What was once considered the impossible has lately become the quite likely in Northern Ireland. The main leaders of both of the province’s warring factions, Catholic and Protestant, met on Monday to sign an agreement that would share power between the two groups.
This accomplishment is being met with such fanfare in the world press because so many analysts would have said it was too difficult, too unlikely, just a few short years ago.
The road to peace in Northern Ireland has not been a short or straight one. In fact, it has been 10 years since the Irish Republican Army declared a cease fire; a decade that has been marked with disagreements and refusals to compromise on even the most basic of issues.
The main problem in Northern Ireland has been conflict between a Protestant majority supporting strong ties with Great Britain and the Catholic minority advocating unification with Ireland. Both groups have used violence and oppression to promote these goals, and both groups have now firmly committed to working with those they formerly battled so fiercely.
When asked what brought about this historic breakthrough, participant after participant has said it was only possible because the people wanted it and the leaders agreed to meet face-to-face with the goal of establishing a lasting agreement.
Without this popular support and commitment on the part of the leaders, the agreement would have been dead before meetings even took place.
This agreement makes me optimistic for the future of other supposedly unsolvable conflicts.
Take the Mesopotamian mess the United States has recently found itself involved in. It seems clear that the only way to stabilize the country is for the groups doing the fighting to quit shooting and start talking.
Unfortunately, convincing people to do that is often quite difficult, especially when they are doubtful about the possibility of success. After all, Northern Ireland contrasts clearly with the decades of largely unsuccessful talks in Palestine. This does not mean we should give up hope, though.
If President George W. Bush is correct when he insists that the majority of Iraqis are opposed to the violence in their country, then Shia and Sunni leaders already have half of the equation for success.
Perhaps, instead of just hunting for terrorist perpetrators in Iraq, we should invest some resources in hunting for quality Iraqi leaders capable of talking, compromising and truly leading their people into the future.
After all, if it worked in Belfast, it is at least worth a try in Baghdad.