F

rom Chapt
er6:Pe
acei
nNor
the
rnI
rel
and

E
it
ve
svar
r
i
yc
e
ga
onf
te
l
da
i
c
r
ti
ra
s
,ofc
yofdi
our
me
s e
ns
,di
i
ff
e
onst
re
nt–e
oresol
ac
hha
ve–s
si
ole
t
s
sownge
sonsinr
ne
es
s
ol
is
,i
uti
t
soppos
ona r
edi
i
f
f
ngt
i
c
r
ul
a
tt
diti
ons
odra
,it
ssha
w,butIc
r
a
e
dhi
met
s
o
tor
y,

thec oncl
usionbytheendt ha tther
ewe rei
ndeedcor
epr i
nciplesthathaveage ne r
ala ppli
cati
on.Ratherthan
de sc
ribeeachande ve
rye ventoft henineyear
sofimpleme ntat
ion,le
tmede scribewha tIthi
nka r
et he
ce nt
ralpri
ncipl
esofresolut
i ona ndweavesomeoftheke ye ventsoftheyea
rsi ntothee xegesi
s.

1-Atthehea
rtofanyc
onfl
ictr
esol
uti
onmus
tbeafra
me workbas
edonagr
eedprinc
iple
s .Oneofthe
t
hingsIal
waystr
ytodoinpoli
ti
csi
stogoba
cktofi
rstpr
inc
ipl
es:wha
tisi
trea
llyabout?Wha ta
rewe
t
ryingt
oachi
eve?Whatisa
tthehear
toft
hemat
ter
?

InNorthernIre l
andweha daba sicdisagre
e mentwhi chma det heconfl
ictveryha r
dtor esolve:ones i
de
wantedauni tedIr e
land,theotherwa ntedtorema i
ni nt heUni tedKingdom.Some ti
me spe oples aytome :
Norther
nI r
e l
a ndc an’
tbea sharda stheMi ddleEast,sur el
y.I nfac
t,inthisrespecti
tise venha r
de r
.Inthe
MiddleEa stpe ac
epr ocess,t
hereisa nagreeme ntastot hee ventua
loutcome :at wo-s
tates oluti
on.In
Norther
nI r
e l
a nd,thereisaprofounda nda ct
uallyirr
ec oncilablear
gume ntwhe therNorther nIrelandshoul
d
remainintheUni tedKingdom oruni tewiththeSout ha ndbe c omepartoftheI r
ishst
ate.Be causewe
coul
dn’tresolvet hisis
sue,weha dt osearchforprinciplestha twouldallowpe acewhilel eavingtha tis
sue
openforthef uture.

Itseeme dtomet hatthefir

stpr i
nciplewa sreallywha twascalledthepr i
nc i
pleofcons ent.Ifama jor
it
yof
peopleinNor the
rnI r
e l
andwa ntedt ounitewi t
ht heSouth,t
he nthe r
ewoul dbeuni ty,butunt ilt
hen,
NorthernIrela
ndwoul dbepa r
toft heUni tedKi ngdom.Itwa sthisprincipl
et hatRepublicansc oul
dnot
accepthist
orical
ly,ar
guingtha tthepa r
tit
ionofI relandwascons t
ituti
onallyinvali
da ndt hattheisl
andasa
wholes houldbetreat
e dasthevot i
ngc ons t
it
ue ncy.Obviousl
yt hi
sme antpeac ewasimpos s
ible.Sothey
hadtobebr oughtt oacceptthepr i
ncipleofc onsent,expl
ici
tl
yori mpl ici
tly
.

Theque s
ti
ont he nwa s:onwha tbasisandonwha tpri
nc i
pleswouldRe publi
cansa cceptit?Thea nswe r
,
whi c
ht henunde r
pinnedt heforma ti
onoft heGoodFr i
dayAgr ee
me nt,wa speacei nr eturnforpowe r
-shari
ng
ande quali
ty,i.
e .theIRAwa rwoul de ndift he r
ewa sagove rnmentinNor t
hernIrelandwhi c hwa st r
uly
represent
ativeofa l
lpartsofthec ommuni tya ndt her
ewa sgenui
nee qua l
ityoftr
ea t
me ntforPr otest
antsand
Ca t
holicsalike.He ncethene edf orreform oft hepol i
c eandthecourts,andhe ncethea cknowle dgeme ntof
t
heI ris
hl anguage .Thosewa ntingauni t
edI relandwoul dhavetoacce ptparti
ti
on,a tlea s
tuntilthe ywe r
ein
t
hema jori
ty;buti nreturn,withinadi videdI reland,theywoul dreceivef a
irande qua ltreat
me nta nd
recogniti
onoft hea spirat
iontoauni t
edI r
ela nd.He nc ealsotheNorth–Sout hbodies.

Oncethos
ec or
epri
nci
pleswereagr
eed,everyt
hingel
sethe
nbec
ameama tt
erofint
ens
elycompl
ica
ted,
ha
rd-f
ought,of
tenmal
funct
ioni
ngengine
e r
ing,butba
sedonaval
idde
signconc
eptacc
epte
dbya l
lpart
ies
.

Withouts uchaf r
a me wor kofpr inciple,progressi
nc onfl
ictresol
uti
oni sdiffi
cult
,i fnotimpossible.Itisan
enduringr e
ferenc
epoi nt.Itc onst
itutesgui da
nce.Itals
ot r
apsthepa rti
e swi t
hinit.Onc etheyacc e
ptt he
fr
ame wor ktheyca n’targuet hingsi nconsiste
ntwi t
hit;oriftheydo,t hei nconsis
tenc yte
llsagainstthem.
So,ifthereisana gree dpr ogrammef orpol ic
ing,basedont hepri
ncipl eofe qualtreatment,howc ant here
beapa r
ami l
it
arya rmyope r a
tingalongs i
dei t
?Ac tual
ly,oncetheprinc ipleofpe a
c eforpowe r-
sharingi s
agreed,therati
ona l
ef ort heI RA–f ounde dtocreateaunitedIrel
andwi thoutthec onsentoftheUni onist
ma j
ority–di s
inte
gr ates.Li kewise,onc ee qual
it
yoft reat
me ntisacc
e pte dastheba sisofgove r
ning,how
couldUni onis
mc ontinuei tsoppos it
iont oSinnFe inme mbe r
sinthegove rnme nt
,pr ovi
dedofc our s
et hey
werec ommi tt
edtope ace?

I
nthi
swa
y,e
sta
bli
shi
ngt
hec
orepr
inc
ipl
ess
hape
sthepr
oce
ssa
ndma
kest
her
econc
ili
ati
onpos
sibl
e.

2-Thentopr oc
e e
dtoresolut
ion,thethingnee
dst obegri
ppedandfoc
usedon.Continual
ly.Ine
xha ust
ibly
.
Rele
ntl
essl
y.Da ybydaybyda ybyda y.Thebi
gge stpr
obl
em wit
htheMiddleEa s
tpeaceprocessisthatno
onehasevergri
ppeditlongenoughorf i
rmlyenough.Thegr
ippi
ngisint
ermit
tent
,andint
er mit
tentwon’t
do.I
tdoesn’twork.I
fitwasgr ipped,i
twouldbes olve
d.

TonyBl
air2010
Inthec aseofNort
hernIr
eland,wehadaveryde t
ail
edagre
e mentacr
ossarangeofiss
ues.The
rewerenew
bodiessetup,newstr
ainsofworkingtobeexecut
ed,apanoplyofint
erl
ocki
nga r
rangementst
obecarr
ied
for
wa rd.Eachofthes
ethenha dtobenegot
iat
edfurt
herintheprec
isedet
ail
,andallofitr
equi
reda
perpet
ua lgri
p.

Onpol i
cing,f
orexample,wehadava stnumberofunr
esolve
dquestions.Wea skedChrisPat
ten,aformer
ToryNor t
hernIre
landminis
terandf or
me rcha
irmanoftheToryParty,t
ohe adupa ninqui
ryintohowi t
couldbedone .Hedidabri
lli
antjob,andhisrepor
twasthecorner
stonef orpol
icingr
e f
orm;butbeli
eveme,
eachbitofitwasrefi
nedandrefi
ne dagain–someti
mest ohi
sunderstandableannoya
nc e–aswet ri
edto
keepthes e
e-sawinbala
nce.

