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ROTTERDAM
War vets offer their opinions
Students listen to both political sides
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

   When it comes to U.S. foreign policy in Iraq, Scott Ritter and Jeff Nuding don’t agree on much.
   Ritter, a U.S. Marine veteran from the first Gulf War and a former United Nations weapons inspector from 1991 to 1998, speaks out against the U.S. intervention in Iraq and stresses the need for diplomacy. Nuding, a National Guard soldier who was stationed in Tikrit in 2005 and supports the ongoing military cause, says the United States must act decisively to stop threats abroad before they land at home.
   But when it comes to getting youth involved in their own government, Ritter and Nuding are of the same page: More students need to get involved.
   The two war veterans voiced opposing viewpoints about Iraq during a standing-room-only public policy forum Wednesday at Mohonasen High School. The event was organized by Mohonasen’s participation in government teacher Nick Coupas; he invited the two speakers to bring firsthand experience to students about a complex issue.
   “For many of them the war in Iraq — as it is for a lot of Americans — is very abstract,” Coupas said following the forum.
   With knowledgeable speakers, Coupas said students sometimes feel less disconnected from topics such as the United States’ policy toward pre-emptive war. He said students can listen to firsthand accounts delivered in a civilized fashion and then decide the issue for themselves.
   “There are a lot of levels,” he said. “It’s about engaging them, getting them to talk and making them believe they’re part of the public policy process.”
   Speaking against this war was Ritter, a Delmar resident who served as a weapons inspector in Iraq for seven years following the first Gulf War. He was an outspoken critic of the war leading up to the invasion and has since been critical of potential military intervention in Iran.
   Countering his views was Nuding, the author of the Dadmanly. blogspot,com, a “milblog” supporting continued military operations in Iraq. The Rotterdam resident continues to serve in the National Guard and has contributed commentary on FOX News.
   In Ritter’s view, the United States struck Iraq without concrete evidence for the invasion and without exhausting diplomacy. He said this style of politics ostracizes the global community and creates enemies.
   “We have a case for pursuing diplomacy,” he said. “As long as old men are exchanging hot air in closed rooms, young men aren’t dying.”
   Nuding said military action in Iraq was predicated on the obstinacy the United States faced as they attempted to disarm a hostile nation. He contended the diplomatic options offered by the United Nations usually don’t work and sometimes even pose a threat to national sovereignty.
   “I am not a world citizen first and I am not a United Nations citizen first, I am a United States citizen first,”
   Despite their drastically different views, Ritter and Nuding spoke with civility, something both championed later as a needed element in today’s political discourse. Both also agreed on the need for adolescents to become more engaged in such discussions, rather than watching from the sidelines.
   “I view it as a mission,” Ritter said. “It’s important to inject students with a notion of community responsibility and citizenship.”
   Matt Milliman, a senior who plans to join the Marines after graduation, attended the discussion to broaden his views about the military action in Iraq. Though his opinions didn’t change, he said he learned from the discussion.
   “Everybody has their own opinions,” he said. “There’s no real right or wrong view.”

PETER R. BARBER/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER
Scott Ritter, left, speaks to Mohonasen High School seniors about the nation’s involvment in Iraq with Iraq war veteran Jeff Nuding Wednesday. They have opposing views of the confl ict but agree that students need more awareness of the issues involved.

I must say that this is one of the most balanced stories I've heard in a while, but even the picture is slanted.  Giving the anti-war peson an almost straight-on picture, putting him in the foreground, having the one who suports our soldiers in the theater the back of the picture as he's looking away from the camera.