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American Morning

Interview With Former U.S. Senator George Mitchell

Aired August 22, 2003 - 07:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Iraq saw high levels of violence this week, and also the Middle East is sliding back in the killing as well. What does the White House do now?
From Maine this morning, former Senate majority leader George Mitchell, a former Middle East envoy, is with us this morning.

Nice to have you, Senator. Welcome back to here on AMERICAN MORNING.

GEORGE MITCHELL, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: Thanks, Bill.

HEMMER: What do you make of the U.N. resolution right now that may craft its way into trying to draft more countries to help the cause in Iraq? Who is going to buy into this U.S. proposal?

MITCHELL: I think it's likely to be worked out, and I don't think the problems of command are insurmountable. After all, in both the Balkans and in Afghanistan, we've worked out arrangements that have been satisfactory to the United Nations, to other countries. NATO is involved as well. And I think it can be done in Iraq.

Until now, the administration has been reluctant. I think they viewed Iraq as a prize from which others are to be excluded, rather than a burden into which others should be invited to share. I think with the latest developments, there is a realization that we're going to need more troops, more assistance, more resources from other countries, and I think it will be worked out.

HEMMER: Well, you know, the Pentagon says they don't want to give up military control. You indicated down the road they will negotiate something. How much do you negotiate right now? How much control do you give to the U.N. in Iraq?

MITCHELL: Well, I don't think that we can settle the details of that now. Each situation is different in the precise nature of the control. But there's plenty of precedent for working out cooperative arrangements, and I think that can be done. I don't think the dominant U.S. position will be changed. Clearly, the United States engaged in most of the fighting with a very small force of others, primarily British, and is now providing most of the force that's there. That is likely to continue, although I think we do need more troops on the ground, and it will be good to have people from other countries with U.N. involvement.

HEMMER: Senator, do you envision a point where Germany and France send troops to Iraq to help in this? MITCHELL: I think it's possible that France will. As you know, the Germans have, for a very long time, been extremely reluctant to send troops. They've sent a few token forces to other places. I think that depends upon their domestic situation. I don't rule it out, but I think it will be helpful.

Bill, one of the things that we should be doing, in addition to trying to deal with Iraq, is to heal the breach in North Atlantic relations. The North Atlantic Alliance has been, arguably, the most successful political and military alliance in modern history. All of us benefit from it -- the Europeans and the Americans. And if we can use this to help heal that breach, I think it would be very, very useful.

HEMMER: While we have it here, I want to shift our attention, if we could, to the Middle East right now. It has been a very, very difficult week there regarding the Middle East road map to peace. Secretary Powell has reached out to, of all people, Yasser Arafat, to try and draft his support to rein in the Hamas and Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad -- the Palestinian militant groups. Why is it now that Yasser Arafat is still getting this attention when Mahmoud Abbas is now the newly-initiated prime minister for the Palestinian cause?

MITCHELL: Well, of course, Arafat is still the chairman of the Palestinian Authority, and it was he who appointed Abbas, and he who remains a central figure in domestic Palestinian politics. Abbas' base of support is strong in this country and in Israel, but he does not have a broad basis support among the Palestinians.

And one of the purposes of the recent effort has been to expand his base of support. At the same time, I think everyone has recognized that there's going to need to be the involvement of others on the Palestinian side in the still yet-to-occur, but necessary, effort to crack down on the suicide bombings.

HEMMER: So, what you're saying then...

MITCHELL: Bill, these bombings...

HEMMER: What you're saying, then, is for anything to move forward, Yasser Arafat still has to give the OK.

MITCHELL: Well, I didn't say that. What I said, he remains an important and influential figure on the Palestinian side. And, remember, the purpose here is not just to get an agreement, but gain implementation of and support for the agreement, and that means the broadest possible base of support on both sides.

HEMMER: Finally here, what do you see to stop the slide in violence?

MITCHELL: Well, it's very difficult, of course. I think there is a clear recognition on both sides that the current course of action leads nowhere but to more violence, a repetition of the past three years, more than 2,000 Palestinians killed, nearly 1,000 Israelis killed, just terribly destructive to both societies. There isn't a military solution to this conflict. A majority of people on both sides recognize that and still favor the two-state solution that's needed.

I think this point must be made, Bill: The Israelis want security. They deserve it. They're never going to get it until the Palestinians get a state. The Palestinians want a state. They should have one, but they're never going to get that until the Israelis get security.

In other words, neither side can attain its principle objective by denying to the other side its objective. And since there is no military solution, the only way they're going to reach an agreement is through negotiation, and that means an end to this horrific violence. I think it will come. But, unfortunately, it still seems distant, given the events of the last few days.

HEMMER: Thank you, Senator -- George Mitchell this morning live in Maine. I appreciate your time.

