Much of today's rhetoric on the war in Iraq is based on the premise that Bush lied about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction. At that time, David Kay and the Iraq Survey Group came out with an interim report on whether Iraq had WMDs. Following are quotes from Kay's report as shown in Cal Thomas' column in an editorial page, Wednesday, October 15, 2003:

3 "We have discovered dozens of WMD-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations during the inspections that began in late 2002."

3 "The testimony we have obtained from Iraqi scientists and senior government officials" makes clear that "Saddam Hussein remained firmly committed to acquiring nuclear weapons."

The same column also has quotes from prominent senators:

3 "The threat of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction is real… ." - Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla (Dec. 8, 2002)

3 "We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction." - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., (Oct. 10, 2002)

3 "We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons… ." Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. (Sept. 27, 2002)

3 "I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in (Saddam Hussein's) hands is a real and grave threat to our security." - Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va. (Oct. 3, 2002)

Bill Clinton asserted: "If Saddam rejects peace, and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction." (Feb. 4, 1998)

If President Bush lied, then these senators and Clinton also lied. My take on this is just the opposite.

They were all telling the truth. I find that President Bush is to be respected as a decent, honorable family man.