STUDENTS OFFER THEIR OPINIONS ABOUT IRAQ WAR

Three 18-year-olds talk about how the war affects them and other related topics.

Since its founding more than 200 years ago, the United States has been involved in a number of wars.

However, the war being waged under President George W. Bush and his Cabinet is different from most.

In Iraq, there are no battle lines, and most fighting is done on the street among civilians, often against an unseen enemy.

In a war where the enemy is elusive and the attacks are often fierce, how should America deal with POWs and captured leaders?

Three recent graduates of Franklin Central High School -- Jasmin Snyder, Lydia Glass and Philip Wages, all 18 -- discuss their reactions to the U.S. decisions surrounding the war in Iraq in general and Saddam Hussein's fate in particular.

War's effect at home

Jasmin: It hasn't had a direct effect on my life. I mean, I hear about it a lot, I know it affects politics and that sort of thing. So it does have an effect on the world, but to my personal life, it doesn't have that much of an impact.

Lydia: Every time I hear something, there's always a reference to it, and it's very prominent in everything people do. With all the security measures that the government is taking, when you fly anywhere, you can always direct their actions back to the war.

In the church sermon, it's always referred to.

So it's kind of present in my thoughts in one form or another.

Philip: I know several people who have been shipped off to Iraq recently, and then two or three within the past year. I don't really think about them much when they're gone, but they are there.

Is it just?

Lydia: I think ultimately it's a good decision. You can say what you will about George Bush going into Iraq and not finding any weapons of mass destruction, but considering the sense of urgency he felt about the possibility of these weapons, and our current stance on terrorism and how vulnerable we felt, I probably would've done the same thing.

Jasmin: Trying to give the Iraqis the opportunity of democracy and a better life, that was the goal. They were already in turmoil, and it wasn't going to get any better, so the United States' goal was that maybe putting them through a little bit more turmoil would lead to something better.

Philip: I don't think they can go through much more turmoil. I can't say it was a bad idea to go into Iraq, but I can't say it's a good one, either. The United States went in and attacked the country and tried to do good, but in effect it did all kinds of things like throwing a bomb a mile or two off target and destroying a residential area.

Role of United States

Philip: I'm not really sure that Bush knows exactly what he's doing. It just seems sort of hit and miss so far. He's trying to take over the country. I mean, he does seem kind of like a religious zealot, but it's just what he thinks is right.

Jasmin: I'm a conservative, so I tend to side with Bush. I agree that he does come off a bit strong, you know, and he has a very unilateral policy toward the way he governs. A lot of people take that as offensive or, you know, egotistical.

Lydia: Bush hasn't really cooperated very well with other interests involved in the war on Iraq, and I can see how his unilateral stance has kind of hurt relations with other countries and how it's made him look that way, where it's his way or the highway.

Saddam's punishment

Jasmin: He should be tried and, depending on what court he's in, the death penalty could be an option. I definitely don't think the U.S. should do it just because there's already so much heat on the U.S., and they take blame for a lot of different things, and I think it'd be best if that was in someone else's realm.

Lydia: I think he should be turned over to the Iraqi people. He affected us much less than he affected his own people.

Philip: Legally, I think he should be tried in an international court with the U.N. because a judge is always supposed to be impartial to either side of the case. Personally, I think he should be handed over to the Iraqi people, gagged and handcuffed. Give the Shiites a chance.

Treatment of POWs

Lydia: I definitely don't think that you should be at the mercy of your captor, mainly because you are human, too. You have a cause that you strongly believe in, and they have a cause that they strongly believe in, and just because they're different doesn't mean you should be at their mercy and whatever they feel like they should do to you to benefit their cause is right.

Jasmin: Human rights should be a right that everyone should have regardless of their crime, especially if they haven't had a trial yet and they're just being held in prison. Especially in a war situation, those rights have to be mutually respected.

Philip: Beating POWs is wrong, but usually the (media) take that out of context. I think the treatment of POWs probably relates to how well they're doing in the war. Usually, if something is not going well for soldiers, they'll try and take it out on somebody, usually the enemy.

REPORTER: Austin Golden, 12.

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