Onset of Iraq war rouses divided opinions among university community

By Jack Gillum

As coalition troops enter Baghdad, the Santa Clara community has entered a battle of its own.

In the war of words over U.S. involvement in Iraq, students and faculty have voiced both praise for and opposition against the military campaign initiated March 19 to oust President Saddam Hussein from power.

"Saddam is an international problem and an international threat," said sophomore Anna Jarzab. "Our government is responsible for a lot of lives and a lot of people."

Jarzab, an English and political science major, believes that criticisms about the war are nothing more than attacks against the current administration.

"People hate George Bush, and they just can't get over the election," said Jarzab. "He [Saddam] has been a threat for years."

Jarzab's views aren't shared by her neighbor, Pat Green. He believes that the current Iraq war is an example of "imperialism" that seemed to come "from nowhere."

"You can't impose your views on people like that," said Green. "I don't see how we can go in there and say 'all right, you're going to like this,' but then they hate us to begin with."

Green, who himself hasn't had time to go out and march against war, attributes success with some of his friends' antiwar tactics.

"I think they did a good kind of civil disobedience. They sat in the streets and blocked roads," said Green, referring to some Santa Clara students who protested recently in San Francisco.

Eponymous of the name Operation Iraqi Freedom, human rights concerns do come to the forefront, according to Beth Van Schaack, a professor in Santa Clara's law school.

"One of the concerns is that Saddam Hussein has completely oppressed his people to a point of a complete terror state," said Van Schaack, who had attended a recent conference on international law.

In legal terms, the U.S. justification for a strike not approved by the United Nations could vary depending on interpretations of the U.N. charter, according to Van Schaack.

Last November, the United Nations passed Resolution 1441, which gave Iraq "a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations" and provide proof of its weapons of mass destruction.

"Theoretically, the U.N. prohibited any humanitarian intervention," said Van Schaack, and noted that state-to-state aggression required "an immediate threat" and that the force "must be proportional."

At the conference, hosted by the American Society of International Law in Washington, there was a "real spectrum" of views on the war, according Van Schaak.

"A large majority of participants seemed to feel that the war was not lawful," she said, but noted that one attendant felt that this operation was merely a "reopening" of the first war.

That conflict, dubbed Operation Desert Storm, was a U.S.-led military response in Jan. 1991 against Iraq after Saddam Hussein had invaded his neighboring country, Kuwait.

While thousands of troops have been sent to the Middle East, most ROTC cadets can breathe a sigh of relief. Cadets that are contracted - which includes students on scholarship or at junior status - cannot be deployed, according to Lt. Col. Michelle Woods, the ROTC department chair. Woods noted that currently none of her cadets have been deployed.

Since the current operation in Iraq began in March, 24-hour media outlets have brought the war into American living rooms. So much, according to psychologist Thomas Plante, that it could attribute to some students' fear and anxiety.

"People can really get hooked onto that," said Plante, who mentions that he sees similar cases in his private practice. "They get anxious and can't sleep so well."

In dealing with this news anxiety, Plante recommended that one should recognize how much news is "too much." He also feels that talking to others about the situation could help, and even sees a benefit in finding religious outlets for coping.

While domestic students may have certain fears, international students are as well apprehensive, according to Gillian August-Thorp at the International Student Services office.

"War produces both personal and social reactions that cause distress for many, including international students who deal with the 'normal' anxiety of living so far from 'home,' but also living in a foreign country that is at war," said August-Thorp.

The office notes, however, that it offers a "safe place" for international students that seek advice and support.

The costs of the war are also on the American taxpayer's mind. The president has recently asked Congress for $74.7 billion to pay for war expenses, a number which could increase as rebuilding efforts begin.

After the war is finished, Iraq reconstruction will take an "international effort," according to William Stover, a professor of international law and politics.

"A broad effort will show some more legitimacy, but will cost more," said Stover. "It is going to take a long-term commitment."

While there has been mixed reactions to the U.S. war in Iraq, successful rebuilding efforts could be seen favorably on the Arab Street.

"If the United States can build Iraq in a way that promotes prosperity, then the rest of the Arab world will think that it was good," said Stover.

As the military campaign presses on in Iraq, some feel that the opposition's antiwar message has been looked to with scorn.

"What about wanting peace?" asked Green. "When has that become unfashionable to say?"