Mitchell critical of U.S. policy

BAR HARBOR – Former Sen. George Mitchell, speaking Wednesday at a local college about the United States’ global role and position in the 21st century, had some sharp criticism for the man who has led the country since the century began.

Mitchell did not refer to President George Bush by name, but did express incredulity at Bush’s “enemy combatant” policy, which has been implemented in the wake of the country’s “War on Terror.” He raised his concerns while speaking at College of the Atlantic during a lecture sponsored by the college and Acadia Senior College.

Through this policy, the president has asserted he has the right to personally determine who is an “enemy combatant” and to order that any such person be held indefinitely without the benefit of consulting a lawyer, Mitchell said.

“That is not based on any law,” Mitchell said. “I am amazed any president would make such a claim, but I am more amazed that the American people have acquiesced with little or no protest.”

The former senator’s comments elicited applause from the approximately 200 people who crammed into COA’s Gates Center to hear his speech.

Mitchell, who since leaving office has spearheaded conflict resolution efforts in Northern Ireland and in the Middle East, was less critical of other initiatives the Bush administration has pursued since thousands of Americans were killed in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The Patriot Act and the surveillance program, as long as they are done with the law, are legitimate to a degree because any country can and must do what it can to protect itself when it is under attack, he said.

“There is a constant tension between the rights of the individual and the obligation of a society to self-defense,” Mitchell said.

There are several divisive factors in the world that will have to be addressed in the coming decades, according to Mitchell. The proliferation of chemical and nuclear weapons, the growth of decentralized terrorist organizations, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, and the increasing competition for the planet’s energy resources all will have a destabilizing effect on civilization if they are left unchecked, he said.

As for global trade, Mitchell said he supports trade agreements even though they generally could be improved. Democracy is not possible without economic opportunity, he said, and agreements that do a better job of addressing issues such as wages, health care and work conditions can help spread economic opportunity and democracy around the globe.

The former Senate majority leader, while being less direct about who might be to blame, said that America’s standing in the world has been damaged through its actions. The country needs to adhere more to the principles of its founding 230 years ago as it exercises its power across the globe if it is to regain the respect it has let slip away, he said.

“Ours was a great nation at birth,” Mitchell said. “It is critical that we rebuild our historic relationships and our status in the world.”

America should help with repairing the damage in southern Lebanon caused by Hezbollah’s recent battle with Israel, he said. If there is to be peace in the Middle East, there must be a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he said, regardless of what happens with the U.S. occupation and sectarian violence in Iraq.

Despite his criticisms, Mitchell, in response to the last question after his half-hour talk, said he was not interested in running for president himself in 2008.

“But I am very flattered and honored anyone would ask the question,” he said.