As the first week of fighting came to an end Wednesday, students expressed their uncertainty on the direction of the war.
“I’m just a bit confused of the true purpose of the war,” said Letitia Johnson, 20, a sophomore pharmacy student from Miami.
“It seems more personal than anything else. It’s more than coincidence that we had a war during Bush Sr.’s tenure and now we have a war with Bush Jr.
“Something’s just not right with that.”
According to a CNN report, a Pentagon official said U.S. war planners might have underestimated the strength and capability of paramilitary fighters in Iraq.
The official told CNN “we did not know they were so well-placed” across southern Iraq.
It was reported that Iraqi soldiers disguised themselves as civilians to ensnare U.S. troops. In some cases they pretended to surrender, then opened fire on the troops. With the resistance from Iraqi soldiers, students feel the war will be longer than expected.
“It’s possible that Iraq may have learned from past experiences,” Newkirk said.
“America still has tstrongest and most powerful military in the world but it’s no telling how long this war will be.”
Junior Daniel Francis has mixed feelings on the war.
He said if Saddam poses a direct threat to the world, then something should be done.
“He should be dealt with from a standpoint of history,” the 21-year-old CIS student from Columbus, Ga. said.
“For instance, we had to overthrow Hitler in order to stop him from overthrowing the world. This doesn’t seem to be the case with Saddam, but more like a personal vendetta.”
Some students feel that America should focus some of its attention on North Korea because they pose a greater threat.
“There has been a standstill between North and South Korea,” said Felecia Hayward, 20, a junior political science student from Waldorf, Md.
“The leader of North Korea is taunting to attack South Korea.
You have 37,000 American troops over there on edge because they don’t know what might go down at any given moment.”
Francis agreed and said if the country is going to have any concerns about weapons, then North Korea is where it should be aimed at.
“It’ s kind of an ironic situation that we’re on these countries for ‘weapons of mass destruction’,” he said.
“We’ve provided them with the resources in the past to get where they are now. It’s like we are trying to fight them on something we’ve aided them in.”
DeAnna L. Carpenter can be reached at deannalynette@hotmail.com..