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Re:UK and EU agree Brexit trade deal by mtmail on Thursday December 24, 2020 @10:27AM (#25528256)
The Americans were not part of the negotiations.
Re:UK and EU agree Brexit trade deal by joefife on Thursday December 24, 2020 @10:32AM (#25528308)
They are guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement.

Yes, I know, my instinct is also to say it's none of their business. But in the case of the GFA, it is.

Re:UK and EU agree Brexit trade deal by x86_64Ubuntu on Thursday December 24, 2020 @10:35AM (#25528357)
I don't think anyone in the US cares that much. And have you seen our foreign policy over the last 20 years? You really don't want us getting involved.
Re:UK and EU agree Brexit trade deal by dragonwriter on Thursday December 24, 2020 @06:24PM (#25532525)
> I don't think anyone in the US cares that much.

The US didn't randomly, or even out of generic nosiness/imperialism, become a guarantor of the GFA; the Troubles were a focus of intensive and intensely divisive interest in the US.

The underlying forces in the US that made that true haven't gone away.

Re:UK and EU agree Brexit trade deal by matthewdgreen on Thursday December 24, 2020 @11:12AM (#25528705)
Re:UK and EU agree Brexit trade deal by redisman on Thursday December 24, 2020 @04:33PM (#25531636)
A more accurate statement: Some career politicians care a little bit. I can guarantee 99% of Americans have no idea what Northern Ireland would be or what border arrangements they do or don’t have with the EU and UK
Re:UK and EU agree Brexit trade deal by matthewdgreen on Thursday December 24, 2020 @06:09PM (#25532407)
The US is generally believed to have been the primary source of IRA funding before the GFA. It seems reasonable to assume that Americans care about this issue. You should feel free to ignore the fact that the President-elect and House members representing a majority of the US population have strong feelings about this, since you’ve obviously chosen to ignore this.
Re:UK and EU agree Brexit trade deal by disown on Thursday December 24, 2020 @08:41PM (#25533437)
Irish americans make up more than 10% of the population. Irish americans are why ireland is free. Irish american money, political power and irish american volunteers were instrumental in winning the war for independence. There are nearly 35 million irish americans. There are less than 5 million irish.

https://www.rte.ie/history/de-valera-in-america/2020/0218/11...

It isn't a coincidence that ireland won its independence as irish americans became major players in politics, business, etc.

Re:UK and EU agree Brexit trade deal by tsimionescu on Thursday December 24, 2020 @05:04PM (#25531880)
1% of 300 million people is still a large political force, especially if they are concentrated in a particular area.
Re:UK and EU agree Brexit trade deal by Tomte on Thursday December 24, 2020 @10:39AM (#25528393)
Many Irish-Americans do care, and the President-elect has repeatedly called this issue to attention.
Re:UK and EU agree Brexit trade deal by dragonwriter on Thursday December 24, 2020 @06:30PM (#25532591)
> Many Irish-Americans do care

Also, many US Catholics, more generally, have historically, and I suspect that the way the politics of religious identity have evolved recently, that might be even more true than when the Troubles were last active if they became so again.

Re:UK and EU agree Brexit trade deal by estaseuropano on Thursday December 24, 2020 @05:35PM (#25532136)
So is the EU. Guarding the good friday agreement was one of their key demands in the negotiations.
Re:UK and EU agree Brexit trade deal by smackay on Thursday December 24, 2020 @10:30AM (#25528298)
Really? That would be news to Ambassador George Mitchell, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_J._Mitchell
Re:UK and EU agree Brexit trade deal by djohnston on Thursday December 24, 2020 @10:35AM (#25528345)
OP probably won't read it, so here:

> He was a primary architect of the 1996 Mitchell Principles and the 1998 Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, and was the main investigator in two "Mitchell Reports", one on the Arab–Israeli conflict (2001) and one on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball (2007).

Re:UK and EU agree Brexit trade deal by mytailorisrich on Thursday December 24, 2020 @10:35AM (#25528349)
They can put pressure on the UK government and probably have.
Re:UK and EU agree Brexit trade deal by stevesimmons on Saturday December 26, 2020 @09:48AM (#25543775)
Indeed they have. Joe Biden called Boris Johnson on 10 November and reminded him to respect the Good Friday Agreement.

For background, see https://www.politico.eu/article/on-brexit-boris-johnson-is-n....