Mike Gravel, former U.S. senator from Alaska, is making a bid for the Democratic nomination for president after not having been in an elected office since 1981.

On the continuing issue of Iran, Gravel says on his campaign Web site that he is firmly opposed to any kind of military confrontation. He has said he feels the Bush administration is currently moving toward just such a confrontation with not only Iran, but also Syria.

Gravel says the present administration have made accusations that both Iran and Syria are supporting the insurgency in Iraq, adding that President Bush has made remarks that the United States would step in to disrupt the flow of assistance from Syria and Iran to the insurgents. He asserts that with fighting continuing in Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan, and with a threat of war against another sovereign nation, global stability is threatened.

In addition Gravel says the U.S. must act quickly to reduce its “carbon footprint” by passing legislation to cap emissions. He says the U.S. must work with other global polluters if this legislation is to have a significant impact. If elected president, Gravel said he would ensure that the U.S. initiates and leads a global, integrated scientific community that works to end energy dependence on oil.

Gravel has also proposed a national public works program to redefine the country’s infrastructure to support new energy technologies. He asserts that this program would create jobs for tens of thousands of Americans.

He says the Social Security Trust Fund must be protected and properly invested, and the interests of individual beneficiaries should be identified so they can leave surplus funds to their heirs. He says Congress must stop taking money from the Social Security Trust Fund for other programs to ensure that Social Security will be around for the next generation of Americans who have paid into it after the Baby Boomers are gone.

A U. S. Army veteran (1951-1954), Gravel said he feels that veterans are this country’s primary interest, not a “special interest.” If elected president, he said he will propose that veterans receive full funding for their most important needs, including health care which is indexed to the increasing cost of medicine and care. He said he would also make the 100 percent disability ratings permanent for those diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and would ensure that the Veterans Administration is fully funded and has sufficient, well-trained personnel to provide care. Gravel says the answer to rising health care costs is a “national universal single-payer not-for-profit health care system.”

Gravel has also said that, in spite of the No Child Left Behind legislation, too many children have been left behind. About 30 percent of children do not graduate from high school in this country, he points out, adding that this “condemns almost one-third of American children to a substandard economic existence.” Gravel notes that although money doesn’t automatically solve all the problems, education must be properly funded. He says education must be properly funded, the overall standard of living in America must be raised and education must be made an integral part of a healthy, thriving community.

Gravel was born in Springfield, Mass., and worked with his father and brothers in a construction and house painting business. He developed an interest in politics at an early age, volunteering in local Springfield politics while still a teenager.

After enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1951, Gravel served for three years as a special adjutant in the Communications Intelligence Services and as a special agent in the Counter Intelligence Corps. He attended Columbia University in New York City, where he received a B.S. degree in economics.

From 1963 to 1966, Gravel served in the Alaska House of Representatives, the last two years as speaker. From 1969 to 1981, he represented Alaska in the U.S. Senate. While a senator, he served on many committees, including the Environmental and Public Works, Finance and Interior Committees. He was the chairman of the Environmental Pollution, Energy, Water Resources and Buildings and Grounds subcommittees.

Gravel says he waged a one-man filibuster in 1971 that effectively forced the Nixon administration to end the military draft program. The biography on his official campaign Web site states that he is “most prominently known for his release of the Pentagon Papers, the secret official study that revealed the lies and manipulations of successive U.S. administrations that misled the country into the Vietnam War.”

Even though Gravel insisted that his constituents had the right to know the truth behind the war, the Supreme Court ultimately ruled that Gravel did not have the right or responsibility to share official documents with his constituents. He then published “The Senator Gravel Edition: The Pentagon Papers.”

Other books authored by Gravel are “Citizen Power” and “Jobs and More Jobs.” He continues to lecture and write.

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