As President Bush pledged to disarm Iraq by any means necessary, if necessary, during his State of the Union address Monday night, 81 students convened at Scott Hall to watch and discuss his remarks.
American intelligence reported that Iraq has not met demands by the United Nations to disarm and continues to pose a threat to America, Bush said.
“The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm,” he said. “America will not accept a serious and mounting threat to our country and our friends and our allies. If Saddam Hussein does not fully disarm for the safety of our people, and for the peace of the world, we will lead a coalition to disarm him.”
Much of the student reaction was critical, as the speech turned the room into a political hotbed.
Many students had serious reservations about going to war without backing from the United Nations.
“I feel concerned for the future of this nation,” said Dillon Porter, a Communication freshman. “The president will lead us in a unilateral act of aggression that will set a dangerous precedent on the international stage.”
Political science Prof. Emeritus Kenneth Janda presided over the event, sponsored by the political science department, College Democrats and College Republicans. Janda asked students why Bush would continue to threaten war if Iraq currently is contained by U.N weapon inspectors.
“Granted, Saddam Hussein is a dangerous man, but there are 108 inspectors,” Janda said. “He is well-contained. Why does Bush have to do anything else?”
Other students challenged Janda’s position, defending Bush by saying the U.N. inspections are failing.
The president outlined several other important agendas for the nation in the coming year. Bush listed plans to revitalize the weak economy by cutting income and stock-dividend taxes.
“Jobs are created when the economy grows,” Bush said. “The economy grows when Americans have more money to spend and invest. The best and fairest way to make sure Americans have that money is not to tax it away in the first place.”
Some students laughed when Bush said the plan would allow 92 million Americans to “keep this year an average of almost $1,100 more of their own money.”
The president also discussed his plans to ask Congress to commit $15 billion as part of the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which would help prevent new HIV/AIDS cases and provide relief to people in Africa. Bush also said he would propose $1.2 billion dollars to develop hydrogen-powered automobiles.
The two plans surprised many of the students in attendance, who expected Bush to only discuss conservative agendas.
“Almost everything he said could be approved by everybody,” said Tanya Tickel, a McCormick graduate student. “He even conceded some points to liberal causes.”
Janda said the student turnout for the speech was the largest in recent memory.
“It rivals the election watch in 2000,” he said.
However, the crowd disappointed Weinberg sophomore Ben Applegate, who wanted more student reaction to the speech.
“I hoped people would be more energetic,” Applegate said. “But it’s always good to be surrounded with people who disagree with you, because it invigorates your own opinions.”
