THE White House has warned that the economic benefits which it was hoped would emerge from the peace process were now at risk because of the violence of the past few days in the North.
President Clinton is said to be "deeply concerned" and is being briefed on the latest situation. But it is being made clear that the US has no desire to be drawn into any kind of public mediation role.
The White House spokesman, Mr Mike McCurry, said US diplomats were keeping in touch with the various parties. They were urging them to appeal to their communities to stay calm.
The spokesman read from a prepared statement and would not add to it when asked to comment on the Government's statement which The Irish Times showed him expressing grave concern at the decision to allow the Orange parade to proceed along Garvaghy Road.
The White House statement says it is "deeply concerned that the violence over the past days has fanned the flames of very historic and very unreasonable animosities" between the two communities. The US is urging the leaders to exercise leadership.
At the point at which "the hopes of the people of Northern Ireland have been raised by the peace process that offers such enormous possibilities, all must reject sectarian violence and look upon the political talks as the way of making progress", the spokesman said.
Clearly anxious not to be seen to be blaming either side, the statement went on to say. "The US obviously urges the repudiation of intimidation and the use of force as a way of settling political and sectarian differences".
The US would "suggest that while the consequences of the violence is having a tragic effect in human terms, it also has a tragic effect in economic terms".
The possibility of "the emergence of a new Northern Ireland is one of the most important possibilities of the peace process itself. The US considers that this is at risk as violence continues and urges that violence should cease."
The reference to the economic consequences of the violence is probably the most significant part of the White House statement.
The administration has been involved in organising an economic conference to take place in Philadelphia early in October to boost investment in Northern Ireland. It would be a follow up to the one held in May last year during the ceasefire which was attended by leading political figures from all sides.
The pictures on UPS TV screens of burning vehicles and rioting along with reports of airports, roads and railways being blocked will make the task of the US organisers of the conference extremely difficult.
Ten US Congressmen have sent a telegram to the British Prime Minister, Mr John Major, urging him to reroute today's Orange march away from the Ormeau Road. The telegram says that "a parade of Orange marchers on the lower Ormeau Road is precisely the type of provocation that will make a bad situation worse".
The message from Republican and Democratic members says that "rerouting the parade is in the interest of civic order and public safety and will send a message of sensitivity to both traditions in the North of Ireland".
The politicians are Peter King, Tom Manton, Jack Quinn, Gary Ackerman, Ben Gilman, Carolyn Maloney, Karen McCarthy, Maurice Hinchey, Eliot Engel and Richard Neal.