MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: President Clinton is welcoming a decision by Northern Ireland's largest Protestant party. Ulster Unionists voted yesterday to comply with an important piece of the 1998 peace accord. And as CNN's Kelly Wallace reports, Mr. Clinton has invested plenty of his own time in trying to bring peace to the region.</s>KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Shortly after Northern Ireland's major Protestant party voted to rejoin the power- sharing government in Belfast, President Clinton spoke out. In a statement, he said, quote, "The wind is back in the sails of peace in Northern Ireland." U.S. officials concede there may be future storms to weather. Many Protestants remain skeptical of the Irish Republican Army's commitment to disarm. For Mr. Clinton, the vote is personally gratifying. He's been trying to nudge Protestants and Catholics together since 1994, when he angered the British government by granting Gerry Adams, the leader of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA, a visa to visit the United States.</s>GERRY ADAMS, SINN FEIN: I think the president is the only president in the history of the U.S.A. to play this type of role. I think other presidents have taken the side of the British.</s>WALLACE: U.S. officials say as an Irish American, Mr. Clinton has had a personal interest in trying to bring peace to the region. He visited Northern Ireland twice, named former senator George Mitchell as mediator, and worked the phones in the hours leading up to the 1998 Good Friday peace accords.</s>ANNE SMITH, ULSTER UNIONIST PARTY: From the very beginning, he has been a facilitator, an encourager.</s>WALLACE: Mr. Clinton called all the leaders involved in the peace process Saturday, encouraging them to keep at it. Three months ago, one of the president's major international goals appeared on the brink of collapse. But now there is cautious optimism within the administration that a lasting peace in Northern Ireland may not be too far away. Kelly Wallace, CNN, reporting live from the White House.
Clinton Sees Payoff in Yesterday's Northern Ireland Vote