Street Talk 2-13

Question: The U.S. invading Iraq looks almost inevitable now. Do you think war with Iraq is justified? What do you think the fallout will be?

John Corrado, Miami, works “at a university,” 63

“I don’t think, frankly, that we will invade. I think at the last minute something will happen. They’ll get their act together by Friday or, at the latest, next week. Saddam Hussein will come to his senses. The U.N. inspectors are back there and everyone, including Americans, is concerned about the loss of a lot of innocent civilian lives – not to mention our own boys coming back in body bags. Public opinion would see it as a Bush vendetta and could really turn against the president.”

Jonathan Bergueiro, Miami Beach, hotel industry, 21

“It’s more about oil than anything else. Pretty much what we’re going for is the oil. They’ve already said the first thing they’ll take over is the oil fields. We’ll win, but we’re going to destroy another country economically. Our own economy usually boosts in a war situation. Obviously there’s more production of war equipment leading to a definite increase in jobs.”

Eric Capicchioni, Detroit, MI, concrete cutter, 32

“It’s justified. He’s got bad weapons. He’s a madman who controls a big supply of world oil and is a threat to the Middle East. The military isn’t going to bomb innocent civilians. Why doesn’t he cooperate with the U.N. inspectors? We’ll do what needs to be done and it’ll be over quickly. Public opinion is divided, but there are a lot of Americans backing the president on this one.”

S. Kuriyama, New York City, banker, 30

“It’s right to invade if they do indeed have biological weapons and a nuclear program and are supporting terrorism. I’m from New York City and I work five blocks from the World Trade Center. I saw the whole thing. Every time I go home on the subway – it’s not a healthy feeling. As to the fallout, it’s hard to say. I’m not sure about that part.”

Paulo Souza, Miami Beach, international trader, 57

“No. I don’t think we have the right to invade any country except in the name of the U.N. So far there’s no U.N. approval. I’d love for us to go in there with the full support of the U.N. The fallout will be very contained, I think. In other words, there will be some repercussions the first month; then things will go back to normal. If there’s any effect it will be for the better. It will be better for the economy to remove the doubt element regarding the war.” 

(photos & interviews by Tony Guzman)