Decommissioni
ngwa stherealbugbea
r.Forthereasonsgive
n,thiswasextraor
dinar
il
ysensi
tivef
orthe
IRA.Anda tonelevelUnionis
tsunder
stooditwasmor esymbolicthanr
eal.Intrut
h,ift
heIRAde s
troye
d
the
irweapons,the
yc oul
da lwaysbuynewone s.Inotherwords
,pe ac
edidn’tult
imate
lydependon
dest
royi
ngwe aponsbutonde st
royi
ngami ndset.

Weha daRoge t’
sThe s aurusde bateaboutthis.Inthee nd,theIRAagr ee
dto‘ putthewe aponsbe yonduse’
ratherthandest
r oythe m –buthowt otellifthishadbe endone ?Wede vise
dame answhe r
ebyt wo
internat
ionalst
atesme n–Ma r
ttiAhtisa
ari,formerpr esi
de ntofFi
nland,andCyr i
lRa ma phosa,aleading
lightoftheANC–t ookont het a
s kofcerti
fyingthewe aponswere‘beyondus e’
.Thos epoorguyswe re
ferri
e daroundtheI r
ishc ountrysideexaminingwe a ponsdumps ,whichtheydidwi thinc r
ediblegoodgr a
ce.
Cyr i
lwa sas mart,st
a nd-upguywhoIa lwa ysthoughts houldhavebeenac ontenderforleadershipofthe
ANC.Ma rtt
iwa sthatrarit
yi npol i
ti
cs,andi nlif
e:ape rsona smodestashewa sc apabl
e( andhewa sa
ve r
ymode stman).

Butt
henhowdi
dweknowt
hatt
hes
ewe
aponswe
rea
llt
hewe
apons
?

ACa nadiangenera
l,JohndeChaste
lai
n,whobycoi
nc i
dencehadbe e
ntothesames choolasmei n
Edinbur
gh,headedupt heII
CD. Atthi
sti
metheExec
utivewa ssuspe
nded.Davi
dTr imblewastryi
ngtoput
itbacktoget
herbutneededreala
cti
onondecommis
sioning.TheIRAwe rest
il
ldeeplyreluc
tant
.Theykept
doingonly90pe rcentofwhatwasneede
d,andi
nthi
sc ontextt
hatmightaswellhavebeenzeroperce
nt.

Wewe ntt oHills

borougha fte
rmuc hne goti
ati
on,whi l
eJ ohnwa stakentowi tnessanI RA‘ ac
tof
dec ommi ssi
oning’.Wewe retoa
wa itthenewst hatthea ctha dtakenplace–abi tlikei nt
heoldda yswhen
crowdsga t
heredtohe arthenewstha ttheking’
sma rri
a geha dbe enconsumma te
d.J ohnthendisappe a
red
offourra dar–l i
tera
lly
.TheI RAhe ldhi mincommuni c ado,a ndwhiletheyle thi
m wi tnes
stheact,they
woul dn’
tl ethi
m de scr
ibeitatal
l,ina nywa y–abi tliket hehe r
aldbeinguna bletosaywi thwhom t heki
ng
hadbe ena bed,orwhe ne xact
lyithadha ppened,orwha troom theywe rein,ors omethingaboutt
he
nightdre
s s,orhowj oyfultheywe r
e;inot he
rwor ds,anyt hingtogivethethings omeda mnc r
edi
bilit
y.In
thiscase,thecrowdwa it
ingfort
hene wswa sawa shwi ths cept
icis
m borderingondownr i
ghtdist
rust.

Fina
llypoorJohnturneduptodohishera
ldi
ng.I
timme diat
elybec amec l
eart
hathe,asamanofint
egri
ty
andhonour,fel
tboundbytheIRAstri
ctur
eontota
lconfident
iali
ty.Wede cide
dnonethele
sst
ofi
eldhimto
apressconfe
rence,whoseonl
ylas
ti
nghi s
tor
icsi
gnif
ica
nc eisthatitshoul
dbec ompulsor
yvi
ewingforal
l
st
udentsofpressconfe
renc
es.

Johngavet
hemthebal
dst
ateme
ntthati
neff
ecti
thadhappened,butheresol
utel
yref
usedt
os aymore.I
n
answertot
heques
ti
on‘Whatwasdec
ommissi
oned?
’,herepli
ed:‘Well
,itwasn’tat
ank’–abitli
kethe
heral
d,whenas
kedwit
hwhom t
hekinghadcons
umma t
edhisma rri
age,sa
ying,‘Wel
l,i
twasn’tadonke
y.’

ThisdidthenforDavidTrimbl
e ,I
’ma fra
id,andIbla
memys el
fforit
.EvenSyl
viaHermon,oneofhi
sMPs,
whowa sthemos tdec
e nt
,sens
ibleandc l
ear-
sight
edofthel
otandjus
tathor
oughl
ylovel
ywoma n,sa
ids
he
couldn’
tsupportr
eins
tati
ngtheExe cut
iveont hi
sbas
is.

I
twa saswellthatJ
ohnwa sapat
ientman;herequir
edpa ti
enceinsa
intl
yquantit
ies.Hewa sputupon,
muckedabout,abus
ed,disa
buse
d,andtookital
lintheinterest
sofpeace
.Tohi senormouscredit
,hest
uck
wit
hitandhisr e
puta
tionasast
rai
ghtguywa saninval
ua blepar
tofthewholeprocess.Thepointi
stha
tin
ea
chpha s
eoft hi
swrangle–andtherewer
ema ny–t hethinghadtobegrippedthroughout
.

TonyBl
air2010
3-Inc onfli
ctr
esol
uti
on,sma
llthingsca
nbebi gthings
.Thi si
snotjusta
boutgr
ippi
ng,i ti
salsoabout
putt
ingasideyourvi
ewofwha tisimpor
tanti
nf a
vouroft heir
s.Andnotbei
ngpris
sya boutfi
ndingsuch
thi
ngsbe l
owyourpa ygr
ade.
Yourpa ygradecoversanythingimpor
tantt
othepart
iesyoua r
ese r
ving;a
s
defi
nedbyt hem.

Occasional
lyinmynewrolei
ntheMiddl
eEast,peopl
es a
yt ome:Don’
tyoufinditdemeani
ngtobe
ar
guinga boutwhe
resomeobs
curer
oadbl
ockshouldbepos i
ti
onedorwhet
herpermiss
ioncanbegive
nto
r
ebuildtwohundredyar
dsofr
oadinsomeremotepartofPales
ti
ne?Isa
y:No–i fitmatt
erst
othem,it
matt
erst ome.

Ius e
dt oknowt heprecis
ewhe reaboutsandc oulddescr
ibethest
r uct
ureofeachande ve
ryoneofthe
watchtowe rstheBr it
is
hAr myus edinSout hAr magh.FortheIRAt hisbor
dercountr
ywa sthei
rcountr
y,
whe rema nyoft heirkeyacti
vist
slived.Thewa t
chtowerswe r
eac onsta
ntsourc
eoffrict
ion,s
ymbolisi
ng
thattheBr i
tishAr mywa ssti
llaft
erthem.Ourmi li
tar
y,ofcourse,regar
dedthetowersasavit
alpointof
surveil
lance,espe c
iall
yondissidentRe publi
canscomingupf rom theSouthtocommi tact
softe
rror
.They
couldpoi nttoattemptsfoi
ledandl i
vess aved.Soitwasde l
icat
ea ndtheremovalofthetower
shadt o
happe nbitbybi t,andeachstephadt obef ocusedon.

Forbot
hsidesinadis
pute
,symbolsar
ecruci
al.Theyne
edtobehandle
dwi t
hcare
.InNorthe
rnIre
land,
eachas
pectofthene
wpolici
ngregime,f
rom t
hec a
pbadget
hroughtothepr
eci
semethodofrec
rui
ting,ha
d
tobepai
nsta
kinglyc
irc
umnaviga
ted.

Veryofte
n,s uchsma l
lthingscanbet r
aded.Wi t
hea c
hpa rtoftheNor t
hernI rel
andnegot
iat
ion,some one
wasa l
waysha vingtoc ompromi s
e,s omeonewa salwaysups et.I
ns uchadi s
pute,bothsi
desa r
einas tat
e
ofmoreorle sspermane ntcomplaint,abouteachotherora boutt
heme di
ator.Bothsi
desthinkonlytheya r
e
makingconc ess
ions,onlytheytrulywa ntpe ac
e,onlytheya react
inginge nuinegoodfai
th.Iwould
re
gularl
yha veidentic
alc onvers
ationsinc onsec
uti
veme etingswiththetwos i
des,ea
chconvinceditha d
madea l
lthemove me nta ndtheotherha dma denone.

