Reuters reports:
Bush told the five sisters and fiancee of McCartney at a White House reception he admired their courage and supported their efforts to have the killers of McCartney brought to justice.
....
A sister, Paula McCartney, told reporters that Bush "seemed to have an understanding of what the (McCartney) case was about and was obviously 100 percent behind us on it."
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The six women have received a warm welcome in Washington, where prominent U.S. lawmakers have praised their courage and called on Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams to disband the IRA. The U.S. Senate passed a resolution condemning IRA violence.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the McCartney sisters had united people around the cause of peace and the rule of law.
He said Bush told them justice would prevail and "was simply letting them know that we will do whatever we can to assist."
"I'm not sure what has been asked of us at this point, but we stand ready to assist in helping the parties to move forward on a comprehensive peace agreement," he said.
It sounds as though the girls got the typical Washington treatment -- no substantive response, just a lot of good wishes and photo ops they can tell their grandchildren about someday. But nonetheless the symbolism is powerful. Their presence in the White House and Gerry's exclusion from it are important signals to Irish Americans.
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