U.S. Special Envoy to the North Mitchell Reiss said there is "some way" to travel in the peace process.

But in an end-of-year "report card" article in today's Irish Echo, Reiss warned that two "worrisome" issues loom: the crisis within Irish unionism, and that of policing.

Reiss hailed the IRA decision to destroy its weapons and stand itself down as "a truly great moment for the peace process." He stressed, however, that "we still have some way to travel."

Reiss pointed to a crisis of confidence in unionism. Many of the unionists who rioted in September are poorly educated, have bleak employment prospects and feel alienated from the political process, he said.

Others are nostalgic for the "good old days" of Protestant ascendancy, and feel the British government has conceded too much to nationalists, he said.

And he added: "Unionism needs to do more to prepare itself and its members for a time when ... they can take 'yes' for an answer and stand up in the Stormont Assembly."

But Reiss reserved his harshest words for Sinn Féin. Turning to the issue of policing, President Bush's special envoy said the administration strongly supported the "parity of esteem" often demanded by Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams.

"But parity of esteem implies parity of responsibility. We think Sinn Féin has a responsibility to tell its constituents they should co-operate with the police - without fear of retribution - whenever dissidents, thugs and degenerates terrorize their communities," Reiss said.

Reiss ridiculed Sinn Féin's position that it cannot formally support the police force until control over it has been devolved back to the North, accusing party members of hypocrisy. He said he feared "another year, at least, of lawlessness in republican and nationalist communities."

Reiss backed the PSNI, the North's police, despite the poor light that fell upon it after last weekend's "spy" revelations. In October 2002, the PSNI mounted a high-profile "raid" on Sinn Féin's offices at Stormont, arresting a man it claimed was operating an IRA spy ring. The operation gave Britain the excuse it needed to collapse the power-sharing government. The man turned out to be a spy -- for the British.

But Reiss insisted: "The PSNI is simply not the same as the old RUC."