>But we are still waiting to hear from the US majority about the
>barbarities that have been visited upon the rest of the world.
New York Times - September 15, 2002
Looking for the Elusive Two-Thirds Who Want War With Iraq By MATTHEW PURDY
FISHKILL, N.Y. - The White House seems like a good place to look for attack-Iraq fervor.
This White House is a bar on Main Street here in solidly Republican Dutchess County. The proprietor, Michael Hayden, disdains Saddam Hussein, but is not convinced war is necessary now. He suggests asking Bill Sohan, at the nearby Italian restaurant. "He's a Vietnam veteran," Mr. Hayden says.
Mr. Sohan interrupts lunch preparations. "I'm a staunch Republican," he says, "and I want to see more proof." Mr. Sohan, 55, has three sons and says, "I don't want my sons doing what I did - without having the support of the country, without a clear intent."
He suggests asking Noel R. Schetter, local insurance agent and V.F.W. member.
"You've got the wrong guy," Mr. Schetter says. "I think it's ridiculous." Stopping Saddam Hussein will not stop terrorism. "You're going to agitate 780 million Muslims," he says. "If you're going to pour gasoline on something, you've got to be sure you're burning up everything you're trying to destroy, which won't happen with Iraq."
Mr. Schetter suggests asking his V.F.W. buddies, who are meeting that night. "Why don't you come?" he says.
Already, the morning's returns from Fishkill are confusing. Polls show that as much as two-thirds of the country favor military action to oust Hussein, but support turns mushy once you begin poking around.
Sure, there are people like Joe Cataudella, an auto parts salesman, who says of Hussein, "I'd put a bullet in his head if I could."
And Tom Vantine, Fishkill's building and fire inspector, says that if we do not attack soon, "we're going to see another Sept. 11."
But it is hard to argue with Mr. Vantine's observation that America's fighting spirit is easing. Perhaps people were confused by the president's switch to Saddam, with Osama still not in the bag. "There was emotion," he says of last week's Sept. 11 ceremonies, "but there was no anger. Last year there was anger."
Natalie Salvas, a recent college graduate eating at the local fancy coffee shop, says, "I would be against attacking Iraq. I'm a pacifist." To hear the war cry, she says, "go to West Point."
The military academy is across the Hudson River in Highland Falls. Rose Pozo is arranging flowers at a florist shop where a sign outside says, "We Will Always Remember." She says a friend lost her husband and son on Sept. 11. As for attacking Iraq, she says: "I have a bad feeling. Innocent people over there are being killed just like innocent people here."
If not the woman with the flowers, surely the soldier with an M-16 outside West Point's visitors' center wants war. "I hope not," he says. "A lot of innocent people would be killed."
You begin to get the feeling that either the polls are wrong or it's tough to put a percentage on unease.
"It's a tough one," says an Army sergeant who strongly favors an attack. "We can handle Iraq on our own," he says, but it's risky going against world opinion.
Thomas Kirk, a carpenter from North Carolina touring West Point, says Rush Limbaugh convinced him that Hussein was an urgent threat. "We can't just sit here and hope people will get along," he says. But he has a caveat: "We need world support."
A cadet emerging from a classroom discussion of Mr. Bush's military options says: "The general feeling is that he should do it. But there were arguments against it. The question of sovereignty is first and also, what is the aim?"
Where is that unwavering war cry? Perhaps back in Fishkill at the meeting of V.F.W. Post 1286.
Attack Iraq? "Absolutely," says a World War II veteran. "The sooner the better."
Jim Chirico, a Korean War veteran, says if we do not attack Iraq, Iraq will attack us. "If we don't do something or if we do, it's going to cost lives," he says.
What about the risk of unleashing international mayhem? He worries about his grandson, a marine, but says: "I'm an old man, I've lived my life. Selfishly, I say it doesn't bother me."
Finally, the gung-ho spirit!
But wait. Who is that familiar-looking Army veteran? It's Pete Seeger, aging lefty folk singer and faithful member of Post 1286. His voice may sound out of place at the V.F.W., but it's rarely off key.
"I think the world doesn't realize the danger of modern weapons," he says. "It's going to get worse and worse and worse."