Tar Heels weigh in on a timetable

As the death toll in Iraq continues to climb -- nine Fort Bragg soldiers among the newly dead -- and with Congress and the president battling over how long troops should remain in Iraq, sentiment in the Triangle and beyond is as varied as the state itself.

'You cannot put a time on war. No one thought that we would be there as long as we have. You go in unseen, and you don't know when you're going to get out.'

Clarence Spells, 55, a Vietnam veteran and a retired firefighter from Wilson's Mills who works at a Raleigh homeless shelter

'We should already have been out. It's like people are dying every day.'

Chris Edwards, left, 25, a Greenville barber

'I don't think it's never going to stop unless someone finds the courage to back down.'

Gary Anderson, a Smithfield eighth-grader

'I think the war has been going on too long. Too many of our people have been killed and it's time for the rest to come home.'

Barbara Cray, 49, a Clayton dress-shop owner who supports establishing a timeline for pulling out

'I've been in three wars and mistakes were made in every one, but you don't just throw in the towel. What you see is the militant Muslims moving in. ... The militants are trying to say unless you're a part of our faith you're an infidel and if you're an infidel, it's our responsibility to kill you.'

Hal Shook, left, 87, a retired Air Force colonel in Cary