Mitchell: Bush falls short on case for war with Iraq

CHENEY, Wash. – Former U.S. senator and peace negotiator George Mitchell said Wednesday the Bush administration needs to do a better job of making its case for war to disarm Iraq.

Mitchell, who did not see Bush’s State of the Union address Tuesday night because of a speaking engagement in Portland, Ore., said he opposes unilateral U.S. military action in Iraq.

“I think the president made the right decision in September,” when he submitted the Iraqi problem to the United Nations, Mitchell said at a news conference before delivering a speech at Eastern Washington University. “I hope he sees it through there.”

Mitchell, a Democrat from Maine and Senate majority leader from 1989-1995, served as the U.S. envoy to peace talks in Northern Ireland before chairing an international committee on violence in the Middle East.

The government “could do a better job to make its case” while U.S. troops build in the Persian Gulf. The buildup is expected to reach its peak in March, he said.

A conflict in Iraq “would be an enormous mismatch in military capabilities. There is no doubt about the outcome,” Mitchell said. But Bush should make a better case for war so that a coalition of allies will join, he said.

An American decision to go it alone in Iraq would be a two-edged sword, Mitchell said. Allies, particularly those in Europe, would see a U.S. invasion as proof that their views are ignored by the administration, which has unilaterally pulled out of several international agreements.

However, early successes in Iraq could have the effect “of bringing them around,” he said.

Much of the hostility toward the United States in the Middle East comes not from its war on terrorism, but from the perception that Americans are biased toward Israel, Mitchell said.

“We are not pursuing efforts to bring about a resolution of the conflict,” Mitchell said. “I believe it is in our best interests to make a renewed effort to try to bring about a resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.”