US President George W Bush said today he supported Britain's plan to crack down on Northern Irish paramilitaries whose gang violence may endanger the Belfast Agreement.
The British government plans to deploy hundreds of extra police and soldiers to spearhead a campaign to keep guerrillas on both the Protestant loyalist and Catholic republican sides from wreaking the peace agreement.
"Those who cling to the violent ways of the past cannot be allowed to derail Northern Ireland's progress toward a more peaceful future," Mr Bush said in a written statement in which he condemned the recent violence in the North.
"Paramilitaries must end their violent activities, cease all preparations for them, and recognize the political process as the only valid vehicle for change," Mr Bush said.
As part of its crackdown, Britain plans to deploy 250 extra police and soldiers in flashpoint areas of north Belfast as well as to increase surveillance of paramilitaries and searches of individuals and vehicles in volatile areas.