Three leading US senators have arrived on a fact-finding visit to Ireland to be briefed about progress in the peace process and other issues.
Senator John McCain (Republican, Arizona), Senator Chris Dodd (Democrat, Connecticut) and Senator Fred Thompson (Republican, Tennessee) had a meeting in Dublin yesterday with the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, chaired by Gen John de Chastelain.
Today they will have meetings with the Taoiseach, the Tanaiste and the Minister for Foreign Affairs before heading north to meet political leaders in Belfast. They return to the US tomorrow. Senator McCain was an unsuccessful contender for the Republican nomination in the presidential elections last year.
He was recently the subject of reports suggesting that he intended to defect from the Republican Party to the Democrats, but yesterday he categorically denied any such intention. He said he had voted "reluctantly" against the President's tax cuts in the Senate, but this was an issue they had disagreed about for a considerable time. Asked if he would be a thorn in the President's side, he said: "I don't think that's good for the people I represent. I intend to work with him on as many issues as possible."
He said there was a "unique relationship" between Ireland and the US, even though it might not be as important "in the grand scheme of things" as US relations with China. "I don't think there is any more emotional issue for the American people than the US-Irish relationship and peace in Ireland."
Senator Dodd said the visit to Ireland was "a chance to meet some of the principals and get a sense of where things are". In his view, the US administration intended to remain engaged in the peace process: "I don't see any change in that from the Clinton administration. The degree and level of involvement will obviously be dictated by events here to a large extent." Senator Thompson said everyone in the US wondered "How it can be that you can have such conflict and difficulty for so long and why it cannot be resolved. We are all touched by it in one way or another."