By KAREN RICE
I am in favor of the war, said Idania Ochoa of Inwood, an administrative assistant. This [tension with Iraq] has been going on for a long time. It's time they started to do something, and sometimes you have to take some risks to get your goal achieved.
She added that although she supported the war, she thought the president should have waited for more support from the United Nations so that America would not make as many enemies. She also said that she is not sure if the United States will be victorious, and that she feels badly for the people she knows who have family away at war. It's sad, you don't know what will happen, she said. I'm not sure anymore; it could go either way.
Zahava Nussbaum of Lawrence, a mother, housewife and student, said she is in favor of the war but is saddened about the soldiers being lost on both sides.
I'm for it now, she said. But I'm also against it because now people are getting killed. But I am happy with what [Bush] did.
She added that she does not feel the United States is more of a target for a terrorist attack since the war began, but she is taking a few precautions anyway.
Ever since 9/11 we've been a target and I feel we are just as much now as we were before, she said. But I have planned ahead for [a terrorist attack]. I bought water and batteries. Also, my family and I were planning to spend the Passover holiday in Israel but now that's changed. But I am not going overboard I don't have a sealed room or anything. We do live on the opposite side of the world so it does make it easier.
Steven Quintano of New York City, who is a chief operations officer for a distributor in the Five Towns, said that he is in favor of the war because it is sending the right message to the rest of the world.
I am in favor of the war because I think it will make the world a safer place, he said. It will send the right message out to the world that you can't just do what you want [to the United States]. Sept. 11 was a warmup if you don't show strength now there will be a bigger problem.
He added that he was happy to see Bush try to get support from the United Nations, even though full support was not likely.
I think it was a noble effort to try to get U.N. support, but it wasn't ever going to come, he said. There were too many political and economic reasons for countries not to give support. But Bush needed to show the world he was going to try. He had to do what he did.
Quintano also agreed that he does not think that the United States is more of a target for a terrorist attack since the war started.
I actually don't think we are at any more or less risk [for a terrorist attack] since we started this war, he said. My family and I have done some planning, bought some extra water, but that's it. I'm not afraid of it. We have to go about our lives. Having people fall back into a routine, I think, is a necessity.
Cathy Mason of Hewlett, who is retired, said that she hopes the war will end the conflict with Iraq once and for all, even if it means the loss of innocent lives.
I'm really against the war, but if it's going to stop all this garbage, I'm for it, she said. But I do not agree with innocent soldiers getting killed. When we had 9/11, they killed thousands of innocent [people]. And now more innocent people will die. But life is the price we have to pay.
She also agreed that Bush was 100 percent right not to wait for full support from the United Nations. He was never going to get U.N. support, I don't think, she said. I agree with the war even though it's very personal both my brother and my uncle fought in Vietnam.
Mason added that she has not made any preparations for a terrorist attack and will take everything as it comes.
Alex Arellano, an 11th-grader at Hewlett High School, feels that Bush should have waited for support from the United Nations, but didn't because he is more concerned with the poor economy.
I would have rather that Bush wait for U.N. support, he said. I'm not against the war, but he should have waited for U.N. support. He's not down there, he's not doing the fighting. He only cares if the economy rises.
Arellano added that he feels the United States has enough technology to detect any possible terrorist attacks.
Louis Seaver of Lawrence, a 91-year-old retired WWII veteran, said that he is very much against the war because Bush did not have full support from the United Nations and because it will create too many enemies for the United States, making a terrorist attack more likely.
Oh, I'm against the war, he said. I think that it is the most foolish thing the country could have done to go in there and declare war. The president should have followed the United Nations. He should have waited for the U.N. to make a final decision. There was no need for a preemptory war. I spent three years in [WWII] and I know what war is like. The president should have followed the policies of the U.N. and continued with the weapons inspectors. Now we have antagonized all of the Arab countries and created a lot of enemies. I think we are more at risk for a terrorist attack because we antagonized the Arab world.
