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Letter to the editor

Americans believe war will drag on

Expectations of long commitment crop up in interviews.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published September 16, 2007

WASHINGTON - President Bush, addressing the nation on the war Thursday, said it was possible, "for the first time in years, for people who have been on opposite sides of this difficult debate to come together."

And in a way, they have, if interviews scattered around the nation after the speech are any indication: Americans expect a large U.S. presence in Iraq for years to come, including well after Bush leaves office in 2009.

They still disagree passionately about whether the war was a good idea to begin with, and whether, as the president insists, maintaining it will ultimately make the United States safer. But few think an end is in sight.

"We'll be there for at least another two, three years," predicted Jim Hudgens, a bartender and musician in Fresno, Calif., and who described himself as a liberal Democrat. "No one seems to have the guts to change policy."

The prospect of a lengthy U.S. presence in Iraq when Bush hands the presidency to his successor in 16 months is no problem for Lee Daugherty, a salesman at the Gun Shop in Savannah, Ga., who considers himself a conservative-leaning independent and who keeps a crossed-through picture of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the store.

"I think we're going to be involved for several more years, there's no doubt in my mind," said Daugherty, 58. "If we're going to see this through, we've got to finish it. We've got to play to win."

Daugherty said he agrees "100 percent" with Bush's assertion that a free Iraq will help protect the United States from terrorism at home.

The interviews Friday, an unscientific sampling, reflected some of the familiar opinions of the war itself. Some people mentioned weapons of mass destruction that have never been found; others complained the media was not reporting enough good news from Iraq.

Scientific surveys, meanwhile, have shown an American public clearly turned against the war.

[Last modified September 15, 2007, 23:50:06]