Lalo Alcaraz by Lalo Alcaraz

In the months and days leading up to the war in Iraq, President Bush and his Administration told the American public and the world that they had proof that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD's) that posed an imminent threat to our nation. Some of the allegations are posted at the bottom of this e-mail. Yet since the end of the war, American-led teams have not located either these weapons or the "re-built factories" that allegedly produced them. Nor have they found any proof of a massive and hasty destruction of this evidence by Saddam's government.

This leaves three possibilities for why there are no such weapons now in Iraq, each more troubling than the last:

1. JUST PLAIN WRONG. U.S. and British intelligence agencies just got it wrong and Iraq didn't have the stockpiles described in such detail by the spy agencies. This would cast enormous doubt on the government's ability to defend America.
2. WEAPONS GOT AWAY. The WMD's and the means to make more of them were spirited out of Iraq while the battle was raging. This would mean that Al Qaeda or other terrorists could have these weapons today and could be preparing to use them - a catastrophic blunder.
3. LIES. President Bush and his advisors lied to the American people and the world about the existence of WMD's in order to get us into this war. This would be a serious crisis for our nation.

Congressional Inquiries have a long and proud history of acting as a check against abuses by the Executive branch. In the 1970's the Church Committee Hearings led to the reformation of the CIA, resulting in a stronger and safer nation. The Watergate Hearings ultimately led to the resignation of a corrupt President.

We need some answers. Some legislators are already taking a lead on this. For example, Rep. Dennis Kucinich is looking for co-sponsors for a "Resolution of Inquiry" that would compel the President to turn over to Congress the intelligence documents he had on the issue.