Current world opinion on the war in Iraq is at least 10-1 against military action, former U.S Sen. George McGovern told about 200 Northwestern community members at the McCormick Tribune Center Forum on Thursday.
Known for his outspoken criticism of the Vietnam War, McGovern said the current invasion of Iraq is not much different.
“The vote that I most regret was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution,” McGovern said. “I don’t understand why Congress is going down that alley again.”
McGovern, who earned his doctorate in history from Northwestern in 1953, said he does not understand the Bush administration’s unilateral action. McGovern said if his own child were president, he would tell him or her to have a policy of containment instead of military force.
“I would tell them not to wander too far from the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the U.N. Charter,” he said.
McGovern was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1972.
The Medill School of Journalism’s Crain Lecture Series sponsored McGovern’s appearance, titled “Reflections on a Public Life.” McGovern strayed from the designated topic because he said he thought the audience would be more interested in his opinions about the war.
Chris Kenny, a Communication sophomore, said he was glad McGovern chose to speak about the war.
“He could tie in so much of what is going on today to Vietnam,” said Kenny, programming chairman for College Democrats. “It’s certainly a unique perspective.”
Skokie resident Jack Wiseman, Medill ’44, said he also was interested in hearing McGovern’s opinions.
“For a public figure to speak frankly his negative attitude regarding the war was interesting,” said Wiseman, 81. “There has been so little voiced by prominent individuals.”
McGovern said he is frustrated that the Bush administration isn’t questioning its reasons for waging war. He said the administration seems to be lacking, as Thomas Jefferson would say, “a decent respect for the opinions of mankind.”
“It’s the kind of arrogance we don’t need in public leadership right now,” McGovern said, adding that he expects the war will contribute to an increase in terrorist activity.
A vast majority of the world is against the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, including some important world leaders, he said.
“If God guided President Bush into this war with Iraq, he certainly sent a different message to the pope,” McGovern said.
Weinberg sophomore Kate Eyerman said she thought McGovern’s speech was especially relevant on a college campus. “It gives the whole anti-war movement some validity,” she said. “It shows that it’s not just a student thing.”
McGovern expressed dissatisfaction with more than just Bush’s foreign policy.
“It’s not only the war in Iraq,” he said. “It’s strange for a Republican to not have any interest in fiscal responsibility.”
McGovern responded to questions regarding whether he was worried about seeming unpatriotic for not supporting the war.
“You don’t stand by the troops when you sit by a television and watch them endanger their lives,” he told a small group gathered at a reception at Scott Hall following his appearance.
Wiseman said he remembers when McGovern ran for president and wondered how history would be different had McGovern been elected.
“His positions are such that I can’t disagree with him,” Wiseman said. “I’m sure he would have been a great president. The course of history may have very well been different.”
