Former US president Mr Bill Clinton today praised the IRA's decision to start decommissioning, saying he was "very proud" and that Europe should be grateful for the move.
Mr Clinton, addressing Italian public relations companies in Rome, said disarmament was happening now because Mr Gerry Adams had recognised the peace process could not be frozen.
"You cannot freeze a peace process. You have to keep going in one direction or you inevitably slide back into the other," he said.
"I think that was the ultimate wisdom of Gerry Adams and Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland in coming forward when they did with an act of decommissioning.
"They decided they couldn't let the peace process go in reverse and that the world didn't need any more terrorism," he said.
"And since I'm an Irish American, I'm very proud of the Irish right now for what they did and I think all of Europe should be grateful to them," said Mr Clinton.
AFP