by James Glaser
October 10, 2002

That is a hard question in this day and age. At one time a person could say their Minister or the President, but not today. It isn't just Catholic Priests that have gotten in trouble and it isn't just this President, that has been less than honest. It gets hard when no matter what you read or hear, you have to check several resources just to see if that first one was honest.

Here are some headlines from today; CIA Director: Iraq War Likely To Ignite Terror, White House Pressures Agencies For "Cooked Info" On Iraq, US Did Open Air Bio & Chem Weapons Tests In 60s, 20,000 UK Troops Heading For Iraq.

So if we attack Iraq will there be more terrorist attacks? Is the White House getting the different government agencies to lie about Iraq? It is true we did open air testing on our own people. Usually when the government confesses to doing dastardly things, they are true. Please tell me why if the President is telling us that there are no immediate plans to attack Iraq, why are we moving troops, aircraft, and equipment to the area of Iraq? Why would the United Kingdom do the same?

The American Gulf War Veterans Association (AGWVA) is now asking the Secretary of Defense to resign because either he lied about US shipments of chemical and biological agents to Iraq or he is incompetent and can't find out that it is true.

"IF the Defense Secretary is unaware or in denial of the sale of biological materials to a country the United States is preparing to Attack, then he represents a danger to the lives of service members." Said Joyce Riley von Kleist, a spokeswoman for AGWVA " As a result of the actions of the Secretary of Defense, we have now called for Mr. Rumsfled's resignation or dismissal from his office. This is absolutely unconscionable, " vonKleist said.

In response to questioning by Senator Robert Byrd before the Senate Armed Services committee on September 19, Rumsfled "quickly and flatly denied" any knowledge that the United States helped Iraq acquire biological weapons during the Iran-Iraq war. Byrd cited a report from the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that said in fact the United States provided nearly two dozen viral and bacterial samples to Iraqi scientists in the mid 1980s. "Samples included the plague, botulism, and anthrax among other deadly diseases"

Here is where the question of trust comes in to play, our Defense Department knows that 7800 Gulf War vets have died and 153,000 of those same vets have become disabled from some sort of illness they got in that war. That same Defense Department has spent 150 million dollars trying to figure out why these veterans got sick and the head of this department doesn't even know that America may have provided the materials that made these troops sick.

Me, I would have to say that the Secretary of Defense is lying, but I can't figure out why.

That is the whole problem in America today. So many public figures would rather lie, than tell the truth. If and when we do get a honest man in Washington that does not make up stories like the President does to get his way, all America will follow his lead even if it isn't exactly the direction they want. Those in Washington have never figured out that no matter how good your false proof is, some one will catch on to what you are doing. As soon as President Bush talks about some report that backs up his point he has to know that there are people all over the country and the world for that matter that are checking up on what he said. Still he and many others do it. They lie to the American people because they know that most people will only remember what he said at that time. However with repeated falsehoods, more and more people stop listening to what he says or what any one in his administration has to say.

That is why we get people writing columns asking "just who do you trust?