MITCHELL: Thank you, Bill.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired August 22, 2003 - 07:05   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Iraq saw high levels of violence this week, and also the Middle East is sliding back in the killing as well. What does the White House do now?
From Maine this morning, former Senate majority leader George Mitchell, a former Middle East envoy, is with us this morning.

Nice to have you, Senator. Welcome back to here on AMERICAN MORNING.

GEORGE MITCHELL, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: Thanks, Bill.

HEMMER: What do you make of the U.N. resolution right now that may craft its way into trying to draft more countries to help the cause in Iraq? Who is going to buy into this U.S. proposal?

MITCHELL: I think it's likely to be worked out, and I don't think the problems of command are insurmountable. After all, in both the Balkans and in Afghanistan, we've worked out arrangements that have been satisfactory to the United Nations, to other countries. NATO is involved as well. And I think it can be done in Iraq.

Until now, the administration has been reluctant. I think they viewed Iraq as a prize from which others are to be excluded, rather than a burden into which others should be invited to share. I think with the latest developments, there is a realization that we're going to need more troops, more assistance, more resources from other countries, and I think it will be worked out.

HEMMER: Well, you know, the Pentagon says they don't want to give up military control. You indicated down the road they will negotiate something. How much do you negotiate right now? How much control do you give to the U.N. in Iraq?

MITCHELL: Well, I don't think that we can settle the details of that now. Each situation is different in the precise nature of the control. But there's plenty of precedent for working out cooperative arrangements, and I think that can be done. I don't think the dominant U.S. position will be changed. Clearly, the United States engaged in most of the fighting with a very small force of others, primarily British, and is now providing most of the force that's there. That is likely to continue, although I think we do need more troops on the ground, and it will be good to have people from other countries with U.N. involvement.

HEMMER: Senator, do you envision a point where Germany and France send troops to Iraq to help in this? MITCHELL: I think it's possible that France will. As you know, the Germans have, for a very long time, been extremely reluctant to send troops. They've sent a few token forces to other places. I think that depends upon their domestic situation. I don't rule it out, but I think it will be helpful.

Bill, one of the things that we should be doing, in addition to trying to deal with Iraq, is to heal the breach in North Atlantic relations. The North Atlantic Alliance has been, arguably, the most successful political and military alliance in modern history. All of us benefit from it -- the Europeans and the Americans. And if we can use this to help heal that breach, I think it would be very, very useful.

HEMMER: While we have it here, I want to shift our attention, if we could, to the Middle East right now. It has been a very, very difficult week there regarding the Middle East road map to peace. Secretary Powell has reached out to, of all people, Yasser Arafat, to try and draft his support to rein in the Hamas and Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad -- the Palestinian militant groups. Why is it now that Yasser Arafat is still getting this attention when Mahmoud Abbas is now the newly-initiated prime minister for the Palestinian cause?

MITCHELL: Well, of course, Arafat is still the chairman of the Palestinian Authority, and it was he who appointed Abbas, and he who remains a central figure in domestic Palestinian politics. Abbas' base of support is strong in this country and in Israel, but he does not have a broad basis support among the Palestinians.

And one of the purposes of the recent effort has been to expand his base of support. At the same time, I think everyone has recognized that there's going to need to be the involvement of others on the Palestinian side in the still yet-to-occur, but necessary, effort to crack down on the suicide bombings.

HEMMER: So, what you're saying then...

MITCHELL: Bill, these bombings...

HEMMER: What you're saying, then, is for anything to move forward, Yasser Arafat still has to give the OK.

MITCHELL: Well, I didn't say that. What I said, he remains an important and influential figure on the Palestinian side. And, remember, the purpose here is not just to get an agreement, but gain implementation of and support for the agreement, and that means the broadest possible base of support on both sides.

HEMMER: Finally here, what do you see to stop the slide in violence?

MITCHELL: Well, it's very difficult, of course. I think there is a clear recognition on both sides that the current course of action leads nowhere but to more violence, a repetition of the past three years, more than 2,000 Palestinians killed, nearly 1,000 Israelis killed, just terribly destructive to both societies. There isn't a military solution to this conflict. A majority of people on both sides recognize that and still favor the two-state solution that's needed.

I think this point must be made, Bill: The Israelis want security. They deserve it. They're never going to get it until the Palestinians get a state. The Palestinians want a state. They should have one, but they're never going to get that until the Israelis get security.

In other words, neither side can attain its principle objective by denying to the other side its objective. And since there is no military solution, the only way they're going to reach an agreement is through negotiation, and that means an end to this horrific violence. I think it will come. But, unfortunately, it still seems distant, given the events of the last few days.

HEMMER: Thank you, Senator -- George Mitchell this morning live in Maine. I appreciate your time.

MITCHELL: Thank you, Bill.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.