In Northern Ireland, it means American mediation to assist the two governments and the Northern Irish parties to find the courage for peace. And in Western Sahara, it has meant the service of a respected American diplomat as an envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. To make peace between warring parties, to convince fighters to lay down their arms and tyrants to give up their tyranny, it is critical to see conflicts in all their complexity. To make peace, we may sometimes have to shake the hands of aggressors and lend our ears to voices of enmity. This has been particularly apparent in the crises with which we have had to deal in recent days.
Peace is never a perfect achievement.
Because it follows war. To restore humanity from such hell requires the patience of ages, the will to see light when all is dark and hope when all is bleak. It is, alas, the work of the United Nations. It is why we were founded from the ashes of the most destructive war in human history. This organization knows as well as anyone the price of American disengagement from the world.