Former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell discussed how the world changed — in terms of conflicts and issues in international relations — following the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing at a University Lecture on Tuesday.

Mitchell, who gave the first University Lecture in 2001, returned to Syracuse University as part of the university’s commemoration of the bombing’s 25th anniversary. Thirty-five SU students died on the plane, which went down over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Doug Biklen, dean of the School of Education, introduced the former Senate majority leader and co-founder of the nonprofit Bipartisan Policy Center. Afterward, James Steinberg, dean of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, moderated the discussion and asked questions.

Mitchell began the lecture on a light-hearted note, telling the story of one of his many public speaking events. He joked about how an elderly woman at an Irish-American club once mistook him for Henry Kissinger in Stamford, Conn., and how he signed the poster regardless.

He then took a more serious tone, turning the discussion to data collection by the National Security Agency. He said he believed mistakes were made but still felt the NSA was doing a “good job.”

Mitchell then answered questions concerning the balance of power in the current government.

“The creators of the constitution on 1787 would be shocked, I think horrified, to see the extent to which the executive has assumed a position of dominance in our society,” he said. “The judiciary has assumed a very powerful role in our society and the role of the legislative branch, which the founders thought the predominant form of government, has been diminished.”

He also discussed the conflict in Syria, saying the United States would have to address when and where to focus assistance and military intervention.

He provided an example of how, while 60,000 people died in the Syrian conflict, five million people died in the Congo without any media attention.

“Almost every single day there is a story about Syria, but nowhere do you see anything about the Congo. Why is that? What is our responsibility? I think in the coming years our greatest question will be when and how we respond to these questions,” he said.

Mitchell also discussed issues in in the Middle East, naming the Strait of Hormuz — a sea passage in the Middle East through which much of the world’s oil passes — as a main issue. He said it is unfair that only the United States uses its military to keep the strait safe while most countries to benefit from it are in Asia.

Mitchell then focused on the possibility of resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which he said would increase overall diplomacy in the Middle East.

“Israel has built a very admirable, stable, great state, but they are worried about the security threats from the exterior,” he said. “The Palestinians on the other hand don’t have a state, but want an independent viable state, and they’re entitled to one.”

The lecture was insightful, said Sarah Merrifield, a junior broadcast and digital journalism major. She added that Mitchell explained Middle Eastern and other international conflicts very well.

Published on November 13, 2013 at 12:51 am