A spirited forum discussion on the impending military action in Iraq took place Wednesday evening at the Campbell Auditorium in the Cox Academic Center for Athletes.
A standing-room-only crowd of more than 1,000 students, faculty, staff and community attended the forum, titled “What Price Peace? What Price War?”
The eight panelists were divided equally between those advocating the war and those opposing it. The Coalition Against the War in Iraq assisted in organizing the event, co-sponsored by the Faculty Senate, departments of English and political science, the Baton Rouge Council on Human Relations, the Wesley Foundation and the Bienville House for Peace and Justice.
Bainard Cowan, English professor and event moderator, said the event was set up specifically to gauge the diverse views of the campus community about the war.
“I would like for there to be a greater understanding about the stances people take on both sides,” Cowan said. “Rather than simply taking a hardened stance, people here will hopefully open themselves to the complex issues that this discussion involves.”
The panelists, each reading prepared statements and taking written and oral questions from the audience, put forward evidence for each side of the debate, ranging from factual evidence to emotional speculation about the effects of possible military action.
Advocates of the war cited the need to rid Iraq of its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons arsenal as the primary reason for going forward with the war. Panelists favoring military action also compared Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to Adolf Hitler and posited their fears of Hussein’s warlike tendencies.
Pro-war panelists also insisted a lack of action against Iraq eventually would come back to haunt America.
      “Many are willing to huff and puff, but they are not willing to blow a house down,” retired army Col. Philemon St. Amant said. “Before we recycle our swords and spears into plowshares and pruning hooks, we should know how we got here in the first place.”
His presentation ended with a slide reading “Lead, follow or get out of the way,” superimposed over an American eagle and flag.
Parish Social Management Associate for the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge Jacinta Settoon responded to St. Amant by saying, “We all have a right and responsibility to stay in the way until we as a democracy decide what we will ultimately do.”
The panelists arguing against war generally believed military action would bring about further terrorist actions against the United States. The panelists also argued past American involvement in the Middle East brought Hussein and al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to power in the first place. Adams said going to war ultimately would have a destabilizing effect on the overall international community.
“The greatest threat to our security is the attempt to remake the world in our own image,” Adams said. “This action will do nothing to improve and everything to harm America’s national security.”
While the forum had a strict format, vocal outbursts from the audience and even from the panelists themselves occurred at various points in the debate. In spite of strong opinions and the use of terms such as “anti-Americanism,” “hypocrisy” and “arrogance” by members of the audience and the panel, the overall discussion remained peaceful and civil.
Matt Fontenot, a first-year law student, said he was pleased to see arguments from both sides of the complex issue.
“Hopefully, I hope to learn about both positions and become more enlightened on the subject,” Fontenot said. “I know how I feel, but I also know that anyone who locks off their mind is taking a shortcut in thinking.”
J’ne Atkinson, an anthropology junior, felt that in spite of representation on both sides, the forum may have lacked the diversity she hoped to see.
“I think the views expressed were very exclusive to a group of people,” Atkinson said. “I would have hoped that there would be more variance in opinions, including Arab, Iraqi and other students.”
Overall, panelists and audience members seemed pleased with the forum, indicated by high levels of attendance throughout the two-hour event.
Reilly said he felt the entire experience was a positive one.
“We tried to keep it totally even,” Reilly said. “If we had an effect on the opinion of the people here, we were successful.”
CAWI member Hassan Ghosn said the event went beyond all of his expectations.
“I can tell from the turnout that it was a great success,” Ghosn said.