“Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.”

-Vice President Dick Cheney, Veterans of Foreign Wars 103rd National Convention August 26, 2002

Wrong.

I’d request an apology from the Bush Administration that is, if they knew what the word “apology” meant.

I’d make them apologize for misleading the United States of America. Whether they knew they were doing it or not, they sent our country to war based on false rationale. President Bush and his executive branch repeatedly claimed that Iraq was harboring weapons of mass destruction. The fact was also stressed that there were clear ties between Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda. They underscored these facts, made them the focal point of all their speeches, and absolutely shoved it down America’s throat. They did this until we believed them. They had us convinced that Saddam Hussein was an imminent threat to the United States. But they couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Yes, Saddam Hussein was a reckless tyrant, and we’re all glad his wrath over Iraq is finished. But upon closer examination of the word “imminent,” I believe the word means “just around the corner” or “immediate.” If Hussein was an imminent threat to America, that means he would have to have something to the degree of weapons of mass destruction to reach us here in America.

So we sent a team over to Iraq to search for these “WMDs.” For months and months we rummaged through the rough terrain of the country, but to no avail. Without any proof these illegal weapons existed, Bush declared a pre-emptive attack and we stormed into Baghdad. The president then claimed that the war was over after a mere month of combat. In fact, not only was the war over, but we could even say Mission Accomplished. The truth is, 1,218 military personnel have died after the war “ended” on May 1, 2003. A total of 1,356 U.S. casualties have been reported in the Iraq war as of January 12, 2005. Ninety percent of the troops we’ve lost have come after our president said we won the war.

Almost two years since we began this war, the government has ended the search for weapons of mass destruction. The 9/11 Commission stated in their findings that there was no connection between Saddam Hussein and Al-Queda. The two elementary reasons that this war was based on have proven to be false. Over one thousand American citizens have lost their lives over a lost cause. Democracy and sovereignty are important, but they lose their meaning when we’re forcing these principles on unwelcoming recipients. We take it upon ourselves to police the world, and I for one have had enough. This administration has a long history of never admitting a mistake. Now would be an ideal time to reverse that policy. America deserves better.

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