Ireme mbe roncet a

lki
ngtoagr oupofUni onistssomet i
mea ft
ertheGoodFr idayAgreement.Oneoft hem
sai
dt ome–a ndnotaggres
sivel
y ,butquit
es i
nc e
rely–‘ Tel
lmewha tweha vereall
ygotoutoft his
agreeme nt
.’Is a
id:‘TheUnion.Tha t
’spr
ettybi g,don’tyouthi
nk?’Inotherwords,thebasi
soft hedeal
me antthattheprinci
pleofconsentwa sa
vowe d;ands oa sl
ongasama jor
itydesir
edit,t
heUni onwoul d
rema i
n.Tha t,af
terall
,wasther aisond’êt
r eofUni onism.Buthedidn’tre
a l
lyseeitli
kethat
.Hej us
tsawa
st
ringofc onc es
sionstobr
ing‘theme nofvi olence’tostopwhatt
he ys
houldne verhavebeendoi nganyway.

Sot
hesmallt
hingsmatt
erbe
caus
eint
hemi
ndsoft
heke
ypa
rti
es,t
heyof
tenl
oom l
argewi
thape
rspe
cti
ve
wecan’
tal
waysgrasp.

4-Bec re ati
ve .Us ethebi gors ma l
lthings,si
nglyori ncombina t
ion,andi fne cessaryi
nve ntafe
wmor e,to
unblockpr ogress.He r
ei swhe reJ onathanparti
cularl
ywa sbr i
ll
iantl
yinve ntive .
Att imestheimpasse
seeme dins urmount a ble
.Ri ghta tthee ndweha dsetade a
dlineforreconstitutingtheExe cuti
veon26
Ma rch2007.Soma nyde adlinesha dc omea ndgonet hatthe
ywe reade valuedc urrency.Theywe r
ebe tt
er
tha
nnoc urrenc y,howe ve r
,a nda l
thought heywe realwaysre j
ectedbythepa rties
,tomymi ndtheya lwa ys
ser
ve dsomes ortofpur pos e;butt histimetheIris
hs i
deputt heirfootdowni nuni son.Nobudgingf rom t hi
s
deadli
ne .Weha dbe e nthreeye arsormor etr
yingtoge tIanPaisleyint
oade alandi twasnoworne ve r,do
ordie,etc .So26Ma rchha dt obei t.Atthelastminute,asIha dsuspectedmi ghtha ppe
n,I anPai
sleyt ol
d
mehec oul dn’tc arr
yhi spa rtyforMa rch.IthadtobeMa y.TheI ri
shwe res ceptical.Si
nnFe inweref uri
ous .
Everythingt ee te
r e
dont hebr ink.

Ithoughti
tcrazytobri
ngthewholethingdownforthes
a keoft
womonths
.Jonat
hanPowel
lcameupwi t
h
theideaofgi
vingtheDUPt heirt
womont hs
,butaski
ngtheminret
urnt
oagreet
oaface-
to-
fac
eme e
ting
betweenIanPaisl
eyandGe r
ryAda ms,whohadnevermetbefor
e.Wemadetheof
fer
.TheDUPa c
cepted
andthenGe r
ryAda mswentalongwit
hi t
.

TonyBl
air2010
Then–andye s,itreall
ydoe scometothis–weha dtone goti
atenotj
ustthechoreographyoftheact
ual
meeti
ngbutit
sf urniture
.Itcamedownt otheshapeofthet a
ble.TheDUPwa nte
dt hes i
destosi
topposit
e
eac
hothertoshowt heywe r
es t
il
ladvers
arie
s.SinnFeinwa nte
de ver
yonetositnexttoe ac
hothertoshow
t
heywe r
epa r
tnersa ndtheref
orenowe qual
s.RobertHannigan,agreatyoungoffi
cialwhoha dtake
nove r
ast
hema inNumbe r10pe rs
on,thensuppli
edthefina
lpieceofc r
eati
vit
y:hesugge st
edadi amond-
shaped
t
ablesotheycoulds itbothopposi
teandwitheachother.Thede a
lwa sdone.

I
nthecre
ati
vit
y,youc
annota
lwa
yst
hinkofe
ver
ythi
ng,butyous
houl
dbewa
ryofdoi
nga
nyt
hingt
hat
f
orf
eit
str
ust
.

Bythewa y,tr
ust
,a sapolit
ica
lc oncept
,ismult
il
aye r
ed. Atonelevelnoonetrustspoli
ti
cians,and
poli
ti
ciansar
eobligedfrom ti
met otimetoconcealthef ul
ltrut
h,tobenditande vendist
ortit,wheret
he
int
eres
tsofthebi
gge rst
rategi
cgoa ldemanditbedone .Ofc ours
e,whe r
ethelineisdrawni sc r
ucia
l,a
ndis
notinanywa yane xac
ts c
ience.(Anddon’tgett
ooa ffronte
dbyi t;weallmakethe s
ede ci
sionse ve
ryday
inourbusines
sandpe r
sonallives.
)Wi t
houtoper
atingwi thsomes ubt
let
ya tt
hislevel
,thejobwoul dbe
well
-nighimposs
ible.

Butthepubli
ca requit
edi s
cerni
ng,anddis
cri
minat
ebe t
we enpoli
ti
cia
nst heydon’ttr
ustatasuper
ficia
l
l
e ve
l,i.
e.pre
ttymuc hallofthem,andthos
etheydon’ttr
ustatamorepr ofoundlevel
.Thisle
veloftrusti
s
aboutwhetherthepublicbel
ievethatt
hepoli
ti
call
eaderistr
yingtodohi sorherbestfort
hem,wi t
h
whatevermist
akesorc ompromises,Machi
avel
li
anorotherwise,a
rema de.Thisistheleve
loftrus
tthat
real
lyma t
ter
s.

Iheardaninte
rest
ingexampleoft
hisoncefrom,ofallpe
ople
,Ne l
sonMa ndel
a.Ma ndel
a–orMa dibaashe
isal
soc al
led(
hiscla
nna me)–isafasci
nat
ingstudy
,notbecaus
ehe ’
sas a
intbutbecaus
eheisn’t
.Orrat
her
heis,butnoti
nthesensethathec
an’tbeasflyashel
lwhe nt
heoccasiondemands.IbetGandhiwasthe
same.

Ial
wa ysgotonwe l
lwithMa di
ba,partl
yIthinkbecauseItr
eate
dhima sapolit
icalle
ade randnotasai
nt.
Hekne wexact
lyhowhewa susedbype ople–incl
udingme–t oboos
ttheirc
r e
dibil
itya tcer
tai
npoint
s,
andprovi
dedhelikedyou,hewa stotal
lyprepar
edtodoit.Themostfasc
inat
ingthinga bouthim wa
shis
shr
ewdness.Hewa swily,c
leve
ra sintheFrenchwordhabile
,smarta
ndc ompletel
yc apa bl
eof
manipul
ati
ngas i
tuat
ionwhe ni
tsuitedhishighe
rpurpose.

Wewe rediscussinghowhec hangeda ndreformedtheANCf rom ar evol ut

ionarymove menttoagove r
ning
part
y–noe asytask.The yused,ofcourse,tocommi tspecif
ica ctsofvi olence,calledterr
orism bythe
aparthe i
dre gimebutr egardedbytheANCa salegiti
ma t
eme ansofa chie vi
ngf reedom.Ma di
bade c
ided
theyha dtodr optheca mpa i
gnofviolence,anda l
sokne wtha tifhea ppr oacheditfrom thepointofvi ewof
pri
nc iple,hewoul dbebi t
terl
yopposeda ndwoul ddividethemove me nt,pe rhapsspliti
t.Sohec ontr
iveda
tac
tica lreasonfors us
pe ndingit
.Het oldtheANCc adrest
ha thewa sa sc ommi tt
eda sthem,butt hat
tac
tica ll
ythe yshoulds uspendviol
enc eforape r
iod,sothatlatera l
lopt i
onswoul dbeope nt othema nd
mor ea chievable.Ofc ourseonceitwa ssuspended,itr
e maineds uspende di npe r
petuity
.

