A former U.S. representative Wednesday questioned U.S.motivation for its war with Iraq and lamented more hard-lineidentification along party lines in Congress.

Speaking to the Brookhaven Kiwanis Club, former U.S. Rep. DavidBowen said Iraq probably did have biological weapons, but thecountry was surrounded by enemies and its links to terrorism hadnot been substantiated. Bowen, who represented Mississippi’s 2ndCongressional District from 1973-1983, maintained his belief thatSaddam Hussein was not a threat to the U.S.

“We’ve not had a demonstrated connection to Al-Qaida,” Bowensaid.

Bowen described Hussein as a tyrannical leader. He said removinghim was the only defensible reason for war, but there are other badgovernments around the globe as well.

“If we think that’s justification for war, there’s a lot ofother nasty rulers we may want to consider,” Bowen said.

Bowen said the Iraq war is costly in terms of money andmanpower. The commitment in Iraq is making it more difficult forthe U.S. to fight terrorism and respond to places like North Korea,which has nuclear weapons and is a threat to the U.S., he said.

Bowen urged the forming of alliances to respond to issues likeIraq and said the U.S. abandoned those efforts too rapidly beforegoing to war. He also cited a lack of planning for post-warsituations in Iraq.

“We probably did not plan adequately for post war problems,”said Bowen, adding that he was hopeful a stable governmentsituation could be created soon.

Bowen, who served on the Foreign Affairs Committee while inWashington, briefly discussed what he saw as a struggle ingovernment over the United States’ role in world affairs.

He said the struggle is between those who believe it is the dutyof the United States, as the only remaining superpower, to take anactive role in conflicts, and those who want to protect domesticinterests first. He said he did not like to see U.S. hated as muchas it is now around the world.

“We’ve never had as many enemies in the history of the nation aswe do now,” Bowen said.

Earlier in his talk, Bowen recalled his time in Congress workingwith lawmakers like Sen. John Stennis and then-U.S. Reps. ThadCochran and Trent Lott.

“We tried to do what was best for the state and nation, withoutthinking so much about parties,” Bowen said.

He indicated that was the case throughout Congress in thosetimes.

“People just got along a whole lot better, Democrats andRepublicans,” Bowen said.

Bowen said the climate now is different, with strong hostilitybetween politicians of different parties.

“I don’t think that good for the country,” Bowen said.

Bowen said there is more hard-line identification with party intoday’s political debates.

“I think we could get along with a little more collegiality andcooperation across party lines,” Bowen said.

Bowen left Congress following a federal court-orderedredistricting in 1982.

After his congressional service, Bowen was a visiting politicalscience professor at Mississippi State University and was executivedirector of the Council for the National Interest in Washington.The council is a foreign policy organization working on U.S. MiddleEast policy.

In addition to his political activities and writings, Bowen isactive in the arts. He has had three of his plays produced and hasheld a photography exhibition at a gallery in Jackson.