When President Bush finished defending his policy in Iraq during his nationwide speech Tuesday night, Allan Hanson found only one thing that surprised him: There were no surprises.

“I heard absolutely nothing new,” said Hanson, coordinator of the Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice. “I thought he would come up with a new case, some new justifications. It may be that there are a lot of people out there to whom this is all news, but I think anybody who has been thoughtfully following this, there was nothing there.”

Ottawa resident Candy Wasser also found only one surprise in listening to Bush.

“The thing I was most surprised about, and pleased, was that it was not a pep rally,” said Wasser, whose son, Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher B. Wasser, was killed while serving in Iraq in 2004. “It was as sober and realistic as any of these speeches have been.”

Wasser said she was appreciative of her son’s commitment to doing his duty in Iraq and she heard similar sentiments expressed by Bush.

“That’s what I took from the president’s speech tonight, that he was saying we’ve got to hold fast,” she said. “We’ve got to commit to this, maybe even especially when we don’t understand what is going on, whether there is progress.”

Harith Hamid, a Lawrence resident who left Iraq for the United States in 1980, said he was encouraged by Bush reiterating support for Iraq, and he thinks progress is being made there. He said he also was encouraged by recent signs of the government seeking political solutions for the insurgency problem in Iraq.

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“I hope that the Iraqi politicians will convey a clear message to the Iraqi people, like what we heard tonight,” said Hamid, who still has relatives in Iraq.

Hanson said he disagreed with the Bush administration’s decision and its reasons for invading Iraq in 2003. He said he thought the U.S.’ handling of Iraq in the aftermath of deposing Saddam Hussein has been “an absolute mess.” But Hanson said he was unsure now whether the U.S. should leave Iraq.

Hanson wonders whether the U.S. is a magnet for terrorists in Iraq and more of a destabilizing force than it would be if it pulled out of the country.

“If we can be a stabilizing force and be some resolution to the situation then we probably ought to stay – even though I think we never should have gone in there in the first place – and pick up the pieces as best we can.”

Hamid, however, thinks Iraq’s stability would be much worse without U.S. forces.

“Even if you don’t agree, (about going into Iraq) just to pick up and leave would be very counterproductive,” Hamid said. “This is going to take time.”

Wasser said she recently responded to an officer’s request to send some philosophy books to Iraq, which were to be translated for reading by Iraqis.

“I found myself thinking that if I can send these books to one (Iraqi) person and help him understand things in a different way then he did before, I’m going to do it,” she said. “I can’t help but think whatever ripple effect it has on that man in his own country, it will be better for all of Chris’ buddies who are going back to Iraq, some for the third time.”