Suchta c
tica
lma noeuvreswe rethewa r
pa ndwoofoft heNorther
nI re
landpea c
eprocess
.Aga ina tt
helas
t
minute,aft
erthenegot i
ati
onove rtheStAndre wsdeclar
ati
onofOc tober2006,uppoppedt heissueofwhat
oathwoul dbeswornbyt hosetaki
ngof f
iceinthereconst
ruct
edAs semblyandExe cut
ive.Allma nnerof
permutati
onswe regonet hroughtofindamut uall
ya c
ceptabl
eformula.Natural
lytheDUPwa ntedave r
y
cl
e arcommi t
me ntt
ot hepol i
ceintheoathits
elf.Si
nnFe i
ndidn’tli
ket hewordingandwoul dn’tcommit
unti
litwa scle
artheExe cutivewa si
nbe i
ng,sot her
ewa sasynchronis
ingissueaswellasal anguage
proble
m.

Intheendtheyagre
edat i
minga nd,roughly,awording,butove rthef
oll
owingwe eksitst
arte
dtofa l
lapart
.
GerryAdamsha dagreedt
oc al
lanAr dFhe i
s(acouncilme e
tingofSinnFein)toe ndorsei
t,butonlyifIa
n
Paisl
eyhadclear
lysta
tedinadvancet hatsuchanendor s
eme ntwouldall
owt heinstit
uti
onstober e
vived.
Foronce,rol
eswererever
sed,withGe r
ryAda msdema ndingc l
ari
tyandIanPaisleyproducingwaffle
.I
the
nha dtheide
athatIwouldreinter
pr ett
hewa f
fleands ode l
iverGerr
yhisreassurance.

TonyBl
air2010
IhadaChr ist
ma sholi
dayi nMia
mi .Thesuns hone,butt
hatwasaboutitasfarasholi
dayingwent.Because
ofthetimedi ff
erenceIha dtos
tar
tmyc allsat5a .m.Fre
quentl
ythePaisl
eyswouldbeoutvi si
ti
ngf r
iends
socallsweremi ssed.Itookhor
rendouschance sinwhatIwa st
ell
ingea
c htheotherhadagree
dt o–
str
etchingthetruth,Ife
a r
,onoccas
ionspastbre a
kingpoint–butIcoul
ds eethewholethi
ngc ol
lapsi
ng
becauseoft hewor di
ngofa noat
hofof f
ice.Some how,withcre
ati
vit
ypouringoutofeveryorifi
ce,wegot
thr
oughi t.

Thepointi
syouneedtobenimble,f
lexi
bleandinnova
tive.Ioft
enref
lec
toniss
uesli
kes
ett
lement
s,
Jer
usale
m orre
fuge
esintheMiddleEastpea
ceprocess
;ine achcas
e,i
ngenui
tywil
lfi
ndawaythrough,
butinge
nuit
y–inabundants
upply–therewillha
vetobe .

5-Theconf
li
ctwon’
tber
esol
vedbythepar
tie
siflef
ttothe
mselve
s.Ifi
twe
repos
sibl
efort
hemt
ore
sol
ve
i
tonthe
irown,t
heywoul
dhavedoneso.Er
go,the
yne e
doutsi
dehelp.

Thist
hir
d-par
tyass
ist
anc
eisvit
alinmanydiff
ere
ntways.Obvious
lyi
tc a
nproducemuc hofthei
ngenui
ty
neces
sar
ya ss
tat
edabove.I
tcanal
sohelpr
eassur
ethepart
iesofea
chother’
sgoodfa
ith.IntheMiddl
eEast,
ta
lktoanyIsr
ael
iandthe
ywi l
lsay
,wit
huttersi
ncer
it
y,OfcourseIwantpeace
.

IremembersayingtotheheadofIsr
ael’
smili
tar
yinte
lli
gence–amanwit
hat oughass
ignment–tha
the
hadtounder
standPalesti
nia
nsdidn’
tbeli
eveIs
raelwasseri
ousa
boutc
rea
tingaPale
sti
nians
tate
.‘They
thi
nkyouwa ntjustt
os wall
owthem up,
’Isai
d.

‘That’
snottrue,
’herepl
ied.‘I
’l
ltel
lyouas tory
.AguywhoownsaRot tweil
ergoesint
oaba randsa
ys,
“Whoownst hechi
huahuadogoutside?”“Ido,”sa
yss omeone
.“ Thenhelpme ,
”thema nsays,“
beca
use
yourchihuahua’
skil
li
ngmyRot t
weiler
.”“That’
sri
diculous
,”sa
yst hechihua
hua’sowner,“
howc ana
chihuahuakil
laRott
we i
ler?”Thema nrepl
ies:“He’
sstuckinhisthroa
t.”
’

ButaskanIsra
eliwhet
he rt
hePale
sti
nia
nswa ntpeac
eandthe
y’llsay
,‘No.Don’tt
alkt
ousabout
set
tl
ementsandoccupa
tion.WegotoutofGaza,wetookourset
tle
rswithus,a
ndwegotHa masa
nd
roc
kets
.’Youcanplaythesametypeofconve
r s
ati
onback,wi
thaPa l
est
ini
anaboutt
heIsr
ael
is
.

Thepoi ntistheout s
idepa r
tydonotj us
the l
pne got
iat
ea ndmediat
e:theyactasabuffer,ame ss
enge ra
nd,
cruc i
all
y,asape r
sua derofgoodf a
ithinac l
imateusual
lydomi nat
edbydi st
rust
.Theya l
sohelpde fi
ne
issuesandi ndee
dt urningpoint
s.NorthernI r
elandprovidedagraphicexampleofthis
.Inr e
ali
ty,therewere
twodi st
inctphasestot hepeaceprocess
:t hefir
stwa sfr
om theGoodFr i
dayAgreementupt othes us
pensi
on
oft heAs s
emblya ndt heExecuti
veinOc tober2002ove rtheI
RAf ail
uretode c
ommi ss
ion;thesecondwa s
from thefallofDa vidTrimblein2003t hrought oMa y2007.Theinterveni
ngpe r
iodofa r
oundaye a
rwa s
li
kea nint
ermissi
on,t houghmuc hhappe ned.

Thefirs
tphas
ewa stheper
iodofwha twemi ghtcallcrea
tivea mbi
guit
y,duri
ngwhichpeoplemove dslowly
,
waril
y(andoccas
ional
lynotatall
)from ver
ye nt
renchedpos i
ti
ons
.Noones eri
ousl
ythoughtt
hattheda y
af
tertheGoodFridayAgre
eme nttheIRAwe regoingtodis band;t
heywe r
egoingtowaittoseei
fthe
Unionis
tsde
live
redthei
rsi
deoft hebargai
n,andunt i
lthent heIRAwouldholdtheuseofforc
einr es
erve.

Ontheotherhand,wehadt
opr
etendthi
swa sanorde
rlyandstr
uctur
edtr
ans
it
ion.Sot
herewer
efudges
,
t
hingss
aida nddonet
hatha
dli
tt
leint
ell
ect
ualorpoli
ti
calcons
ist
encyexc
eptt
hatofse
eingust
hroughea
ch
se
tofobsta
c le
s.

Thiswasparti
cul
arl
ytr ueofrel
ati
onswiththeRe publicans.The yha dthe
irhis
tory,e ve
nqua sit
heology
,to
upholdasarevol
uti
ona rymoveme nt
.Theyha dtohonourt heirde ada ndi
mprisoned.Butt heyhadalsoto
confor
mt ot
hel a
nguageofape aceagree
me nttheyc ouldn’tbes urewouldbei mpleme nted.
Aswi ththe
decommissi
oningsaga,ther
ewe reaser
iesofha l
f-st
eps,a l
lclothe dinfai
rl
yobs cureRe publ
icanspeak,
withwhichtheyweretryingtoconvi
nceUni oni
sts,withoutde s
ta bil
is
ingthei
rowni nte
rnalpoli
ti
cs.

TonyBl
air2010
Addit
ional
ly,aswellasbeingapa rami
lit
aryfor
cef i
ght
ingtheBriti
sh,t
he ywereals
oapa r
a -
poli
ceforc
ein
Republi
canareas
.Ire membertel
lingoneofmyc onst
it
uent
sinSe dgefi
eldabouthowtheIRAwoul d
knee-
capdrugdealersandbeatupr api
st
s,andIcouldtellt
hatforthefi
rstti
mehemi ghtwarmt othe
Republi
cans
.Ofc ourse,noneofthiswasgoingtos t
opoverni
ght;yetnoneofitcouldpos
siblybe
rec
oncil
edwi t
htheruleoflawa ssetoutbytheGoodFr idayAgreement.

