To the editor:

Condoleezza Rice warned of the looming threat of a “mushroom cloud” if Iraq wasn’t stopped by the U.S. military. Ari Fleischer declared finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq as “what this war is all about.” In his January address, President Bush spoke of tons of weapons, anthrax and other scary items that he claimed to know to be in Iraq’s possession.

The justification for war with Iraq, before it began, was to eliminate the threat of danger to the United States by Iraq’s use of said weapons. No such weapons have been found, and now the hunt by the United States is being discontinued. How can this be called a victory? No Iraqi has been linked to 9-11 no matter how hard this administration has tried to convince us otherwise.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Bush came up with the “Leave No Child Behind” campaign, also included in his January address. At the same time, in the real world, schools are closing; teachers, counselors, school nurses and administrators are losing their jobs.

The truth coming from the White House is flexible; it is changed to suit the needs of the agenda. The American public will need to stock up on ginkgo biloba in order to remember and sort out the contradictory statements and promises that have been made and the many to come during Bush’s upcoming election campaign.

Doris Stine,

Lawrence