Most of the teenagers in Claire Torbensen's Chugiak High
                               School classroom Thursday morning rose for the Pledge of
                               Allegiance.

                               As a voice came through a loudspeaker, some students
                               spoke or mouthed the words, hands over hearts, staring at
                               the flag dangling in the corner. Others stood silently. Some
                               stayed seated. 

                               Their mixed reactions mirrored their own varied emotions
                               about the budding war in Iraq. Across Anchorage on
                               Thursday, opinions on the war ranged from aggressively
                               supportive to adamantly opposed. And some people
                               professed confusion. 

                               "I'm not sure I understand it all," said Clyde Robello, 61.
                               "But it doesn't seem to make much difference now, does it?
                               It's going. You have to support the country now. They're
                               committed." 

                               Businesses across town displayed American flags.
                               Televisions in bars that would typically show sports now
                               offer war updates from the 24-hour news networks. Iraq was
                               the only topic broached in Torbensen's Dignity in Diversity
                               course at Chugiak High. Textbooks aside, the kids talked
                               about feeling scared and angry, numb and desensitized. 

                               "We've never experienced war," said Jennifer Dunn, 17.
                               "We've just read about it in history books."

                               Students sipped soda and coffee as they pondered the
                               draft, recalled the attacks of terror 2001 and talked about
                               how weird it is to see war on television. Some said they had
                               stayed up all night watching. Their questions outnumbered
                               opinions, though those popped up too. 

                               "They want us to support the war so we back the president
                               and it doesn't turn into a Vietnam, where everyone's pissed
                               off that we're somewhere we're not supposed to be," said
                               Brendan Davis, 18, a senior who occasionally referred to
                               articles in Newsweek and Time. "We're not the world police."

                               "He's trying to protect us," countered senior Katie Grinder,
                               referring to President Bush. "I think what we really need to
                               do is support that, even if we don't agree with it." 

                               Down the highway at the North Slope Restaurant in Eagle River, buddies Terry Windecker and Ed
                               Asbury met for their morning cup of coffee. The two men, both wearing sweat pants and big grins,
                               offered enthusiastic support for the effort overseas. 

                               "Kick ass and take names," Windecker said. Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, he said, "practices
                               Stalinism. He's killed millions of his own people. Why do we need this guy? We don't!" 

                               They merrily criticized resistance from countries like France.

                               "I think our bombers from England should just fly over France and drop a few," Asbury said. "If it
                               weren't for us, (France) would be speaking German right now." 

                               In Anchorage at Leroy's Family Restaurant, a 24-hour diner, Navy veteran Greg Romer watched CNN
                               on the big-screen TV and similarly praised President Bush's actions.

                               "People ought to be thankful they have a country to live in, thanks to the military and the president,"
                               Romer said. "People don't understand how things work. They've got the idea everything's free. The
                               reason we have freedom is if we see trouble ahead, we nip it in the bud."

                               Seated nearby, Chugiak resident Cea Anderson disagreed entirely. War is simply never the answer,
                               she said. 

                               "I know there are problems in the world," Anderson said. "And they're trying to promote (the war) as
                               being about humanity. But it boils down to something material."

                               Both Anderson and longtime friend Patrick Lind said they can't overlook the likely chance of civilian
                               casualties. Children don't have a say in war yet they die, Anderson said.

                               Lind said he's conflicted: Despite opposition to the war, he supports the troops. 

                               He served two years in the Army and four in the National Guard during the 1980s. He respects their
                               sacrifice. 

                               "I'm just hoping and praying (the war) will be short," said Lind, an Anchorage artist. "Sometimes bad
                               things have to happen before the good comes out." 

                               Other people across Anchorage agreed that war is unfortunate but necessary. 

                               "War goes against my religious beliefs," said Heidi Boyd, 40, shopping at The Look in the Metro Mall
                               on Benson Boulevard. "But what were they going to do? I have a family. What kind of world are they
                               going to grow up in? Something had to be done." 

                               Downtown, volunteering at an Asian culture event at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, Susan
                               Niman said war is never the answer. We can't expect our children to denounce violence when adults
                               use it to solve problems, Niman said.

                               "I've always been opposed to people hurting each other," she said. "This is not resolution. This is
                               'We're bigger than you are.' And why would we be so naive to think if we punch someone, they aren't
                               going to punch us back?" 

                               Daily News reporter Katie Pesznecker can be reached at kpesznecker@adn.com.