Forati
me ,thecre
a t
iveambiguit
ya r
oundallthisse r
veduswe ll
.Theterr
ori
sms t
opped.Thebombsst
opped.
NoBrit
ishs ol
die
rsdi e
d.Nopol i
ceoffi
cer
swe r
ea ssassi
nat
ed.Butnoneofthiswasthesameassayi
ngthe
nor
malproc es
sesoflawa ndordernowruledNor t
hernIrel
and.Thiswasdemonstr
atedbythemurde
rof
Rober
tMc Ca r
tneyinJ a
nuary2005.Hewa sde f
e ndingafri
endwhowa sbei
ngbeatenupinabarbyIRA
men,whot hendraggedMc Cart
neyoutsi
dea nds tabbedhimtode a
th.

Theki l
li
ngwa si nma nywa ysthef i
na ltur
ningpoint
.Hisfamily,al
lRepubl
icans,re
fusedtobes i
lence
d,
andhiss i
ster
s,fiancéeandf r
iendsc ampa i
gnedforhismurder
e r
stobebroughttojusti
ce.TheIRAdi dn’t
quit
ege tthepointandi ssue
das t
ateme ntaski
ng,ineff
ect
,ifshooti
ngthecul
prit
swoul dhelp,butit
broughttothefore f
ronttheessenti
alde cis
ionthatt
heIRAha dha dtomakesincethesuspensi
onoft he
As s
embl yandExe c
utiveinOc tober2002.

Andhe re’
swhe r
et het hi
rdpa rt
yc analsohelp.Afterthes us
pensionin2002,Iwe nttoBe l
fastt
oma kethe
mos timpor tantspe e
c hIha dma deonNor t
hernIrelands i
nceMa y1997.Thi sspeechcametobeknowna s
the‘actsofc ompl etion’speech.Essenti
allyIsaid:Cr eat
iveambigui t
ywa sourfri
endintheinit
ialphase;i
t
all
owe dust ogetthec ar
avanmovi ng;ithe l
pedusr oundt hemyria dimpasse
sinthefirs
tstages
.Butnowi t
isnol ongerourf riend;itiswha tisholdingusba ck,be ca
useuntilitisabsol
utel
ycleart
hatviole
nc ein
wha te
ve rform wi llbegive nupf orgood–a ndifi ti
s ,powerwillbes hare
d–t henwec an’
tma kefur t
her
progress.Inpl ac
eof‘ creati
veambi gui
ty’therenowha dtobe‘ a
c tsofcompleti
on’todemons t
rat
ebe yond
doubtt hatthepa stwa sbe hi
ndus .

Itwasac ar
efullywordedspeech,anditwasalsopowe
r f
ulbec
ausei
twa spl
aina
ndunadorned.From t
hen
on,myc onstantre
frai
ntoGe rr
yAda msa ndMa rt
inMcGuinne
sswasthatt
heIRAnolongerservedany
purpos
ebutt hatofsust
aini
ngreject
ioni
stUnionis
m –theywerenowstymie
ingt
hever
yt hi
ngt he
ysa i
d
the
ywa nted,name l
ypowe r
-shari
ng.

Thesame,ofcours
e,istr
ueofthemil
it
antwingofHamastoday.Theyar
ethebestf
rie
ndsofthe‘
one
-st
ate
’
Isr
ael
is
.Theiradhe
rencetovi
olenc
eprovi
desnotthej
ust
if
icat
ionforne
goti
ati
on,butt
heexcusef
or
excl
usi
on.

Howeve
r,s
pott
ingthi
s,de
fini
ngiti
nape r
sua
sivewayandusi
ngthatde
fini
ti
ontomovethepr
oce
ssoni
s
some
thi
ngtha
tofte
nc omeseas
ierf
rom at
hir
dpa r
tyt
hanfr
om ei
the
rofthema i
npl
ayer
s.

6-Re a
lisethatforbothsi
desre
sol
vingtheconf
li
ctisajourney,aproce
ss,notane ve
nt.Eachsi
detake
s
ti
metole avethepastbehi
nd.Aconfl
icti
snotsi
mplyadi sa
greeme ntc
haract
e r
ise
dbyvi ol
ence
.Ithasa
his
tor
ya nditc r
eate
sac ul
tur
e,wit
htradi
ti
ons,r
it
ualanddoc t
ri
ne.Ithasami ndands oula
swellasabody
.
Iti
senduring,anditisdeep.

Cha ngingallofthati sa nunde rt

akingofi mme nseambi ti
ona ndint e
nsei nt
rospection.Peoplecanc hange,
butpe oplearealsove rys etintheirwa ys.The‘ ways’havet obe‘ unset’s othatthec hangecanpr ogress
.The
fi
rsttimeIme tGe r
r yAda msa ndMa rtinMc Guinness,theywe renotj us thesit
antordi st
rustf
ul,theywe re
si
tt
ingdownwi t
ht hee nemy.Forc ountlessme eti
ngsatf i
rst
,Ma r
tinwoul dnots implywa nttone goti
ate,
mos tofa l
lhewoul dwa nttoexplainhiss i
de’spurpose,itspain,itsange randi tsexpe ct
ati
ons.Ittooktime
beforehec amet ore gar dmea sapa r
tnerande venaf r
iend.Soi fitwa sl ikethatforhi m,imaginewha tit
wasl ikeforanor dinaryI RAvol unteer,perhapsonepe rsonall
ya busedbyas oldierorRUCof f
icer
,or
whos ef a
milyha dsuf feredandwhoha dbe enbornandbr e
dt obelievei twa sani njust
icedeliberat
ely
perpetrat
edbye vil-mi ndedpe ople.

TonyBl
air2010
Thet wosi
desr ar
elyseeeachothe
r ’
spain.Eventhemos tpr
ogressi
veIsrae
lisIknowc a
ns eldom
underst
andthehumi l
iat
ionofami ddle
-agedPalest
inia
nma nbe i
ngsearchedbyayoungI srael
isoldi
erata
checkpoi
ntinf r
ontofhisfamil
y(andletusa s
sumenota lwayswithexemplarypoli
tene
ss).Pales
ti
nianswil
l
jus
tlymournt hela
testi
nnocentPales
ti
nianvict
imsofa nIsr
aelirai
d,butfi
nditreal
lyhardtos ympathi
se
withthepar
e ntofanIsrae
lichi
ldblownupi nasuicideatt
ack.

The nthe
rearea t
ti
tude
swhic h,tous,seema bsurd,comice ven,buttothema redefi
ning.Ireme
mbe rbe
for
e
the1997e l
ecti
onal ea
dingOr angema ndesc
r i
bingmea sunfitt
obepr imemi nis
terbecausemywi f
ewasa
painte
djezebelwhoc l
aimedhe rallegi
ancetoRome .Whe nIf i
rsthear
dit,Ipuzzledoverit,
misunderst
andingRomea sthes eatoftheIt
aliangovernme ntrat
he rt
hantheVa t
icanandwonde r
ingwhat
one ar
thChe r
iehadbeensayingt oRoma noPr odi,t
heItali
a npri
memi ni
ste
r.

Thenotionthatther
eise ve
rgoingtobeonemome ntint
imewhe npea
ceocc
ursisane
rror
.Thepe
ac eha
s
t
oma ture,putdowni t
sownr ootstodis
pla
cether
ootsofconf
li
ct,a
ndall
owoverti
meadiff
ere
ntsetof
at
ti
tudestotakes ha
pea ndmaket hei
rimpact
.

Some ti
mesIus edtotrytodescr
ibeitbythisana
logy:i twasli
keac a
rdrivingawayfrom acrash.Thes i
ght
ofthewr e
c kagedoesnotdi
sappearstr
aightaway.Itgrowsmor efa
intovertime.Ther
eisac onstantl
ookin
therear
-viewmi rr
orevenwhiletheeyess t
rai
ntos eetheroadinfr
ont.Thepa s
senge
rsareshakenup,a nd
theme moryofwha thashappenedcompe tesf
orspa ceinthei
rmindswiththehopethatbett
erti
me sa
re
ahead.Thereisnoimme diat
erelea
sefrom thepain;itconti
nuesf
arandde epandonlygraduall
ydi mini
shes
beforeeventual
lydis
appeari
ng.

Whatthisimpl
iesfortheproces
sisthatyouhavetoworka tpe
rsuadingeachsi
dethatt
heot her
’sfalt
eri
ng
st
epsastheytr
avelthejourne
ya renotbornofalackofgoodfait
horac hangeofminda boutpeac
e ,butar
e
anat
uralconse
quenc eoftheexperi
encetheyhavebeent
hrough.Itisanunavoi
dablefe
atureofresolvi
ng
t
heconflic
t.

