Saddam Husein has said those in the United States are liars, and he has been telling the truth.

Hussein has said for years he doesn’t have weapons of mass destruction. The United States intelligence agents — who are very good at their job, by the way — have proven to the world otherwise. Yet, there are people out there, including our closest allies and even people in this nation, who are content to keep giving Hussein chance after chance while he’s rolling around laughing on the floor at his palace in Baghdad.ÿ

So, how do we know Hussein is a pathological liar without using our intelligence? Take the word of native Iraqis living in the United States, particularly those living in Iowa.

Last semester, The Des Moines Register did a feature on some men who were formerly in the Iraqi military. These men told the story of how their training went. Paraphrased, they said they were shown a coffee cup and asked what it was. They would reply it was a coffee cup, and the officers would tell them they were wrong and it was actually a pencil. Then they were beaten to within an inch of their lives. The officer said, “If Saddam says it’s a pencil, it’s a pencil. Saddam determines what truth is.”

Obviously, Hussein is trying to determine what “truth” the rest of the world should live by when declaring those in the United States are liars and Iraqis truthful.ÿ

These former soldiers also said Hussein’s own bodyguards wouldn’t stand in the way if Allied forces were to make their way to Hussein. In fact, they would hold the doors open for us.

Now, I don’t know if we should go to war or not. But it is just completely obvious to me we need to make Iraq disarm for real.

Jason Tkatch

Senior

Journalism and Mass Communication