It's also a chance too to acknowledge the role Mr Bush's administration has had in fulfilling the peace process. While the current president did not have the same personal involvement of his predecessor, Bill Clinton, Mr Bush has done more than was expected or required.

One of his special envoys, Mitchell Reiss, played a critical role in ensuring Sinn Fein would support policing. Mr Bush has also continued to receive our leaders £ representatives of a small, out of the way place distinguished mainly by its recent, horrific past — at the White House. It was such a meeting last December with Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness that led directly to today's return visit.

Northern Ireland's fifth presidential visit, coming at the very end of what appears to be Mr Bush's final European tour, is a reflection of the long and frequently rehearsed links between the two countries.

Nor have those links been forged in a single direction. In living memory American boys passed through Northern Ireland on their way to fight real fascism in Europe — a fight they were obligated to take part in, when our boys were not. Many never returned. So where we have debts of gratitude — historical and right up to today — it is right that we acknowledge them. Which is another way of saying to the protesters who greet Mr Bush today, if you don't respect the man, at least respect the office.

For it would be useless to pretend Mr Bush does not come without controversy. He knows it better than anyone.

In many ways, the protests are a reminder of the demonstations that greeted Ronald Reagan when he travelled in Europe in the 1980s.

Mr Reagan suffered many of the criticisms and insults hurled at Mr Bush — simplistic,uncaring, even stupid — yet now Mr Reagan is widely acknowledged to have been instrumental in destroying the Iron Curtain and on the right side of history.

This is not to say history will vindicate Mr Bush. It may or it may not. But it is too soon to say with any certainty. The invasion of Iraq, for example, offers massively changing hues. Just as the now infamous proclamation of 'Mission Accomplished' was wrong, so too have current events in Iraq suggested that those who rushed to declare failure are also almost certainly as wrong.

There is one historic certainty that is being mentioned today: Libya's role in arming the Provisional IRA. Efforts to get compensation for death and injury caused by Libyan-supplied weapons are in danger of being hamstrung by American efforts to restore full democratic relations with that country.

A proposed deal with the Libyans may pay out only to US citizens. But Libya's state terrorism also cost the lives of British and Irish citizens.

They should not be forgotten.

Mr President, we won't forget America's role in securing peace here. Don't you forget Libya's in waging war.