Students at the University of Massachusetts expressed a number of reactions ranging from horror to support following the United States military assault on Afghanistan.

Yesterday was the second day of attacks against the country as the US sent out bombers, cruise missiles and strike fighter jets to drop both missiles and food and supplies to the people within the country. Targets included air defense installations and control stations that belonged to the ruling Taliban. The military targets surrounding the capital of Kabul, and four other major cities in Afghanistan were all sites of the attacks as the conflict escalated to war when Afghanistan refused to give up suspected terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.

Many UMass students voiced their frustrations and support about the whole incident explaining that they wished that there was more information made available to the people in order to better understand both why Afghanistan was bombed and what the status was of causalities on both sides. Karen Poirier a sophomore Animal Science major explained that although she was a little disappointed by the lack of information that the American people had been given she understood why it was not available.

“If information got out it could deter national security,” Poirier said. “More information could get leaked out to other countries.”

Another student was upset at the lack of information, citing that there were some things that Americans could be told.

“I am a little frustrated about the lack of information that is being released to the American public,” Andrew Spagnoli a junior Political Science major explained. “A good deal of information could be released without jeopardizing safety.”

He explained that he was concerned about innocent lives being lost at the cost of the bombings but praised the fact that the United States had been dropping packages of food along with the bombs.

“I support taking action not hurting innocent people,” he said. “I think that any military action needs to be balanced out with aid, a majority of the people in that area have had a difficult time.”

Freshman Math major Drew Barraford was hopeful about the situation citing a quick end to the attacks.

“I think that assault will last possibly a week or two,” Barraford said. “A month at the most.”

Leslie Lopez a junior Political Science major, had an opposing opinion. She explained that the American people had been blind to issues that had been going on between the two countries for years.

“A lot of people have no clue what has been going on between us and the Taliban for many years,” Lopez said. “We need to realize how far this goes back.”

She cautioned that the bombings may go on for sometime and that the actions of the Taliban came out of “frustration and hate” towards the United States and their policies.

“This is probably going to go on for a very, very long time,” Lopez said. “It’s not just about bombing a couple of sites, it is hard to fight a war against terrorism. If we go about it the wrong way then [the Taliban government] is going to get more support.”