A young woman who’s living in Des Moines is the daughter of a diplomat who has served in Baghdad. The daughter of Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Iraq is studying at Drake University in Des Moines, and watching the war closely. Amiyna (uh-MEEN’-uh) Farouque says it’s not “just” to try to get rid of one person like Saddam Hussein by bombing other people. Farouque says she’s not getting any heat from her campus colleagues for her anti-war views. Farouque says she’s very surprised, because she had the impression all Americans would be very pro-war. Farouque says she can understand why some people support the war. Farouque says Saddam needs to go, but the U.S. is using the wrong means, and is showing a double standard. Farouque says it’s been proven that North Korea has nuclear weapons, and she doesn’t know why the U.S. isn’t going to war with North Korea rather than Iraq. Farouque says she’s not saying she’s against America. She says Americans have been very good to her. Farouque says she just opposes U.S. foreign policy. Farouque’s father left Baghdad two days before the war started. He’s now staying in Jordan. Farouque is a freshman studying international relations and biochemistry at Drake.
