Gore Accuses Bush of Foreign Policy Blunders : Politics: Candidate alleges the President knew of the arms-for-hostage deal and should explain his role in the Iran-Contra scandal.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Al Gore accused President Bush on Thursday of making “stunning and dangerous” mistakes in foreign policy and called on him to explain his role in the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s.

It was one of the Democratic ticket’s sharpest attacks on Bush’s presumed strong suit, foreign affairs.

Gore, citing recently available court documents, charged that then-Vice President Bush knew of the covert and illegal arms-for-hostage deal--despite steadfast assertions to the contrary--and may have supported it.

The Ronald Reagan Administration sold arms to Iran in the hope that Iran would pressure its allies in Beirut to free the American hostages. The Administration used the proceeds of the arms sales to support the Nicaraguan Contras at a time when Congress had outlawed such aid.

Gore said unless Bush can supply some answers to questions about his alleged role in the operation, the President is on the verge of a “credibility canyon.”

“Did he favor arms for hostages or did he not?” Gore demanded.

Later, at a rally in Maine, Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.) joined in the attack on Bush’s credibility.

“The recent revelation . . . raises serious questions about the credibility and the accuracy of President Bush’s statements regarding his knowledge of the arms-for-hostages swap,” Mitchell said.

Gore’s half-hour address to a convention of the United Steelworkers of America in Pittsburgh was interrupted numerous times by applause from the estimated 5,000 unionists--especially when Gore talked about domestic issues, such as health care and an economic recovery.

In the domestic arena, Gore accused the Bush Administration of “inattention” to the economy, which, he said, has led to the “worst economic performance since the Great Depression.” Gore said half a million jobs have been lost in the steel industry and related businesses under Republican stewardship.

As he did in his foreign policy critique of Bush’s record, Gore portrayed the issue as one of trust, saying that Bush’s vow to focus on an economic revival in a second term is “simply not believable.”

Clinton and Gore have not been shy about speaking out on foreign policy issues, with Clinton often deferring to his running mate, a senator from Tennessee and an arms-control expert who is on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

But Gore’s comments Thursday were a calculated escalation of the Democrats’ attack on Bush’s foreign policy record.

In questioning Bush’s role in the Iran-Contra controversy, Gore cited “a telling fact” that was recently introduced into court records in the pending prosecution of former Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger for his role in the affair.

The specific document in question contains the notes taken by an aide to then-Secretary of State George P. Shultz during a telephone conversation between Weinberger and Shultz.

The notes indicate that both men, who opposed the arms-for-hostage deal, were in agreement that Bush not only knew about the operation but was a supporter, Gore said.

“George Bush was arguing in favor of swapping arms for hostages--directly contrary to the law,” Gore added. “Now, he says he wasn’t present at the meetings where Weinberger and Shultz were present in their opposition. Public records of those meetings show that he was sitting right there. . . . It’s going to take some answers by President Bush to those questions in order to deal with the credibility canyon.

“Was he there or wasn’t he there?”

After his talk, Gore flew to Biddeford, Me., for a public rally and then two private fund-raisers nearby, including one in Kennebunkport--where Bush maintains a vacation home.

Mitchell, campaigning with Gore, called for an unspecified “forum” in which the issue of what Bush knew and when he knew it could be fully explored.