Sir, - Fergal Dalton (April 3rd ) wonders "how the US president expects his signature to hold any weight if agreements signed with it can be ignored by merely changing the president". I don't suppose that Mr Dalton would care for a detailed discussion of the policy process in the United States, but any treaty requires the ratification of the United States Senate. That ratification failed without a single vote in favour of the Kyoto Treaty. President Clinton signed an agreement that his peers a few years ago deemed to be faulty, yet President Bush gets the blame when he accepts the reality of the situation.
John T. Kavanagh (also April 3rd) succinctly recognises the problem of money influencing policy, but neglects to mention his own bias - and indeed the Irish media's general bias - against US Republicans. I seem to recall many instances where he could level his charge against his beloved Democrats. And lets not forget President Clinton's pardons; maybe if Clinton had taken his head out of the nosebag he could have worked out a deal that could actually be ratified by the Senate. Let's recognise that this is a problem for all parties in the US - and for all parties in Ireland. - Yours, etc.,
Paul Conlon 7th Street NE, Washington DC, USA.