Harsh Attack on Dodd

A STINGING attack on Senator Chris Dodd by some leading Irish American activists will not go down well with many Irish Americans.

Professor Francis Boyle, an expert in international law at the University of Illinois, and his brother, Jerome, also a lawyer, attacked Dodd after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee did not stymie the latest U.S./British extradition bill which Boyle and the AOH both bitterly oppose.

The major objection is that the 2003 law, still not ratified by the Senate, removes the political exception clause in the extradition bill and also removes oversight from Congress to the courts.

From a purely largish point of view, it hardly seems that such issues will play a major role in the future of the extradition business.

With the war over in Northern Ireland it is hardly all that likely that future generations will have to face issues like former political prisoner Joe Doherty as past groups did.

Nonetheless, Boyle is right to point out the facts and to try and amend the treaty. However, the overblown attack on Dodd, very much an innocent party here, is a complete mistake.

Boyle has worked long and hard on the issue and has earned points for his commitment. He is very well known in international circles, having also worked on Bosnian, Chechen and Palestinian rights issues.

However, he appears to have gone way over the top in his criticism, and that of his brother, Dodd.

Jerome, with the approval of Francis wrote, “It’s crystal clear that Dodd is carrying water for Bush on this. He has pulled a standard politician’s stunt, i.e., fob the interest group off with meaningless lip service, while stabbing them in the back, and hoping they are too ignorant to realize they’ve been betrayed.

“Dodd has not only worked against our interest. He has insulted our intelligence . . . We’re not another naive interest group, Mr. Dodd. We’re Irish. We always vote. We never forget a favor. And we never forgive an insult. And you just insulted us. To hell with Chris Dodd.”

Wow! Very intemperate language by both men. It seems because Dodd did not stop the bill in its tracks — which he would have been unable to do anyway — he is to take the blame.

Dodd a Great Friend

THERE have been few greater friends of the Irish community over the past decades than Senator Chris Dodd. When President Bill Clinton was taking considerable flak on his stance on the Irish peace process, especially his visa for Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, Dodd was his most outright defender and won tremendous Irish American support for it.

Indeed, at one point Dodd played an absolutely critical role during a famous golf game with Clinton when he persuaded him to reinstate the Adams visa to come to the U.S. despite a breakdown in the IRA ceasefire. It was an intervention that made a huge difference.

Many times since that era Dodd has been a stalwart friend on a host of Irish issues, the most recent being undocumented immigration.

Sinn Fein have also come to rely on him to make his best effort to ensure that this White House does not completely freeze them out when it comes to events such as St. Patrick’s Day and President Bush meeting Irish political leaders.

Even at the time of the McCartney episode, when IRA members killed an unarmed Robert McCartney in a Belfast pub, Dodd was the one who spoke out and tried to persuade the White House not to pull the plug on Sinn Fein coming to the U.S.

Dodd is now contemplating a run for the White House, and it seems a bad time to begin questioning his support on Irish issues. Few senators, either historically or today, can match his support.

New Ambassador Steps Out

NEW U.S. Ambassador Thomas C. Foley will make his first Irish appearance next week when he speaks at a breakfast sponsored by the National Committee on American Foreign Policy in Manhattan.

Foley has been a mystery man since he was chosen by President Bush to replace the incumbent, James Kenny, who will be returning to the U.S. in November.

Foley was a major fundraiser for Bush during his election runs and was a member of the exclusive Pioneer group of Bush supporters, composed of the men and women who had raised the most of all.

In 2003, Foley was placed in charge of converting Iraqi state companies to private ownership, based on his experience of privatization funding in the U.S.

Since he was appointed at what seemed like short notice there was speculation that Foley had been put forward because the White House was unhappy with Kenny’s role. The current ambassador has been hugely popular but has been accused of “going native” by some observers, especially when he made some comments on the Iraq war that were not 100% the Bush line.

Given his time in Iraq it is highly unlikely that Foley will ever get off message on that particular issue. It will be interesting to see how he comes across at his first Irish function.

Clintons Court Irish

IT seems Bill and Hillary Clinton are making a big push with Irish American groups for a huge fundraiser celebrating Hillary’s 59th birthday in October.

The event, to be held at Tavern on the Green, is expected to be the most successful and largest fundraiser the Clinton’s have held in some time.

All this week the Clinton staffers putting the event together have been seeking Irish American support on the night. It will come at a key time just before the November elections, and while Hillary will sweep to victory in her race, the margin of her win will be greatly scrutinized.

It is quite rare these days for the former first couple to attend events together, so it will be an interesting night all round. A trip to Ireland for Bill at the end of this month to address a conference in Dublin is also on the schedule.