Senator
talks about conflict
By Jill Thomsen
Daily Forty Niner
The
Carpenter Performing Arts Center was filled
with the voice of experience Tuesday night
as Maine’s former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell
shared his experiences in chairing peace
negotiations in Northern Ireland and the
Middle East with an audience of students
and members of the community.
“As a result of my experience in Northern
Ireland, I am convinced that there is no
such thing as a conflict that can’t be ended,”
Mitchell said. “They are created, conducted
and sustained by human beings and they can
be ended by human beings.”
More than 300 people attended the discussion,
titled “Conflict Resolution: From Northern
Ireland to the Middle East,” as part of
Cal State Long Beach’s year-long Odyssey
program.
Mitchell served in the U.S. Senate from
1980 to 1995 and was Senate majority leader
from 1989 to 1996. He served as chairman
of an international fact finding committee
on violence in the Middle East. The committee’s
recommendation, known as The Mitchell Report,
was adopted in 2001 by the Bush administration
as its policy in the region.
Mitchell said, “the broad international
support has made the failure of the parties
to implement any of the recommendations
profoundly disappointing.”
Mitchell also said that the current wave
of terrorism in the region is politically
counterproductive.
“Rather than achieving its objective, it
accomplishes the opposite,” he said. “With
each suicide bombing attack, the prospect
of a Palestinian state is delayed.”
Third year history major Tom Hall attended
the event because he is “interested in seeing
people who have made a difference and show
that you don’t have to have a large organization
— you can just be one person that makes
a difference.”
Mitchell has written four books including
“Making Peace,” which is an account of his
experiences in Northern Ireland.
When asked about the current situation about
Iraq, Mitchell responded that “at this point
I do not believe it would be wise for the
United States to unilaterally conduct an
attack. I think a genuine, concerted
effort should be made through the United
Nations.”
The presentation, which consisted of a short
speech and about an hour of questions from
the audience, focused on the escalating
situation in the Middle East.
“Unfortunately, as we are all aware, the
violence didn’t end — it has continued,
accelerated, and become much worse,” Mitchell
said.
“Neither side will take a first step based
on trust, because there is no trust,” Mitchell
said.
He also stressed the importance of providing
economic stability to the region.
“If you want to have politically stability,
you must bring economic growth and opportunity,”
Mitchell said. “You need hope, hope and
opportunity.”
A.S.I. Vice President Shahrokh Sheik
said he enjoyed the show.
“It really opened my eyes to a lot of ways
to look at the situation in the Middle East,”
he said.
Assistant political science professor Richard
Haesly said: “It was amazing and the topic
could not be more timely.”
Although Mitchell is aware that peace will
be a difficult task, teaching credential
candidate Mickey McGuire noted that “he
promotes the potential of peace in the Middle
East, which you don’t hear very often.
He has legitimate thoughts and ideas which
would work.”
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