"Congress has just voted in favor of backing up President Bush in his pleas to use force after next Tuesday...." I was listening to the radio in my room on that Saturday afternoon, and when the disc jockey said that, I went totally numb. I thought, Oh my God - we're going to go to war.

Last Tuesday night, we all waited and watched the U.N. deadline come and go. The next night, January 16th, we all sat in total amazement as Operation Desert Shield turned into Operation Desert Storm. I sat in front of the TV that whole night in complete shock. I just couldn't believe that we were actually in a war. Now, with the newspaper headlines, radio news briefs and TV news, I believe it.

Tomorrow night it will be exactly one week since the war began. Although President Bush has called Operation Desert Storm a success, I do not agree. Lives have already been lost and to me that does not equal success. As my U.S. history teacher said, "War can never be a success. No matter who wins or loses, war always indicates failure." And when you think about it, war really does indicate a failure. President Bush and the United States government failed to solve the Middle East conflict through peaceful negotiations and without the use of force. And now our troops have to pay for it. n