Kids want to know why America may go to war

• Tell your kids about war

Gannett News Service

Andrew Bourgeois, 14, of Winooski, Vt., wanted to know: "If there is possible military action, how long would the war last?" Gannett News Service

Gannett News Service asked reporters at Gannett newspapers across the country to collect some of the questions children are asking about a possible war. GNS education reporter Fredreka Schouten supplied the answers, using research compiled by GNS reporters.

School psychologist Scott Poland reviewed the answers to make sure they were appropriate for individual age groups. Poland is director of school psychological services for the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District outside Houston and is a past president of the National Association of School Psychologists.

Q. "Why do they want to start the war?"

A. President Bush believes Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein, has dangerous weapons and might give them to terrorists. The Iraqi president already has tried to make nuclear weapons and has used poison gas on people inside his country.

The United States and other countries want Iraq to destroy all its illegal weapons. President Bush also says Saddam Hussein is allowing terrorists to live and work inside Iraq.

Inspectors who work for the United Nations are searching buildings in Iraq for bombs and other weapons that may be hidden.

Iraq says it has destroyed all its illegal weapons and isn't making any new ones. But President Bush says that isn't true. He believes war may be the only way to disarm Iraq.

Q. "With the country already experiencing a budget deficit, how will we finance a war in Iraq that will undoubtedly cost trillions of dollars while maintaining tax cuts and government programs at home?"

A. First, no one knows how much a possible war with Iraq would cost. That depends on how long U.S. forces are there and how many countries join in and share the cost of the fighting.

The Congressional Budget Office, which analyzes spending, believes it could cost between $9 billion and $13 billion to send forces to the Persian Gulf. Fighting a war could cost between $6 billion and $9 billion a month. And the government could pay another $5 billion and $7 billion to bring the troops home.

To help put this in perspective, it costs the government $3 billion a year to run the space shuttle program.

In addition, the federal government will spend whatever it takes on the war. Unlike most states, the U.S. government has the legal authority to spend more money than it takes in. President Bush already has proposed a budget that projects a deficit of more than $300 billion a year, without counting the cost of the war.

Q. "If there is possible military action, how long would the war last?"

A. That's hard to know. The last time the United States and its allies fought against Iraq, in January 1991, the war lasted 42 days. But the goal then was simpler: to drive Iraq's forces from Kuwait, a country next door that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein invaded in August 1990.

The goal now is to get rid of any dangerous weapons Iraq has and to change those in control of the country.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said it's hard to know how long a new war with Iraq would last. "It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months," he once said.

Q. "Why do other countries not want us to go to war, like Russia, France and China?"

A. Most world leaders think Saddam Hussein is a dangerous man and would like to see him out of power in Iraq. But countries like France and Germany say the best way to keep Saddam Hussein from hurting other countries is to let workers with the United Nations continue searching for weapons inside Iraq. The United Nations is the international group that helps keep the peace and security in the world.

Q. "How will the war affect life in the United States?"

A. If there is a war, the fighting would take place far away from us. But people here would worry anyway, especially if they have relatives and friends who are soldiers and would have to fight in the war.

Some people also are afraid that fighting a war could encourage terrorists to attack our country. The police and other people in charge of security are keeping close watch to try to keep Americans safe.

Q. "Will going to war with Iraq cause greater instability in the Middle East?"

A. That's definitely a concern. Many in the Arab world would resent a U.S.-led war on Iraq. Experts say an invasion could prompt Iraq or another country to attack Israel, a key American ally. Israel has said it would retaliate. If the media in the Middle East showed images of Iraqi casualties, that could fuel greater anger in the region toward the United States.

Many in the region also fear that ousting Saddam Hussein would cause the country to splinter along old tribal lines and spark violent conflicts. Neighboring countries like Jordan, a key U.S. ally that is moving closer to democracy, could be overwhelmed by refugees from Iraq.

The Bush administration argues that leaving Saddam Hussein in power would do even more to increase instability in the Middle East.

Q. "If we go to war with Iraq and manage to force Saddam out of power, what type of government would be put in place since the Iraqis don't want regime change, and they see us as tyrants, not liberators?"

A. That's a question a lot of people ask — including some powerful lawmakers in Washington. They say President Bush doesn't have a clear plan for what would happen after a war.

The president and his administration have not released detailed plans for rebuilding Iraq after a war. But the president says if anyone is a tyrant, it is the Iraqi leader, who has killed his own people with poison gas.

Bush also has accused Saddam Hussein of moving troops into civilian areas. Bush says that would allow the Iraqi president to blame the U.S. forces if ordinary Iraqi citizens are killed during an invasion.

"The Iraqi people can be certain of this — the United States is committed to helping them build a better future," Bush said in a recent speech. "If conflict occurs, we'll bring Iraq food and medicine and supplies and most important, freedom."

Q."I've been watching the news from Mexico and they're saying that America wants to invade Iraq not to make the world safer but to control the oil. I guess my main question is what exactly are we trying to accomplish with this war?

Answer: The Bush administration insists that any military attack on Iraq would be focused on disarming the country and protecting the United States and its allies from "weapons of mass destruction," which refers to chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.

But it's true that if Saddam Hussein is removed from power — and if the country's vast oil fields are spared in the war — the world's oil supply would dramatically increase and gas prices would drop.

Q. "What are nuclear, biological and chemical bombs?"

A. Biological weapons use viruses and bacteria that cause infection and can make a lot of people very sick or even kill them. Chemical weapons do the same things using man-made poisons.

Many of these substances are very hard to make and it's difficult to put them in a bomb.

Nuclear weapons break apart atoms, the invisible particles that make up everything we see and touch. Breaking apart atoms releases enormous heat and energy. These bombs are the most destructive weapons people have made.

Only a few countries in the world have nuclear bombs.

Q. "How many countries have nuclear and biological capabilities in the world?"

A. At least eight countries — United States, China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Israel, Britain and France — have nuclear weapons. North Korea also may have a nuclear weapon.

It's harder to know exactly how many other countries have biological and chemical weapons programs. The United States, the former Soviet Union and other countries have developed extensive biological weapons programs. And experts suspect other countries, including China, Iran, Libya and North Korea, have experimented with biological programs or created programs to use them.

Q."Why can't we just send a nuclear bomb to Iraq and blow up the place?

A. The United States doesn't want to do that. A nuclear weapon would kill millions of innocent people in Iraq and could hurt or kill people in other countries. Dropping a nuclear bomb also would harm the environment and would hurt the reputation of the United States around the world.