Before our invasion of Iraq, France, Germany, Russia and an unprecedented international peace movement demanded that the U.S. let the United Nations inspectors finish their work. The Bush administration said no. Iraq was an imminent threat to use weapons of mass destruction.

Now that the U.S. has controlled Iraq for three months and has not found any operational WMD, the administration misrepresentations and scapegoating have begun.

Here are some administration/Republican tricks to watch for:

“We know he had WMD.” Yes, he did 12 years ago, but since 1998 there is no evidence that he possessed any WMD. If he didn’t have deployed weapons, he was not an imminent threat and, if deployed, they would have been used or found by now. They would not be hidden.

“He has killed thousands of his own people.” Yes, he did 12 years ago, but they were primarily armed rebels trying to overthrow his government. Even if peaceful civilians, this has nothing to do with Bush’s reasons for going to war and Bush supports a half dozen equally brutal dictators.

“Saddam won’t give WMD to terrorists.” No he won’t. He can’t give what he doesn’t have and Tony Blair was more likely to give WMD to al Qeada, Saddam’s sworn enemy.

“We have liberated Iraq.” It is not liberation when the Iraqi people can’t freely choose their government or representatives, or when they are forced to sell their only assets to the conqueror.

By this invasion, Bush has stained American honor.

Jon Albrecht, Dixfield

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