Do you think the Iraqi people have been liberated now that war
is drawing to a close? Do you think the U.S. government should take
an active role in establishing a new government in Iraq? Jason
Dolatshahi
Third-year, math and economics
“Regarding the liberation of the Iraqis, I think
ultimately we have to see what happens with the establishment of a
new government. The immediate problem seems to be solved with the
war closing, but it has left a sense of imbalance in its place. I
think the new government should be restored by the United States
and handed over to Iraqi officials as soon as possible. The new
government has potential to be stable, but in that region,
especially, there has been a history of failures along the same
lines. It still remains to be seen whether the war has been
successful or not.” Jonathan Straight
Third-year, civil engineering
“The Iraqis appear happy on television, but you
can’t trust the media, or really the U.S. government for that
matter, because there are a bunch of lies floating around regarding
the war. I have nothing against the U.S. government, but when we
read history in the future, there will probably be something deeper
that we don’t know about right now. I still support the
troops, but, quite frankly, I think this war has been very
imperialistic, so I don’t think they have been liberated. It
was ultimately successful because Saddam needed to be out of power,
since the people were definitely suppressed. But now, we
shouldn’t have an active part in restoring the government.
Instead, we should let them lead since it’s their
country.” Khanh Tran
Third-year, English
“I don’t think the Iraqis have been liberated yet.
The people really need to accept the United States being there,
because it seems many are still resentful. After we destroyed the
Iraqi government, we definitely need to take an active role in
restoring their government. I don’t know how long it takes to
rebuild a nation, but we have to have an active involvement, and
then, after time, we should leave because it is still their country
to run. As of now, the war has been more successful and shorter
than I thought. I hope the rebuilding process will take longer than
this war did, because there is a lot that needs to be done in
Iraq.” Yasmin Sarafzaden
Fourth-year, biology
“I don’t really know if the Iraqis have been
liberated. I guess we just need to see what happens as the war
comes to an end. If the corrupt leaders really have been
overthrown, then the war has so far been successful since they
needed to be taken out of power. I think we should continue to help
the Iraqis to rebuild a government and not just leave them to
reestablish a country on their own. There is also the possibility
that once we leave Iraq for good, the new government will once
again become corrupt. I don’t think we necessarily should
have gone to war, but we did, and now we need to do whatever we can
to establish peace.” Compiled by KELSEY HICKS/Daily Bruin
Senior Staff, Photos by Greg Ziolkowski/Daily Bruin