday and will be passed shortly by the full Senate. The recent celebration of this landmark event in Belfast brought together the three leaders of the day: Prime Minister Tony Blair, Taoiseach Bertie Ahearn, and President Bill Clinton. The highlight of that gathering was the unveiling at Queen's University of a bust of Senator George Mitchell, the architect of the Good Friday Agreement-- this Chamber's former majority leader and my fellow Mainer. And I know I speak for my fellow Mainers when I say how proud we were of this extraordinary accomplishment. And we salute Senator George Mitchell on this, the 25th anniversary. During the three decades that the Troubles plagued Northern Ireland, some 3,500 people were killed and 50,000 injured in sectarian violence. In 1996, during one of the many sporadic and ineffective ceasefires, George Mitchell, 1 year after his retirement from the Senate, stepped forward to serve as America's special envoy to Northern Ireland.…”