There is an increasing anti-war movement in the world today. Many believe it is a grave mistake for the U.S. to make an unprovoked attack on Iraq fearing that it will ignite the fuse on World War III.

When UWT students were asked: should the U.S. go to war with Iraq? Eighteen out of 20 students, ages 21 to 36, believe we should not go to war with Iraq until more evidence is gathered to confirm that Iraq does have weapons of mass destruction.

“The shift from Al Qaeda to Saddam, I believe it had more to do with our government’s interests in oil,” said IAS student, Terri Muller.

“Furthermore, the fact that we don’t have the support of the world should be sending a red flag up telling the U.S. that we need to slow down before making any military decisions that might start World War III.”

Those opposing Muller believe we need to take action now before Saddam Hussein tries to use weapons of mass destruction on the U.S. or other countries.

“I am not an advocate for war as much as I am an advocate of putting a stop to this insane dictator, Saddam Hussein, who wants to kill us all,” said IAS student, Mike Neil. “Do you really want to wait until he kills someone first?”

When questioning the opinion of UWT an unbiased opinion was discovered.

“Universities don’t issue opinions on social issues,” said UWT Public Relations and Communications Director Mike Wark.

“One of the defining characteristics in our mission statement reads: UWT ‘is dedicated to exploring challenging issues and divergent ideas and opinions in the context of respect for human worth and dignity, while bound to high ethical standards and principles for civil discussion and debate.’”

If the U.S. goes to war with Iraq, UWT will have to deal with the possibility of future war protests and security issues like terrorism. UWT has a total of eight campus security personnel, which includes their Safety & Security Manager, Kim B. Wheeler, which work a rotation watch which includes 24 hours a day, 7 days a-week, 365 days a-year coverage of the 46-acre campus.

“If we have a protest here on campus, we would basically be taking a position of observing and passing on information to the Tacoma Police,” said Wheeler.

Wheeler does attend Pierce County and Tacoma Police Department’s weekly meetings to be brief on any possible threats to the UWT campus, which would include any terrorist threats that may exist. UWT Security monitor Tacoma police dispatch, so in case of any civil disorder on campus, they can contact the Tacoma Police department for assistance.

According to IAS Director, Dr. Richardson, during the Gulf War, UWT did sponsor a teach-in that attracted a large number of people and the attention of the local media during that time. Since then, UWT has held various teach-ins to better inform students and faculty on various issues that were going on in the world.

“I’d say we have done very little,” said Richardson. “Most people seem to believe that this war will be as painless as the Gulf War or the war in Afghanistan, and the U.S. Government has done little to address the possible unintended consequences of the war.”

Richardson believes that UWT needs to have some courses on International Geopolitics and more courses on the Muslim world so that students have a better understanding of that region of the world.

Furthermore, if the U.S. does go to war with Iraq, past history shows an increase in protests on college campuses and other high profile locations around the country. During the Vietnam War, Richardson was a graduate student at Berkeley during the invasion of Cambodia in 1970.

“Faculty, staff, and students in the college of Arts and Science went on strike,” said Richardson. “It led to then, Governor Reagan, to having to close the Berkeley campus because of the upheavals there.”

According to O’Neil, Hussein pays $25,000 to the family members of every martyr who commits a suicide bombing. Despite this there is no hard evidence that Iraq is directly involved with the terrorist group Al Qaeda.

Dr. Patrick O’Neil, a University of Puget Sound Politics and Government professor weighs both perspectives on the attack, “Nobody knows for sure what the best course of action might be. There are good points on both sides of the issue, and it is incumbent to accept the fact that you are confused. If you find it is hard to take a stand, then you are on the right track. There is fear on both sides of the issue, fear that the United States will fail and also that we will succeed in a war with Iraq. There is no way to know all of the what-ifs, and to act in haste would surely be inadvisable.”

In the end, each person has to make up his or her mind about whether the U.S. should go to war with Iraq or not; war is an ugly thing, and should only be used as a last option.