Young Republicans support Iraq war, but not all are willing to join the fight

[Guest guest]

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/9556221.htm

 

Young Republicans support Iraq war, but not all are

willing to join the fight

 

By Adam Smeltz

 

Knight Ridder Newspapers

 

NEW YORK - Young Republicans gathered here for their

party's national convention are united in applauding

the war in Iraq, supporting the U.S. troops there and

calling the U.S. mission a noble cause.

 

But there's no such unanimity when they're asked a

more personal question: Would you be willing to put on

the uniform and go to fight in Iraq?

 

In more than a dozen interviews, Republicans in their

teens and 20s offered a range of answers. Some have

friends in the military in Iraq and are considering

enlisting; others said they can better support the war

by working politically in the United States; and still

others said they think the military doesn't need them

because the U.S. presence in Iraq is sufficient.

 

" Frankly, I want to be a politician. I'd like to

survive to see that, " said Vivian Lee, 17, a war

supporter visiting the convention from Los Angeles,

 

Lee said she supports the war but would volunteer only

if the United States faced a dire troop shortage or

" if there's another Sept. 11. "

 

" As long as there's a steady stream of volunteers, I

don't see why I necessarily should volunteer, " said

Lee, who has a cousin deployed in the Middle East.

 

In an election season overwhelmed by memories of the

Vietnam War, the U.S. military's newest war ranks

supreme among the worries confronting much of

Generation Y'ers. Iraq is their war.

 

" If there was a need presented, I would go, " said

Chris Cusmano, a 21-year-old member of the College

Republicans organization from Rocky Point, N.Y. But he

said he hasn't really considered volunteering.

 

At age 16, Chase Carpenter has.

 

" It's always in the back of my mind - to enlist, "

Carpenter, a self-described moderate Republican

visiting Manhattan this week from Santa Monica,

Calif., said Wednesday on the convention floor. He

said he's torn over whether he'd join the military if

he were 18.

 

Others said they could contribute on the home front.

 

" I physically probably couldn't do a whole lot " in

Iraq, said Tiffanee Hokel, 18, of Webster City, Iowa,

who called the war a moral imperative. She knows

people posted in Iraq, but she didn't flinch when

asked why she wouldn't go.

 

" I think I could do more here, " Hokel said, adding

that she's focusing on political action that supports

the war and the troops.

 

" We don't have to be there physically to fight it, "

she said.

 

Similarly, 20-year-old Jeff Shafer, a University of

Pennsylvania student, said vital work needs to be done

in the United States. There are Republican policies to

maintain and protect and an economy to sustain, Shafer

said.

 

Then there's Paula Villescaz, a 15-year-old from

Carmichael, Calif. who supports Bush and was all ears

Wednesday afternoon at the GOP's Youth Convention in

Madison Square Garden. She doesn't support the war,

but she supports the troops and thinks the United

States " needs to stay the course " now that it's

immersed.

 

If Iraq is still a U.S. issue when she's 18, Villescaz

added, she'll give serious thought to volunteering.

 

" I'm in college right now, but who knows? " said

Matthew Vail, a 25-year-old from Huntsville, Ala., who

works with Students for Bush. He said he might

consider enlisting after he finishes his degree at the

University of North Carolina, but not until then.

 

" The bug may get me after college, " he said.