US not replacing special envoy to Northern Ireland
According to Niall O’Dowd, the decision by the US administration not to replace the last US special envoy to Northern Ireland, Paula Dobriansky, is to be regarded as “major boost for Northern Ireland”. His argument, such as it is, is that the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, who may or may not visit NI in September, will take responsibility for the role. Which, as Secretary of State, she would have had anyway. There is, apparently, to be an economic envoy. At least we now know the result of Obama’s review.. [But what about that reported U-Turn? - Ed] As Brian said at the time, “Some things never change.” And as an Irish Echo report from last year recorded, noted here previously, “If he (Obama) wins, the operative word is detachment,” [veteran Democratic activist Brian O’Dwyer] said.” He does, understandably, have other things on his mind. Update From the Irish Times
Informed sources told The Irish Times that Mrs Clinton has no plans to visit Ireland in early September, contrary to some news reports yesterday. A state department spokesman said yesterday he had no knowledge of any intention by Mrs Clinton to take on the role of special envoy. “I have no indication about that at present other than that it’s a rumour,” he said.
They are probably taking the huff over the abuse the American posters were getting on that Adams thread
Hillary will help to keep the Englezes honest particulalry with funny some Unionist noises coming from the incoming Tory government.
She’ll be harder pushed to keep you honest. Maybe she should appoint an envoy to your threads on P&J – you remember, all that jibber-jabber from you about how it had been transferred last year (otherwise Sinn Five would ‘pull the insitutions down’)? Obviously they’ll have to raid the black ops budget for the time machine, and the trans-dimensional hopper, but if it keeps you keeping us amused, virtually any price is worth paying.
Do we really need the wife of a disgraced ex President sticking her nose into our affairs? Would her time not be better spent in Afghanistan, trying to sort out the mess the yanks have created there?
Yankee go home!
Disgraced? Bill? Nah. A bit of extramarital fun never hurt the reputation of JFK, I don’t think a sneaky blow job is a major problem. He was popular then and he still is now, very charismatic man. As for the US, we should be grateful for every single job and cent we get from them, which is plenty. There are plenty of people dealing with the mess in Afghanistan and Hillary won’t be full time on NI. Just one of her many roles.
Obama certainly has other things on his mind at the moment. His six-month ratings are even lower than George Bush’s were at the same point in his presidency, putting Obama into the bottom quarter of the post-WW2 presidential approval ratings chart.
Support for his flagship objectives are plummeting and his incessant patronising liberal elitism on the issues is certainly doing him no favours.
As for Hillary, how are the mighty fallen!
Hillary becoming an envoy — even if it is true, and O’Dowd has a track record of printing nonsense — means that NI remains a non-issue for the Obama administration. She’ll come over, drop a few platitudes, and attempt to turn it into political capital should she decide to mount a challenge to Obama in the next election. It’s meaningless.
It took me ages to find this, but here is a letter to the editor penned by Ed Moloney that sums up O’Dowd:
Madam, – Why do the words “pot”, “kettle”, “black” and “calling” immediately spring to mind when one reads Niall O’Dowd’s ill-tempered attack on Trina Vargo (“Illegal Irish are a long way from galas and golf”, Opinion, November 20th)? For she is stating what the dogs in the streets of the Bronx know: that the Irish-American lobby appeals to the thinly-disguised anti-Hispanic racism that now pervades the immigration debate in this country in a bid to get preferential treatment for its own illegals.
Mr O’Dowd says Trina Vargo’s US-Ireland Alliance “busies itself with an annual Hollywood gala, selling Ryder Cup executive boxes and sending well-heeled Americans, both elite college students and golfers, to Ireland”.
Maybe. But is that any worse than Niall O’Dowd organising yearly love-ins for fat-cat corporate chieftains in Wall Street, the endless obsequiousness he shows towards Hillary Clinton, or the latest piece of self-publicising nonsense – a suggestion that Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness lead the St Patrick’s Day parade in New York? – Yours, etc,
ED MOLONEY, Bronx, New York.
And, if O’Dowd is to be believed, Kathleen O’Toole will be head of the PSNI. Ooops.
Indeed, Clay.
The reality is that not replacing the last US special envoy is a political slap-down, by Obama, for O’Dowd’s beloved Hillary.
Look at the statements made last year by the two.
Which, of course, is why O’Dowd’s trying to spin it as a “major boost for Northern Ireland” that the US Secretary of State is concerned with foreign affairs.
USA:
Oh wait a minute, according to Peter Baker and others I thought we Americans have nothing to offer
I don’t think it was PB who said that, I think you may be confusing with Pat the Baker.
and cannot influence events in Belfast.
Which is true, you don’t influence events in Belfast, at least not to the significant degree that you like to think that you do.
Despite what Sammy thinks, I’m not sure of a single specific indication when Americans have intervened to change anything in politics here, other than through details, such as the role of George Mitchell in the talks process.
Alan,
‘the wife of a disgraced ex President’
Considering that the holds the second highest political position in the US, your describing her in terms of her marital situation betrays your own apparent sexist mindset!
Another advantage of the quareone Hillers arriving here, apart from keeping the Englezes on the straight and narrow, is to remind everyone in Norn Iron – Unionist Padz and Fenian Padz – of the international nature of the funny little statelet and the valid but differnet claims on it by two friendly allies of the US.
Unionist Padz of course dont like this gentle reminder that Kent it aint and the good Padz like it for the same reason – as we can see from the above postings.
Good on ya girl.
USA/Sammy Mc
Who’s your source for the date of the alleged visit by Hillary?
The spokesman for the US Secretary of State?
No.
Niall O’Dowd.
Pete,
you.
Try again, Sammy.
Pete,
it was yourself*.
*Pete Baker.
Still not paying attention, Sammy?
Pete,
you started a thread which includes speculation that Hillers ‘may’ be coming to Norn Iron and then start jibber-jabbering when people speculate about it possible implications?
Sammy
The quote is “who may or may not visit NI in September”.
But I’m not the source of that speculation.
Which you’d know if you were paying attention.
Pete,
you are a great man for tripping over your own shoelaces.
Whatever, Sammy.
Update From the Irish Times
Micheal
“Considering that the holds the second highest
political position in the US, your describing her in terms of her marital situation betrays your own apparent sexist mindset!”
I’m sure she is a very able politician in her own right and the remark is unfair. Fair point. But what I do believe is that she and her husband were never totally impartial in their dealings with politicians in N.I. and I struggle to think why she thinks she is the best person for the job.
Do we really need a politician from a country like the U.S.A. giving us advice on how to make peace? Her time would be better served helping the native Americans, by improving their quality of life and sorting out the racial problems in her own country. Then she can sort out Afhganistan.
Watch it Pete the yanks may be warming up one of those little drone machines they keep for their special friends.