7-Thepa tht
opeac
ewi l
lbedeli
ber
ate
lydi
srupt
edbythos
ewhobe lie
vethec onfl
ictmus tcont
inue
.Be
prepa
redfors
uchdis
rupt
ion.Donotbedef
lat
edbyit
.Peopleof
tenforge
tthatthewor stter
rori
stat
tac
kin
thehi
stor
yoftheTr
oublescameaft
ert
heGoodFrida
yAgr e
e me
nt,notbefor
ei t
.Tha nkful
lyitwasals
othe
las
t.

OnSa t
urday15Augus t1998a t3.
10p. m.ama ssivebombwe ntoffinthema rkettownofOma gha nd
twenty-ninepe opl
edied.Ma nyotherswe r
eba dlyinjure
d.St i
llmorewillbeartheme ntalsc
a r
sforlif
e.
Amongt hede adwa sawoma npregnantwithtwins,whos emot hera
ndda ughteralsodied,andfour
youngstersf r
om Spa i
na ndt
he i
rescortwhowe r
eona nexchangevisit
.Thebombwa sthewor kofthe
diss
identgr ouptheRe alIRA,forme dinprote
sta tSinnFein’sembraceofthepe aceprocess.I
nt heevent
theCa t
hol i
cski l
ledout-numbe re
dt heProtes
tants.Theterrori
stshadgivenawa r
ning,butforthewrong
place,andthepol icehadunwi t
ti
nglymove dthec rowdr i
ghtintothepathofthebomb.

Iwasonholidayi
nthesout
h-westofFr
anceatt
heti
me ,i
nali
tt
levi
ll
ageca
lle
dMi r
adoux.Wewerest
ayi
ng
wit
hourfrie
ndsMa ggi
eandAlan,hehavi
ngbeense
c r
eta
ryt
othePLPandsheanoldfri
endwhogave
Cher
ieandmeabi l
leti
nherhouseinSt
okeNe wi
ngtonwhenwesear
chedf
orourfi
rsthomeasanewl
y
marr
iedcouple
.

Iwasinforme
da r
ound3.30p.m.By5p.m.thesa
va ger
yoft heat
tac
kwa sc
lea
r.Iga
veashor
tpre
ss
st
ate
me ntonthes
tepsofthevil
lagec
hur
chinasuitborrowedfr
om oneofmysecur
it
ype
ople,myemot
ions
amixtureofs
hockanda nxi
etyastot
hecons
equencesforthepr
ocess.

Thene xtmor ni
ngIwe nttoNorthe r
nI re
landa ndvi s
itedtheinjure
d.Eve nnowIc annotthinkofi
twithout
tea
rs.Ime tagirlwhoha dlos
the rsightbutwa sdeter
mi nedtoma ket hebes
tofherlife
,a sshel
ate
rproved,
andIme tt
hef at
herofthepre
gna ntwoma n.Ifthef a
mi li
esha dbeena ngr
yortakenitoutonme–‘ I
fyou
hadn’tstar
tedthis
,theywouldstillbea l
ive’,as e
ntime ntvoicedbys ome–Ic oul
dha veke ptmy
compos ure
;wha tcomplete
lybrokemedownwa stheirquietdigni
ty,thei
rli
mitl
esssadnessfort
heloved
onestheywoul dneverseeorholdors peaktoa gain.

TonyBl
air2010
Evenatthatpointofs upr
emehumantragedybr oughtaboutbyevilbeyondunders
tanding,Ihadtothink
poli
ti
cal
ly.Wewe refacedwit
hachoice
:e i
thertot hr
owourha ndsupi nhor
rorands a
y,‘Thesepeoplewill
nevermakepe a
c e’,ortouset
hehorr
ora sthereasontogoon,tos ay,‘
Thesepeoplewa ntthi
sproce
s sto
st
op,andourr e
s ponseistodr
ivei
tfas
terandf urther
.’

Intheevent,andtothegrea
tc reditofall(helpedbya not
he rpre
s i
denti
alvis
itbyBillClint
on),thekey
par
tici
pantsintheprocessc
hos ethel a
ttercourse.Wha tcouldhavebe enaturni
ngba c
k,wa saturningpoint.
TheRe alIRAne verrec
overed.Ge rryAda msa ndMa r
ti
nMc Guinnesscondemnedthea t
tacksunequivoc
a l
ly.
DavidTrimblerosetotheoccasion. Andmos tofall
,sodidt hepeople.Oneofthebereavedsaidtome ,even
ashemour nedthelossofhiswi fe
:‘ Don’tbeputof f,car
ryon,a ndma kemywi fe’
sme morialal a
sti
ng
peaceinNor t
hernIrel
andsotha tnoonee veragainfeel
sa sIdot hi
sda y.
’

Thisa t
tit
udeisincont r
asttotheMi ddleEa stwhe r
e,unfort
unate
ly,t
heoppos i
teusual
lyha ppenswhe na
terr
oristat
tackoccurs.Ther esponset hereisof t
entoc l
ampdowni nawa ythatali
enatesthepe ac
e makers
aswe llastheter
rori
sts,andt oseevi olencebyaf ac
tionasshowingthefut
ili
tyoftryi
ngt oma kepe acewith
thosenotpa r
tofthef act
ion.Thepr obl e
mi sthemome nts
uchac our
seistaken,t
heke ystot heproces
sa re
putint hehandsofthet e
rrorist
s.The irpurpos eist
ol ockuptheproc
e s
s.That’st
hes i
ckra t
ional
ebe hindthe
terr
or.Onc eyouconc edethatterrordoe sindee dle
adt oposs
essi
onoftheke ys,t
hey’r
ei ncha r
ge.Ke epthe
keysfirmlyintheha ndsoft hepe acema kers.

Terr
ori sthes t
arkestexampl eoft hee xtreme str
yingtobl ockpr ogres
s ,butpressuretol ockupt heprocess
als
oc ome sfrom pe rf
ectlyrespectabl ea ndde moc r
ati
ce l
e me ntsonbot hs i
deswhoa c
cus ethei
rownpa rt
y
ofsell
ingout .Da vidTrimblewa ssubj ecttoa nunrel
entingba rragefrom thoseint heDUPa nde l
sewhere
whos awe achconc es
s i
ona sabe traya l,andt heprocessa sawhol easas ell
-outoft heircommuni ty.Tothe
outs
ider,thisseemsunr e
a s
ona bl
ea ndunpe rsuasi
ve;nots otot heinsider.David,It hi
nk,t ooktheviewt hat
Ididtool it
tl
et oa s
sisthim;It ookt hevi ewhene verquites toodupf ort heposit
ive ,t
e ndingrat
he rtoshar
e
andsympa t
hisewi t
ht heUni onistpr ope nsitytoseeplotsa ndc onspir
a ci
esaga i
nstthe m.Butheha da n
extr
aordinaril
ydi ff
iculthandt oplay ,a ndi fhedidn’talwa ysplayi tasIwoul dha vedone ,heplayeditwith
acouraget hatrightl
ywonhi mt heNobe lPeacePr i
ze.

8-Leadersmat
ter
.Anypeac
epr
oces
scal
lsforpoli
tic
a lr
isks
,eve
nasenseofpoli
ti
caladve
ntureand
cer
tai
nlypol
it
ica
lcour
age
,some
time
sevenpersonalcoura
ge.Thequa
lit
yofleade
rshi
pma t
ters
;itisas
ine
quanon.

Thepointis:theeasies
tthi
ngf ort
hepa rt
iesinanyconf
li
ctt
odoi sholdf i
rmt oest
abli
shedposit
ions.An
i
deology,eve nasortofthe
ology,wil
lha vegrownupa r
oundtheconf
l i
ct,ref
lect
ingthepart
isa
nna tur
eofit
.
Ever
ythingi ssee
nthroughthepr i
smc onst
ructe
dbys uc
hparti
sanideology.Toholdtoitist
ot r
eada
fa
miliarpath,whichma yleadnowhe r
e,butwhos es
urfac
eiswe l
lworn,whos elandmarksproduceinst
ant
re
cogniti
on,a ndwhe r
etheleaders
’foll
owe rsfe
elmostcomfort
abl
e.

Bycontr
ast
,li
keMos eswit
ht heIs
raeli
tes
,str
iki
ngoutinanewdirec
tionwhosedes
tina
tionisunce
rta
in,
whos
eobs t
acl
e sa
refor
midableandunfamilia
randwhe natl
easts
omeofthefoll
owerswillacc
usethe
l
eaderofbet
rayal
,ist
ough;anditrequi
resthequal
it
ythatmoti
vat
esthebes
tpoli
ti
calle
ade r
shi
p:adesir
e
t
odogood.

