New York: With presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's two claims already challenged, the former first lady has now come under fresh scrutiny for her assertion that she was "instrumental" in Northern Ireland peacemaking.

A 150-page thesis on Northern Ireland peacemaking, which her daughter Chelsea wrote as Stanford University senior in 2001, has been caught in a controversy and rival campaigners would like to lay hand on it with a hope to find some clue to hammer Clinton.

Chelsea's faculty adviser Prof Jack Rakove was quoted by Newsweek magazine as saying that Chelsea had spoken with her father "at some length" about the negotiations, before writing the thesis.

Through Clinton aides, the magazine said, Chelsea had directed reporters to ask the University for the document. But, the University says it does not have a copy in its library.

Meanwhile, Rakove, who has a copy, says only Chelsea can give the green signal for its release.

Clinton's spokesman Philippe Reines told Newsweek that the thesis "was written to satisfy an academic requirement and not media curiosity."

Nancy Soderberg, a senior adviser to Bill Clinton on Ireland subject, was quoted as saying Hillary Clinton's involvement with the Ulster women's group "really did support the peace process".

Former Northern Ireland peace broker George Mitchell told Newsweek that neither Hillary nor Bill were present at the peace table, as the discussions were limited to UK and Irish officials and Northern Ireland politicians.  

But he backed Soderberg's view that Hillary Clinton played a "helpful and supportive role" with Ulster women for which she is still winning the Irish vote today.

Clinton is slated to attend the Irish-American Presidential Forum in New York this week.

Regardless of what Chelsea's thesis may reveal about her mother's role in the accord, Newsweek says some British officials remain sore at her father for one of his earliest decisions in the negotiating process.

In 1994, Bill Clinton granted US visa to nationalist leader Gerry Adams at a time when the Provisional IRA, the clandestine affiliate of Adams' Sinn Fein movement, was conducting a terrorist campaign.

A source close to Britain's former prime minister Sir John Major was quoted as saying, John believes that Clinton's decision "set back the peace process," though Clinton was helpful later on.

Soderberg said the State and Justice Departments and FBI had urged Clinton not to grant the visa as it would indicate that the US was rewarding terrorism.

But Soderberg, who initially opposed the visa, later concluded that it would hasten IRA involvement in the peace process, a judgment that she says history has vindicated.

Last month, Hillary Clinton had said "I helped bring peace to Northern Ireland," trying to bloster her foreign policy credentials.

Clinton, who is fighting Barack Obama for Democratic presidential nomination, used the example as she tried to draw a contrast with her rival.

Source : PTI