This nation would never have gone to war without Mr. Bush falsely claiming Iraq had hundreds of tons of biological and chemical weapons that could fall into the hands of Al Qaeda terrorists. That was the whole reason we attempted to make a case about so-called weapons of mass destruction before the U.N. Mr. Powell didn't address the U.N. about "regime change." Instead, he made falacious claims about Iraqi chemical and biological weapons. The case for war was that Iraq was a threat to American citizens. That was why we supposedly had to act now without the endorsement of the U.N.

If all Mr. Bush did last february was claim we were going to war in Iraq to bring it democracy, he would have been laughed off the stage. Instead, he had to hype the threat to American citizens by frightening us with stories about Iraq WMDs that didn't exist. On the basis of that hype, nearly 400 American soldiers have died in Iraq - over 240 of those after Mr. Bush delared "major hostilties: were over.

If Mr. Bush asked this nation, are you willing to lose 400, and possibly many more, of your sons and daughters in order to give the Iraqis freedom they themselves are unwilling to fight for, what kind of answer do you think the American people would have given?