June 15, 2006

StreetTalk

by Carol Rosen

Last week American forces in Iraq killed Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi. How do you think this will impact the war in Iraq?
(Asked at Via Valiente Plaza)


“I think it will help a little bit, but there's too many of those scumbags and they will keep on coming. I think it will help a very little."

Peter Coleman, 49
San Jose
General contracting


“I don’t think it will change things a single bit. One person doesn't make that much of a difference. There are others behind him and they will continue to commit terrorist acts. It's a good thing [for the war], but it won't be a major change.”

Theo Schaeffer, 69
Almaden
Retired


“I think there's too much conflict over there now for it to make much of a difference. We have no business being in that country with all the other problems that are there. The death of one man isn't going to make a difference in the long run.”

Nick Beal, 50
Almaden
Sales


“Well, it probably won’t change anything, but it's not for me to say. They have been fighting for a long time [even before we came]. I don't think one man's death will change anything.”

Bill Hicks, 50
Gilroy
Airborne Delivery


“Unfortunately, it won't really make a difference. Someone [I heard on the news] already got promoted to his [Zarqawi's] spot. I think any impact will be very small because the jihad movement is so pervasive now. It's [Al Qaeda] a big organization and there's lots of others to take his place."

Barbara Leone, 55
Almaden
Homemaker and volunteer


“I think there will be more killings in the short term as people jockey around for his position and his henchmen try to take over. As an individual Zarqawi had 20 years experience as a terrorist so he will be hard to replace. He had approximately 12 years experience in the Iraqi area when Saddam Hussein was in power. He was instrumental early on. Replacing him would be the equivalent of replacing one of our Civil War generals.”

Julie Daigle, 40
Almaden
Homemaker


"I think it will have a small impact on the terrorist core and any damage we can do to them is a plus. But it's a long and slow process. We need to look ahead. These people have the same sort of insidious, methodical goal to take over the world and we should remember that this requires us to have patience, diligence and sacrifice."

Stephanie Short, 43
Morgan Hill
Dental hygienist


"I don't know, it's hard to say and some of the news reports make it sound like propaganda. I think it's a lot of political propaganda, and I don't know if it will have much impact on the war overall."

Devon Drucker, 14
Almaden
Sophomore (2006-07) at Leland High School