HAIL TO THE CHIEF
Hail to the Chief
THERE had been reservations before the recent visit of President Clinton to Omagh, some people being if the belief that the timing was inappropriate, others taking the view that the President was seeking to hijack the grief of Omagh for personal political purposes. In the event, their fears were unfounded. The meeting with the injured and the bereaved was held in private, as was proper. Anecdotal reports would indicate that the occasion was a very moving experience and as helpful as it could be expected to be, given the tragic circumstances.
Anything that can help the healing is to be appreciated. Clinton's visit to Ireland had been pencilled in long in advance, to help give the Assembly kick-start and it would have been inconceivable that the President would not visit Omagh, being so near yet so far, as it were.
There was no feeling that Omagh was an afterthought: no-one was left with the impression that this was a whistle-stop halt on the presidential progression. Mr. Clinton spent some 45 minutes in getting from the Dublin Road corner to half-way up High Street. As ever, the President, his wife along with Tony Blair and Mrs. Blair, struck the correct note: solemnity in the rubble but also a resolution to shake the hands of as many of the locals who turned out to show their appreciation to the world leaders who have given so much of their time and their energies to find an end to our ancient conflict, and to help chart a new way forward. Once or twice, Omagh's sense of decorum slipped, as when a group of young girls began to chant "We want Bill!" as if they were waiting for an audience with a pop star. Then again this is not a surprising reaction when political leaders are marketed like movie stars and 'image' is the over-arching consideration.
There was something difficult to comprehend in the fact that the leader of the Western world was walking the streets of Omagh. The ancient Romans acknowledged their emperors as gods or demi-gods. Bill Clinton is more likely to be counted in the company of those whom the Greeks elevated to divinity, individuals who had all the human characteristics writ large on a titanic scale, their weaknesses and frailties as well as their virtues. There is a real danger that Clinton will not serve out his second term, and that would be regarded as a sad irony by many in Ireland who are aware of how expertly Clinton has mastered the nuances of the Irish situation, and of how he burnt the midnight oil in Washington on the night before the historic Good Friday Agreement. Without his involvement, there would be little prospect of hope here.
Some local people thought that the security on the day, and in advance of the day, was out of all proportion. The FBI, or whoever they were, certainly left nothing to chance. However, several American leaders have been shot including two Presidents, fatally, in this century. The Americans have many enemies throughout the world as the recent attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania indicate, and the situation has been exacerbated by the reprisal bombings in Sudan and Afghanistan. For all that there was a touch of comedy, when marksmen, bound for the roof of the Post Office could not get into the building until someone came along with the keys.
The world has become a very small place, and as we have learned to our cost, that when it comes to acts of violence we are all in the front line.
THERE had been reservations before the recent visit of President Clinton to Omagh, some people being if the belief that the timing was inappropriate, others taking the view that the President was seeking to hijack the grief of Omagh for personal political purposes. In the event, their fears were unfounded. The meeting with the injured and the bereaved was held in private, as was proper. Anecdotal reports would indicate that the occasion was a very moving experience and as helpful as it could be expected to be, given the tragic circumstances.
Anything that can help the healing is to be appreciated. Clinton's visit to Ireland had been pencilled in long in advance, to help give the Assembly kick-start and it would have been inconceivable that the President would not visit Omagh, being so near yet so far, as it were.
There was no feeling that Omagh was an afterthought: no-one was left with the impression that this was a whistle-stop halt on the presidential progression. Mr. Clinton spent some 45 minutes in getting from the Dublin Road corner to half-way up High Street. As ever, the President, his wife along with Tony Blair and Mrs. Blair, struck the correct note: solemnity in the rubble but also a resolution to shake the hands of as many of the locals who turned out to show their appreciation to the world leaders who have given so much of their time and their energies to find an end to our ancient conflict, and to help chart a new way forward. Once or twice, Omagh's sense of decorum slipped, as when a group of young girls began to chant "We want Bill!" as if they were waiting for an audience with a pop star. Then again this is not a surprising reaction when political leaders are marketed like movie stars and 'image' is the over-arching consideration.
There was something difficult to comprehend in the fact that the leader of the Western world was walking the streets of Omagh. The ancient Romans acknowledged their emperors as gods or demi-gods. Bill Clinton is more likely to be counted in the company of those whom the Greeks elevated to divinity, individuals who had all the human characteristics writ large on a titanic scale, their weaknesses and frailties as well as their virtues. There is a real danger that Clinton will not serve out his second term, and that would be regarded as a sad irony by many in Ireland who are aware of how expertly Clinton has mastered the nuances of the Irish situation, and of how he burnt the midnight oil in Washington on the night before the historic Good Friday Agreement. Without his involvement, there would be little prospect of hope here.
Some local people thought that the security on the day, and in advance of the day, was out of all proportion. The FBI, or whoever they were, certainly left nothing to chance. However, several American leaders have been shot including two Presidents, fatally, in this century. The Americans have many enemies throughout the world as the recent attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania indicate, and the situation has been exacerbated by the reprisal bombings in Sudan and Afghanistan. For all that there was a touch of comedy, when marksmen, bound for the roof of the Post Office could not get into the building until someone came along with the keys.
The world has become a very small place, and as we have learned to our cost, that when it comes to acts of violence we are all in the front line.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/0439
Published Date: 10-Sep-98
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