Source: By ROBERT BURNS Associated Press Writer
Launching the Obama administration's first Mideast peace mission, former Sen. George J. Mitchell brings a track record of patience and persistence in protracted negotiations.
And Mitchell, described Monday by President Barack Obama as the man who "speaks for us" on Mideast issues, knows long odds when he sees them.
At an earlier State Department ceremony announcing his appointment as Obama's special envoy for Middle East peace, Mitchell recalled his role in producing Northern Ireland's Good Friday peace accord in 1998.
"In the negotiations which led to that agreement, we had 700 days of failure and one day of success," he said. "For most of the time, progress was nonexistent or very slow. So I understand the feelings of those who may be discouraged about the Middle East."
Mitchell, 75, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with Obama at the White House on Monday before Mitchell embarked on what the State Department said would be at least an eight-day journey.
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