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OK, FOLKS, where are those Iraqi weapons of mass destruction?
This is not a political query, but rather a question that every American who loves his country should want answered.
So, all you people who said Saddam Hussein had nuclear weapons hidden under every rock--Where are they?
Everyone who claimed that Saddam was going to unleash all those biological weapons on our troops--Why didn't he?
What about all those mobile chemical factories disguised as ice cream trucks or whatever? What happened to them?
How about you folks who called the United Nations weapons inspectors inept or even dishonest for not finding weapons of mass destruction? I don't hear anyone speaking out on that subject now.
I also recall voices lifted in anger when France, Germany and Russia asked us to trust those inspectors, to seek a peaceful solution.
Four months ago, the great majority of Americans--at least if the polls were accurate--was absolutely certain that Saddam Hussein had all these horrible weapons that he was going to unleash on America and the rest of the world.
Now, almost 3,500 dead Iraqi civilians later, we can't find any of those weapons we just knew were there.
Now, as American soldiers get picked off one by one in a guerilla war that seems likely to continue as long as we remain in Iraq, those who shouted loudest for war offer a sheepish grin and change the subject when asked the above questions.
I ask just the same. Every day, I ask those who fell for the propaganda lines and pushed for war where those weapons of mass destruction are.
And I don't accept the standard cop-out, "Well, Saddam had committed all sorts of evil acts and deserved to be killed."
That's not the reason we went to war. We invaded Iraq to disarm Hussein, to get all those weapons of mass destruction that now have suddenly vanished. No one said we were invading because of Saddam's past transgressions.
Yes, Saddam may have deserved his fate--whatever that is--but that is not the point. The end does not always justify the means. If that were true, we would throw Americans in jail simply because we believe them to be crooks, not because they actually commit crimes.
No, we are not finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. What we are finding is death, hate and a hit-and-run war that may last as long as Vietnam.
And we are finding oil. Surprise, surprise! We have one American company collecting millions (without even having to bid the project) to get that oil flowing.
Meanwhile, taxpayers are paying billions for the costs of the war, the UN is in shambles and much of the world hates our guts.
We have politicians in Washington who would like to cover up every questionable detail of what may well turn out to be America's greatest shame.
In Iraq, we have young American men and women who are shot at daily and who are being forced to draw their weapons against 12-year-old girls who would dare fend off foreign invaders with AK-47s they can hardly tote.
But we know what is best for the Iraqi people. Washington wants to Americanize them and the Baptists want to convert them. It seems we won't be happy until every Iraqi man, woman and child is baptized with bottled water.
Even if we can't save their souls, however, we must save their oil. We need it to put in our vehicles so we can drive off in search of those weapons of mass destruction.
Oh, let's just forget about those weapons of mass destruction! After all, the war is over. That's all in the past.
Those are the words I now hear from those who were absolutely certain in early March that Saddam had nuclear bombs and tons of biological weapons.
Well, the war is not over. Ask our soldiers who face daily threats. Ask the Iraqi people. Ask those people around the world who now hold America in contempt.
Those of us who opposed the war with Iraq were called unpatriotic and accused of not wanting weapons of mass destruction removed. I don't know about anyone else, but I resent my patriotism being questioned and consider it a personal affront to my dignity.
The flag-waving has slowed and we no longer sing "God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch at baseball games. Still, those horrible Iraqi weapons have not been found.
Where are they? We who opposed the war want to know. We owe that much to the dead American soldiers and the bombed Iraqi civilians.
We seek the truth. We thought that was what America was all about.
Perhaps we were misled.
DONNIE JOHNSTON covers the Culpeper area for The Free Lance-Star. Write him at The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401; or by fax at 540/373-8455.