Americans listened to President Bush's strategy for Iraq with hope or despair, frustration or a growing confidence. Here are some of their reactions:
\o7Robert C.J. Parry, 34, a marketing advisor in Monrovia and a first lieutenant in the California Army National Guard. A lifelong Republican, Parry spoke for himself, not the military.
\f7"I was a lot more inspired than I anticipated being. I have been, on a personal level, disappointed by the management of the war, especially for the last nine months. And I think that this is truly taking a different course....
"I support any change from the status quo, especially change ... that takes the fight to the enemy more....
"It will have an effect. I know that when I was [in Iraq in 2005], another 10,000 or 15,000 bodies in Baghdad would have had some effect."
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\o7Nora Toiv, 21, a politics student at New York University and president of NYU's College Democrats.
\f7 "To me, it sounds like more of the same. It sounds like they're not actually trying to find a real solution.... It sounds like more American troops are going to die.... I have a friend from high school graduating from West Point this year and that is who I think about....
"I don't see [Iraq] becoming peaceful, or anywhere near that. It's completely depressing."
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\o7Gerald Flottmann, 61, a veterinarian in Montgomery, Texas, and longtime Republican.
\f7"I sat here watching the president and felt a lot of empathy for him. If I was him, I would have told the naysayers to go to hell and then gone fishing.
"We have a culture today that wants instant results, but there's a thing called delayed gratification and that's what we've got to do in Iraq. It's going to take time. But if we pull out, you're going to see the terrorists jumping up and down....
"If we pull another Vietnam, we're going to be in a world of hurt. I don't understand why people can't see that."
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Andrew J. Bacevich, 59, professor of international relations at Boston University and a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy. He voted for Bush in 2000 but not in 2004 and has switched his political affiliation from Republican to independent.
\f7"The surge is actually quite small; the real emphasis seems to be an expectation that the Iraqi government and Iraqi security forces will step up to the plate. And I just don't see any evidence that's going to happen....