Wewe reveryluckyinthequa li
tyofl
eadershi
pweha d.Da vidTrimblewasinst
rume nt
al.Hebega ni
twhen
itse
emedi mpossi
ble
,ke ptatitwheni
twa smos tdif
fi
cult
,a ndpaidtheul
ti
ma t
epol i
tic
alpr i
ce(
thoughI
havenodoubtthathisr
e putat
ioninhi
storyisful
lysecur
e).The ninthemostunlike
lyofr ole
s,I
anPa i
sl
ey–
foryea
rsthewr ec
ker,t
hes poil
er,t
hescourgeofalli
nUni onism whosoughtaccommoda tion–tookover
andcomplete
dt hepr
oces s
.

I
anPa i
sle
ywa sde fi
nitel
yas t
rangepoli
ti
calf
igure,apr
oductoft
heuni
quec oncat
enat
ionofpoli
ti
cal
ci
rcumsta
nc esinNor thernIr
eland.Heisagenuineandcommitt
edChri
sti
an,atrueGod-fe
ari
ngma n;hei
s
apassi
onateUni onist
;hei scl
eve r
,shr
ewd,occasi
onal
lyeve
ns l
y.Hehadagr ea
tgras
pofs t
rat
egyand
t
acti
csandc oulds potthedif
fer
e ncebet
weenthetwo.

TonyBl
air2010
Theuna ns weredque st
ionis :didhec hangeordi dthes it
ua tionc ha nge?Hewoul ds a ythela t
ter,andtha the
wasa lwa ysprepa redtoma kepe aceift
heI RAf ors
wor evi olenc e.ButIt hinktwot hingsa l
soha ppenedt o
changehi m.Fi rst,afte
ral onga ndde bi
litat
ingi llnesswhi ch,a sheus edtor emark,hekne whewoul d
sur
vi ve(thoughma nyhope dhi swi s
hwa smi splaced),heha das enseofi mpendingmor ta
lity,polit
icaland
per
s onal,andwa ntedtol eavebe hindsome thingmor eprof ounda ndenduringthan‘ nos urr
e nder’.There
wasar e
a ll
yr a
the rmovi ngmome ntduringthec ourseofthet alksa tStAndr ewsinOc tober2006,whe ni t
wasdi scoveredtha thea ndhi swi feEil
e enwe r ec e
lebrat
ingt he i
rf i
fti
ethwe ddi
nga nnivers
a ry.Atthee nd
oftheme eti
ng,the rewa sal it
tleceremonya twhi che achpa rt
yc ongrat
ulatedhim,i ncludi
ngGe rr
yAda ms ,
andBe r
tiethenpr es e
ntedhi m wi t
hapi eceofwoodf rom at reea tthesiteoftheBa ttleoftheBoyne .He
madeagr a
ciousa ndbe nignr eply(andI anwa spe r
fectl
yc a pa ble,evenwhe nbei
ngc ongratulated,ofbe ing
nei
the roftheset hings)andIf eltt
hiswa sama nl ookingi ntohi sowns oula ndfeelingdi f
ferently.Heha dn’t
exactlyma tured;butheha di nsomei nde fi
nabl esensebr oa dene d.

Theot herc hangewa sthatIanwasnothingifnotapoliti

cianwithhi se
arfir
ml ytunedint
ot hepeople.In
thecour s
eofl a
te2006a nde ar
ly2007,heheardthepe opl
et el
li
nghi mitwa sti
mef orpeace,andeven,in
parti
cular,timeforhimt oma kethepeace.Duringthoseme eti
ngs ,t
imeanda gai
nitwa sI
a nwhowa ntedto
pushf orward,Ianwhowa spr e
paredtoseekcreati
vesolut
ions,Ianwhot ookc ar
ea l
waystol eavet
hedoor
open.Hea ndIwoul dof t
enme etaloneintheDowni ngStreetden.Jonat
hanus edtobehighlya musedwhe n
Ide s
cribedt heme et
ings,whichalmostalwaysdealtwiththeissueataspiri
tualrat
hertha
nt emporallevel
.
It’
strue:wewe r
ebothf as
cinat
edbyr el
igi
ousfa i
thaswe l
la sbeingpeopleoffait
h.Hega vemeal ittl
e
prayerbookf orLeo.

Onc e,nearthee nd,heaske

dmewhe therIthoughtGodwa nte
dhimt omaket
hedea
ltha
twoul dsealt
he
peaceproc e
s s
.Iwa nt
edtosayyes
,butIhe s
it
ated;t
houghIwa ssur
eGodwouldwantpea
ce ,Godisnota
negotiat
or.Ifeltitwouldbewrong,manipula
tive,t
osayyes,andsoIsai
dIcoul
dn’
tans
we rthatques
ti
on,
thatonlyhec oulda ndIhopedhewouldletGodgui dehi
m.

Peopl
ecoul
dneverunde
rst
anditwhenIuse
dtos
ayhowmuc
hIl
ike
dhi
m.ButIdi
d.It
hinkmygr
anny’
s
re
verenc
eforhi
m mademeha veasof
tspot
.

Onthena tionali
s tsi
de ,too,therewe releade r
sofre alcali
bre.JohnHumewa s,is,agreatpoliti
calfigur e
andgenuinet it
an.Heha dvisiona ndima ginati
ona ndf or
e si
ghtwhe not herswe reresol
utelys t
il
linbl inkers
.
SeamusMa llona ndMa rkDur ka n,t
hel e
a dersoftheSDLP ,we remode r
ateandr easonable,andf e
ltbot h
qual
iti
esc ounteda gainstthem.The ywe rea lwaysinadi ffi
cultpositi
on.Thet r
oublewa sSi nnFe i
nha dto
bebroughti nfrom thec ol
d,a nds oinevi
ta blymoret ime,ene r
gya ndf ocuswe regiventot hem.Thi sc aused
deeprese
nt me nt;butitwa sanunf ort
unatea ndinevi t
ablecons e
que nceofma ki ngpe ac
e.Ne ve r
thel
es sboth
Seamusa ndMa rkwe res i
gnificantf
iguresi nthei
rownr ight.Both,incidenta
lly–a ndIdon’ tknowi ft he
SDLPha veas pe ci
altrainings choolforthis–we rema st
e r
soft hesoundbi te,reall
yf i
rst
-classspeake rs,
whooutsideofNor t
her nIrel
a nd’spolit
icswoul dha vebe enma jorplayersina nypol i
ti
calpa rt
y.

OfBe r
ti
ea ndhi scontr
ibut
ion,Ihavespoken.The nthereareGe rr
yandMa r
ti
n.Theywe reanextr
aordi
nary
coupl
e.Ove rti
meIc ametolikebothgreat
ly,probablymor ethanIshouldhave,i
ftrut
hbetold.Again,
eit
herwouldha vebe e
nabi gpoli
ticall
eaderinanyone ’
spolit
ics.Theydidnotme r
elyunders
tand,t
hey
weresupre
mema s
tersofthedist
inct
ionbet
we ent a
cticsandstrat
egy.Theyknewthede st
ina
tionandthey
weredete
rmi ne
dt obringtheirf
ollowerswiththem,ora tle
a s
tthevastbulkofthe
m.

Alotwaswr it
tenaboutt
heProvisi
onalArmyCounci
landtheirmembershipofitandthusthe
irrel
ati
ons
hip
witht
heIRA.Ma nypeopl
e,i
nc l
udingalar
gepar
tofBrit
ishinte
lli
genc
e,thoughtSinnFeinandtheIRA
werei
ndisti
nguishabl
e.WhenGe rr
ya ndMart
inwoul
ds a
yt heywouldhavetotalktotheIRAa bout
somet
hing,thejokewasalwaystheycoul
dlooki
nthemirroranda s
k.

Ia l
wa ysthoughtthere
lat
ionshipwa smorec omplexthant hat
.Thei deathattheyc ouldjusti
nstr
ucttheIRA
neve rfe
ltrightt
ome .Idon’tdoubtthatonma nyoc c
a si
onsthedif f
erencebe t
we enSi nnFeinandtheI RA
wa sa nar
tific
e,adivi
deus e
df ortact
icalr
easons.Iknowt hatbothc ouldbec le
ve randma nipul
ati
ve;butso
canI .Andmys ensewasthat,i
nc ert
ainsi
tuati
ons,t
he ywe repersuadingandne gotiatingwit
hothers,not
givingorde r
s.Icametothevi ewthattheSF/IRAr e
lati
ons hi
pwa sabi tli
ket hatoftheLa bourlea
dership
andt heLa bourPart
yNEC:ye stheleader
shi
pi spowerful,yesitusuallygetsit
swa y,butnotal
wa ysand
rarelywithoutalotofper
suas i
ona ndnegoti
ati
on.

