August 20, 1933

Waterville, Maine

U.S. Senator from Maine and mediator

"Tonight we can say to the men of violence all across Northern Ireland, those whose tools are bombs and bullets: Your way is not the right way."

George J. Mitchell brought long experience as a negotiator in the U.S. Senate to the thorny problem of terrorist violence in Northern Ireland. The same patience and skill that he used to persuade sharply divided politicians to agree on new legislation proved useful in the entirely different environment of terrorism.

The two diplomatic challenges Mitchell took on—the war between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland and the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians—had both been in progress for generations. Both had seen the use of terrorism as a leading weapon aimed against civilians in order to achieve political objectives. And both included...