Here are some sources from Kansas State University who can comment on various aspects of potential war with Iraq.
* The potential for conflict with Iraq has been widely speculated about in the news. Lt. Col. Arthur S. DeGroat, professor and head of the of military science department at K-State, is a decorated Gulf War veteran. He is available to comment on the potential conflict with Iraq from a military standpoint.
DeGroat has more than 18 years of experience with the U.S. Army. In the Persian Gulf, he served as part of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He received the Bronze Star medal for combat in Desert Storm.
DeGroat received his master's from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in 1997 and his bachelor's from Seton Hall University in 1984. He is a member of many professional organizations. DeGroat has been with K-State's military science department since July 2000.
* In the past year or so, terrorist attacks on United States soil, child abductions across the nation and a sniper randomly targeting victims have given parents plenty to explain to their scared and confused children. Now, as the threat of war looms in the United States, parents have another challenge presented to them: if, when and how to address the situation with their kids.
Karen Myers-Bowman, an assistant professor of family studies and human services with expertise in family life education, said it is very important for parents to help children think about these difficult issues. She recommends parents and children talk about their own value system to help children think about what is right and wrong. Also, children often have perceptions of events and resulting fears that are irrational. These talks can help parents discover and alleviate their children's irrational fears.
Myers-Bowman recommends parents begin discussions on the issue of war with their children by asking questions, or watching the news or reading the paper together.
Myers-Bowman's suggestions on discussing war with children are aided by research she is presently conducting. She recently received a grant for the study, "Parents, Children, War and Peace in the Wake of September 11th."
* The threat of war with Iraq hits close to home for many across the country, especially for the families of soldiers who may be called to fight overseas. When those in the U.S. Army are sent away for extended periods of time, the stress these deployments put on their families is great.
Walter Schumm, a K-State family studies professor and retired U.S. Army Reserve colonel, has conducted various studies on how deployments affect military families. In one, he found a 21 percent divorce rate in Army couples.
In addition to his work on military families and deployment, Schumm is an expert in program evaluation of premarital counseling, Gulf War illnesses, marital satisfaction, family measurement and religion and family life. He is a member of the National Council on Family Relations and a certified family life educator and certified family and consumer scientist.
* Twenty years of foreign service experience has given K-State political science professor Dale Herspring the distinction of being named to the prestigious Council on Foreign Relations. The council, established in 1921, is the most prestigious foreign policy organizations in the United States. A nonpartisan group, the council meets with key foreign policy-makers and experts. Membership on the panel includes some of the nation's top business, academic, media and government, including Colin Powell, U.S. secretary of state; Condoleezza Rice, U.S. national security adviser; and Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State.
Herspring spent more than 20 years in the U.S. State Department's Foreign Service and in the U.S. Navy, both in active and reserve duty. He has an international reputation as one of the nation's leading experts on Russia, Germany and Eastern Europe.
Herspring graduated with a bachelor's degree from Stanford University in 1965. He received his master's degree from Georgetown University in 1967 and his doctoral degree from the University of Southern California in 1972. Herspring joined K-State in 1993.
*For terrorists looking to strike at the nerve center of this country's financial and military power, choosing either New York or Washington D.C., as targets is a no-brainer.
Were a terrorist attack to occur on the heartland, the choice is not as clear-cut. Such an attack might not be against its people, but where it could inflict the most harm -- against its agricultural-based economy.
According to Jerry Jaax, a bioterrorism attack could cripple the agricultural-based economy of the region. Jaax said a "significant risk" of such an attack does exist.
Jaax is K-State's associate vice provost for research compliance and the university veterinarian. He previously served 26 years with the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps.
His assignments included chief of the veterinary medicine and laboratory support at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Chemical Defense at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., and chief of the veterinary medicine division at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Md. He also served as director of the Army's postgraduate training program in laboratory animal medicine, and was the director of the Biological Arms Control Treaty Office at Fort Detrick, where he was responsible for overall compliance of the U.S. Army with all international biological warfare treaties and agreements.
Jaax was a key participant in dealing with the 1989 Reston Ebola outbreak as a U.S. Army veterinarian. The outbreak was detailed in Richard Preston's best-selling book, "The Hot Zone." Jaax received his B.S. and DVM degrees in 1972 from Kansas State University.
* "War, what is it good for?," a popular song from the Vietnam War era asked. When the violent images of the war begin to appear on television, children may ask the same question to their parents.
John Murray, a professor of developmental psychology and former associate vice provost for research and director of the School of Family Studies and Human Services at K-State said very young children will not understand why nations go to war with other nations, but they will understand from the images portrayed on television programs and news footage that people die, are hurt and will be killed as a result of the war.
When talking to their children about a war with Iraq, Murray encourages parents to put the conflict into a larger global context and discuss the risks and harm associated with any war.
Should the war become a long protracted conflict, Murray warns it will be a daily stress and fear added to the lives of youngsters, and their parents as well. Murray said although parents are often still trying to come to grips with the war themselves, they need to talk about the death and injury as well as their own views of the war.
Murray cautions parents not to use parallels such as a conflict between a friend at school or a playmate because those parallels begin to break down. In many cases more harm is done and parents run the risk of trivializing the war by trying to make it too close to home or too similar to a child's life. What is most helpful in dealing with the fears and concerns that children will experience in dealing with wars and trauma is to let your children know your love and support for them and your willingness to talk about their feelings.
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