By JESS PEREGOY

jep024@latech.edu

 

Since March 2001, the United States has been involved with the Iraq war, racking up over 2,500 in American deaths and 50,000 Iraqi deaths and costing the United States $469 billion in the last four years.

The Tech Talk conducted an informal poll of 30 students to get a feel for the campus’ general consensus.

Nationally, the opinion polls sway towards disapproval with 58 percent in that camp; only 39 percent support the presence of American troops in Iraq, according to a poll conducted on cnn.com.

However, of the 30 students asked, less than half of students polled formed an opinion for or against the war, proving the issue is not black or white. The lack of opinion shows the vast amount of gray area in between the pro and anti-war sentiment.

One student’s response was “I don’t know what’s going with the war, but I’m sure we’re fighting for a good reason. I mean, how else will we stop terrorism?”

Students cited terrorism and belief in the president in support of the war with comments like, “Our president wouldn’t involve the country in an unnecessary war.”

The overwhelming consensus was that students just “don’t keep up with it.”

Zach Cooper, a radio tech for the Marines and a junior biology major, said the war is more complicated than some may think.

“[This war] is hard to get out of now with a good outcome,” Cooper said. “We need to be there right now and we can’t just pull out. The reasons for going to war weren’t the right reasons.”

However, Ashley Mullins, a senior biology major, said the United States is fighting a “necessary war.”

“We’re trying to achieve order,” Mullins said.

“It’s a massive project. There’s still terrorism and no order. America is justified in fighting until these things stop.”

Lou Dobbs, a CNN news anchor, said the government owes the American public an answer.

“Neither the Bush administration nor the loyal Democratic opposition is speaking to the American people about how these wars will be won and at what cost,” Dobbs wrote. 

“After almost five years in Afghanistan and more than three years in Iraq, I believe the American people, and certainly our men and women in uniform, deserve more than partisan rancor and false choices.”

However, Amelia Hancock, a senior communication design major, said the job of Americans is to educate themselves on the war in Iraq.

Hancock said the campus opinion, or lack there of, is the result of an apathetic generation.

“I find our generation, spoiled by technology and ‘fast food’ mentality, to be quick to make decisions based on immediacy and ‘quick fixes,’” Hancock said.

Hancock said the key to analyzing the war is focus on the future of the United States.

“What the majority of us fail to examine, however, are the long-term effects of war,” she said.

“We are looking at our fourth year in Iraq fighting a war for reasons many of us do not understand. How much money have we spent on it? What have we accomplished? When will it end? If our generation took the time and the effort to actually ask these questions, maybe our politicians would see the need to answer them.”