Sixty-eight percent of 1127 students who responded to a survey conducted by The Dartmouth oppose an immediate American invasion of Iraq under the present circumstances, with 49 percent saying "no" and 19 percent saying "not yet" to war.
Twenty-two percent endorsed a war in Iraq, and 10 percent were undecided.
"I'm against the war with Iraq because I don't feel that Iraq possessing a very small amount of weapons of mass destruction presents a credible threat to the United Sates or anybody else," Anthony Bramante '06 said.
Fifty-nine percent of those participating in the survey chose the lack of international support and U.N. authorization as the most convincing reason to not invade Iraq, mirroring the cries of protestors who engulfed major cities around the world last Saturday to remonstrate a unilateral invasion.
Currently, France, China and Russia --all members of the U.N. Security council and capable of single-handedly vetoing any resolution for a U.N.-sanctioned war -- have so far withheld their approval of military action against Iraq.
While meeting in Cairo last week, diplomats from 22 nations recommended that the Arab world refrain from assisting any military action that threatens Iraq, and a future meeting of all Arab nations is planned for March 1.
U.S. and British diplomats revealed yesterday that a resolution sanctioning war in the case that Iraq does not voluntarily disarm within a specified timeframe will be submitted before the Council by next week.
Of the other reasons against war included on the survey, 13 percent chose the threat of terrorist attacks in retaliation for a war, 10 percent chose the potential danger to American soldiers, seven percent chose the lack of evidence linking Al Qaida to Iraq and 10 percent selected none of the given options.
With 26 percent of the responses, the security threat created by Iraq's alleged weapons stockpiles edged out other factors as the most compelling reason to invade Iraq, as 23 percent chose Saddam's human rights violations, 25 percent chose Iraq's failure to comply with U.N. resolutions, and 20 percent chose none of the given options.
U.N. inspectors recently found that the range of an Iraqi missile exceeds the bounds of U.N. restrictions, while Iraq has not provided the inspectors with conclusive evidence that its weapons of mass destruction have been eliminated, according to the Bush administration.
Participants in the survey seemed to disregard a possible connection between the Iraqi government and Al Qaida as a legitimate cause for war. Only four percent cited it as the most compelling factor to invade.
Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed the United Nations last Friday with evidence indicating, among other reasons for waging war in Iraq, that Al Qaeda and Iraq are working in concert on terrorist activities.
Student interest in the ongoing crisis has been high, as 29 percent of respondents said they always monitor news updates about the war, 39 percent said often, 24 percent said sometimes, 7 percent said rarely and 1 percent said never.
Student Body President Janos Marton '04 said he would propose a resolution that would declare Student Assembly's opposition to the war if 60 percent of students shared this sentiment.
"I wouldn't have felt comfortable passing a statement unless the rest of the campus was against the war," Marton said
If a resolution passes, Dartmouth would join a growing number of college assemblies, including Yale and Cornell, that have come out against the war publicly.
Other Assembly members may propose a resolution if Marton does not, said Vice President Julia Hildreth '05.
"I think the debate will most likely center around whether or not Student Assembly should focus on political activism" and not the merits for or against war Hildreth said.
Such a resolution would need to be approved by two thirds of the Assembly in order to pass.
Alex Kirigin '06 of WhyWar, an appendage of the Campus Greens, said that his organization will continue its efforts to push the Assembly to pass a resolution on the war.