TonyBl
air2010
Throughout,Gerr
ya ndMart
infeare
das pl
it
,ashadhappenedbe f
oret
oRe publ
icanis
m,withdis
ast
rous
consequences
.Thisme a
ntta
kingthei
rpeopl
estepbystep,l
eadingthe
m,ca j
oli
ngt he
ma ndnotal
ways
beingtotal
lyupfr
ontastowhatthedes
ti
nati
onreal
lyme ant
.Itwasatoughtaskandt he
yperf
ormeditwit
h
imme nseskil
l.

Ult
imat
ely
,theyunder
stoodthattheIRA’se xis
tencehadbe comenotthewaytoaj us
ts e
ttl
ement,butthe
bar
ri
ert
oit.Itt
ookrealpol
it
icalc oura
getoi mplementthatinsi
ght
,andwhe t
heryoulikethem ornot,and
nomatt
erhows t
rongl
yyoudi s
a pproveoftheirpastac
tions,the
yhadc our
ageinabundance.

Thentherewerethel
eadersofthemi norpar
ti
es,oft
entheoddonesoutintheconf
li
ctbutwhosel
eader
shi
p,
whentherewasnothi
ngi nitf
ort hem,wasrat
herinspi
ri
ng.Peopl
eli
keDa vidErvi
neoftheProgr
ess
ive
Unionis
tPart
y,theAll
iancele
ade rs
,andthemarvell
ouswome n’
scoal
iti
onwhom Iusedtoseejus
tto
re
mi ndmysel
ftherewerenorma lpeopleinNort
hernIr
eland.

Ther
ewe reRonni
eFlanaganandHughOr de,t
het
woc hi
efcons
tabl
esIdealtwi
th,whoseverys
peci
al
pos
iti
onasheadoftheNorthe
rnIr
elandpoli
cemeantt
heyhadaroletopla
ywhic hwasofthees
senc
e.
Theypla
ye dt
hatr
olenotinanover
tl
ypoliti
calwa
y,butwit
hpolit
ica
lsense
.

Ialsol
iketothinkthat,i
nthi
sinstance
,atle
ast,Ichosewelli
nthepeopl
eIa ppoint
ed.Sec
retar
iesofStat
e
andminister
spe rf
ormedreal
lywe l
l.Theywereverydiffe
rent
,mindyou:MoMowl am,PeterMa nde
lson,
JohnReid,PaulMur phy,Pet
erHainwe real
lunusualpeoplei
nthei
rownright,butrea
llyt
alent
ed,ande a
ch
ma deasigni
fic
a nt
,evencruci
al,c
ontri
buti
on.

Whet
hertheywereal
readyinplaceorwe r
eappoi
ntedla
ter,le
adersmatt
ered.Ever
ys t
eprequir
eddec
isi
on-
maki
ngthatwascompli
catedandapolit
icals
ensetha
twa sacute
.Butitisnotjus
tthelea
dershi
pint
erna
lto
t
hekeypart
iest
hatmatt
e r
s:ext
ernalci
rcumst
ancesmustalsobepropi
ti
ous.

9-Thee xte
rnalcir
c ums
tancesmus tmi
lit
ateinfavourof,notagainst
,peace.Iha
vedescr
ibedhowt he
changesint
hes out
hofIre l
andhelpedcr
eatethecontextforprogres
s.Suchac ha
ngeisal
mos tinvari
abl
y
cruci
alinaconfli
ct.The
s econfl
ict
srar
elyinvokes t
rongfeel
ingsonlyintheimme di
atez
oneofdi sput
e.
Ka s
hmir,Sr
iLa nka,Kosovo:inanyofthesecase
s ,exte
rnalplaye
rsalsohavearolet
oplay,forgoodorill
.

Theclassi
cexampleistheIsra
e l
–Pa
lesti
nedispute
.Theramificat
ionsarere
gion-
wi de,eve
nglobal.The
ext
ernalpla
yers
,e s
peci
a l
lyintheArabworld,arevit
al.
Ac t
ually
,there’
sapotent
ialchangeinthei
ratti
tude
t
ope ace:f
oryearsthePales
ti
niancausewasus edandofte
na bused,butnowthey
,likeIsrae
l,f
e a
rIranand
i
tsinfl
uenceintheregi
on.

Star
ti
ngwi ththeCr ownPr inceAbdull
ahPe aceIni
tia
tivei n2002,theAr abna t
ionsnolongerwa ntto
expl
oi tthedispute
,butt os e
ttl
eit
.Itof
fersane nor
mousoppor tuni
tyt oIs
rael.Likewise
,awor ldtroubl
ed
andthr e
a t
enedbyagl obalterr
ori
sm bas
edonape rver
s ionofIslam needsthedi s
puteres
olved.The
obje
ctivec ondit
ionsa retodaybeni
gn.Tha ti
swhygr as pingthepossibil
it
ya ndpus hi
ngont opeacei ss
o
sel
f-evidentl
yr i
ght.Buti twillt
akepers
eve r
ance.Whic hbr i
ngsmet o:

10.Nevergi veup.Simplebutessential
;neverstopwor kingoni tandnevergiveuponi t
.Thisisnotjus
t
aboutgri
ppingthec onfl
ict
;iti
saboutr efusi
ngtoa c
ceptdefeat.
Asweus edtosayinNor t
hernIre
land:if
youcan’tsolveit
,ma nageitunt
ilyouc ans ol
vei t
;butdon’ twalka wayandleavei
tuntended.Ape ace
proces
sne verst
andss t
il
l–itgoesf orwardorba ck.Youha vetobe li
eveasoluti
onispossi
bleevenwhe n
other
sdon’ t
,evenwhe nconventi
ona lwisdom isa gai
nstyou,eve nwhenthosemostinti
ma t
elyconcerned–
thepart
iesthemselves–havegivenuphope .Andr e
me mber:itisbett
ertotr
ya ndfai
lthannottotryatall
.

Thes
earemytenpr
inc
ipl
es.Moreorles
s,wea
ppliedt
hemtoNort
hernIre
land.The
rewe
rema
nyt
ime
sit
di
dinde
edsee
m hopel
ess
,butf
ortuna
tel
ysomet
hingorsome
onekepthopeali
ve.

Thehist
oricdaycamea
bouton8Ma y2007,jus
tovernineyea
rsaft
ertheGoodFr i
dayAgr
eement,whenI
wenttoStormontt
owit
nesstherei
nsta
tementofthene
wExe cuti
vegovernmentofNort
her
nIre
land.I
an
Pai
sle
ywa sthefir
stmi
nis
ter
,hisdeputywasMa r
tinMcGuinness
.

TonyBl
air2010
Tha tdayIsawt hingsthathadyoupr e
dictedt
hemt enyearsbefore,pe oplewoul dhavelaughed,ruef
ull
y
ma ybe,butst
illla
ughe d.Theme eti
ngIha dwithBe rti
e,PeterHain,Ia nPa isl
eya ndMartinMc Guinnes
s,
thetwooft hems ha r
ingjokes
,thethreeofussit
t i
ngthereat ri
fl
edumbf ounde d,wonderi
ngi fwewe reina
dream;thec e
remonyi t
self
,whereupi nthebal
c onypreviouslyswor ne nemi eswe r
esi
tti
ngt oget
her
exchangingpleasantri
esasiftheprevi
ousde c
ade shadne verhappene d.Pe oplewhoha dwa ntedt
oki l
leac
h
otherwe r
enowwa nti
ngtowor ktoget
her.Rema rkabl
e,movi ngands a ti
sfying.

Att hega tesofStormonttherewa sanotherprot

est
.Everyt i
mewes etf
ootinNort
hernIrel
andtherewe r
e
protests–l ar
ge ,s
ma l
l,peaceful
,viol
ent,someUni oni
st,someRe publi
can–alwaysshowinghowdi vided
thepol i
ticsofNor the
rnI r
elandwa sfr
om thatanywhereelse.Thatdayfort
hefir
stti
met her
ewa saprotest
nota boutNor thernIr
eland,butaboutIraq.Whe nIsawi t
,Ifeltt
hatNorthe
rnIre
landhadjustr
e j
oinedthe
restoft heworl d.

TonyBl
air2010