War with Iraq 12 years in the making

After much discussion, the United States went to war with Iraq Wednesday, March 19.

Georgia College & State University students are experiencing the second war of their generation and have mixed feelings about it.

Some believe President George W. Bush made the right decision.

“I believe that the war is a good thing. We are a strong nation who is committed to protecting other people’s rights. The Iraqi people have suffered enough under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, and I believe that it is important to take him out of the leadership role he has placed himself in,” said Kimberly McCabe, sophomore psychology major. “I believe that we, as Americans, need to give our President our full support in this matter, as well as the incredibly brave soldiers who are fighting to protect not only the United States, but the innocent people of Iraq.”

“It’s about time our country stepped up to the plate and destroyed this threat. Iraq has had 12 years to comply with the U.N. resolution; it’s time to stop playing games. President Bush should be applauded for his leadership and swift response,” said Chris Yarbrough, sophomore management major.

Some just respect the American government and trust its decisions. Ghali Kettani is an international student from Morocco. He is a Muslim, and according to his beliefs, “war should be only done in self-defense.”

“As an international student, it would be really impolite and disrespectful for me to criticize the U.S. government. It is not my government, and it will never be. It has welcomed me with open arms, offered me education and friendship. I remember after Sept. 11th how the American government has been so supporting to us (Arabs and Muslims) as far as our security is concerned, and I am very grateful,” he said. “The other thing I would say about the war is that I hope there will not be a lot of casualties from both sides.”

Kettani may not be an American citizen, but he cares about his neighbors.

“I follow the news very closely, and every minute I pray for these innocent civilians in Iraq who will die because of the American attacks,” he said. “I did the same thing after Sept. 11, for people who died in New York and Washington D.C.”

Others are apprehensive about America’s decision.

“The greatest measure of our righteousness in this cause is the fact that foolish, and cowardly people are still free to denounce us. The very nation that these anti-war protestors hate is the nation that protects their freedom to do so. In the nation that they support, Iraq, they would be executed for protesting,” said Josh Martin, a junior business
administration major.

The important thing is that we understand why America made this decision and how it affects each of us.

“Concerning the translation of Saddam Hussein’s speech, I would like to clarify another thing. In the speech, the word ‘jihad’ has been mentioned,” said Kettani. “As the media here in America played an excellent role to change the real definition of the word “jihad” into a terrorist word, its real meaning in Saddam’s speech means struggle. It should have never been translated this way.”

Whether you are for the war or against it, your neighbors are fighting out there.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 28 2003. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry