All Americans agree - hope war ends ASAP - otherwise democracy in action and many opinions. None of them traitors even if they believe Bush ought to be impeached. That's the American Way. Yeah, Ollie North is the perfect reporter for the Marine frontlines, a big Marine himself, and I'm sure he's on a high, re-living his glory days. If worst comes to worst he could pick up a weapon and join in. So could John Kerry, Tom Daschle, John McCain or David Bonior by the way. gg
Americans' Reactions Mixed As War Begins
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By ANGIE WAGNER, Associated Press Writer
Two war veterans sat at a Rhode Island tavern, raising their shots of whiskey up high, offering a toast as Iraqis awoke to falling American bombs.
AP Photo
"Here's to very few fatalities and a very quick victory," Ken Sullivan and Harry Church said from Art's Tavern in Portsmouth.
Other Americans had a different focus: that the country was making a mistake.
"We'll win this, it's no contest ... but the final outcome is not going to be a good one for us in the international community," said the Rev. Chet Guinn, a retired Methodist minister in Des Moines, Iowa.
Americans were glued to television sets showing the first moments of war Wednesday night. Some prayed, while others sobbed. There was a lot of anger directed at Saddam Hussein (news - web sites), and some at President Bush (news - web sites) as well.
Ahmed Al-Mahana, a Shi'ite Muslim and Iraqi native living in Everett, Wash., said he considers getting rid of Saddam a worthy goal, though it led to American Tomahawk missiles raining down on his homeland Wednesday night.
"We have lived in a dark future ever since Saddam has come to power," said Al-Mahana, who deserted from the Iraqi Army in 1991. "Our morning is very near. We are waiting for this minute."
Gary Emtman of Spokane, Wash., was less poetic about Baghdad's fate.
"Make a parking lot of the place," he said. "It's about time. I want Saddam Hussein dead."
A CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll released Monday said the American public, by a 2-1 margin, generally supports military action against Iraq (news - web sites) to remove Saddam, a slight increase from recent weeks. Opinion was evenly divided when people were asked about an attack without an attempt to gain U.N. backing.
"I hope it ends quickly," said Scott Casey, an Oklahoma City mortgage broker. "I hope there aren't many lives lost and I hope that everyone understands that George W. Bush has done a good job by proving Saddam Hussein has been lying."
Walter Christiansen, a Minneapolis resident, said the bombings would show potential terrorists the United States means business.
"This will put all those people on notice that we won't tolerate it," he said. "I'm hopeful that this will be an action that will lead to long-term world peace."
"Apparently it's the only solution to get rid of Saddam," said Kara Kalkreuth of Wheeling, W.Va., who had been watching the high school boys state basketball tournament while Bush addressed the nation.
She opposes war but supports ousting Saddam. "He could be our next Hitler," she said.
Others were worried about the country's reputation.
"I hope they made the right decision in what we are doing because in doing this, we're losing a lot of ties with other countries," said Meagan MacLeod, 22, as she waited to catch a bus in downtown Providence, R.I. "I don't want a World War III."
Honolulu resident Tim Rupright said President Bush's administration has been "totally arrogant" in dealing with Iraq.
"I think it's a mistake," he said. "Certainly there are merits to the attack, but I think the way the Bush Administration is going about it is terribly wrong."
Baltimore peace activist Max Obuszewski said many war opponents had accepted that violence was almost inevitable.
"Some of us were looking for that miracle, but we knew that George Bush wasn't going to listen to the progressive movement," he said.
When protesters in San Francisco found out about the strike, they stopped their peace march through the city's Mission District and chanted slogans against the war. Jocelyn Wicker, 34, of San Francisco, said the idea of the United States attacking Iraq was like a tiger attacking a mouse.
"This isn't a war, this is a takeover," she said. "I'm disgusted. But I'm most disgusted by the lack of response form the American people."
In Hinesville, Ga., Julie Samples, the wife of a field artillery sergeant expressed the one wish everyone seemed to share: that the war end as soon as possible.
"I'm praying that God will just protect them and keep them safe and they'll just do their job and hurry home," she said. |
