The president, ever since declaring Iraq part of an "axis of evil" in his 2002 State of the Union talk, had repeatedly justified a possible invasion by referring to the imminent threat posed by Iraq's weapons stockpiles.

"Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons," the president told the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 12.

In this year's State of the Union speech, the president cited intelligence reports that estimated "Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent."

And his lies were echoed by others in his administration.

Vice President Dick Cheney, in a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention on Aug. 26, said, "simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction."

Secretary of State Colin Powell, in remarks to the U.N. Security Council on Feb. 5, said, "we know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction, is determined to make more."

So, the United States invaded, it conquered, but the weapons just aren't there.

Weeks of searches by military experts have not confirmed the administration's portrayal of Iraq's cache of weapons. The stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons have not turned up, nor has significant evidence of a nuclear weapons program.

Again, how should people respond to such deceit? And what about Congress, which obviously was duped by lies and ignorance, or both, into giving its OK to the invasion?

Surprisingly, it seems few senators and congressmen are angry. Some members of the Senate Intelligence Committee want a congressional investigation of how intelligence was used in the months leading up to the war. A group of 30 lawmakers in the House has introduced a Resolution of Inquiry to force the administration to turn over the intelligence that allegedly supports its claims that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction.

The group is led by Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Cleveland, who said he believes the president ought to be forced to justify spending $63 billion on a war waged on "unfounded assertions." Rep. Maurice Hinchey of Saugerties is among those signing on to the resolution.

Yes, a few in Congress are upset, but you don't hear much from the alleged 70 percent of Americans who supported the invasion. Shouldn't they be questioning their allegiance to a war based on lies and ignorance? They were untruthfully told Iraq was an imminent threat to their security and that a pre-emptive invasion was necessary to protect the United States.

Sure, now the government can try to justify the war with other reasons, such as liberating the Iraqi people from a dictator and improving the chances for a Middle East peace. And let's not forget all the Iraqi oil we now control and the billion-dollar contracts doled out to companies with links to the administration.

Reacting to the lack of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the president had to resort to the tribunal of the future to justify the conquering of another nation. "History will show, history and time will prove that the United States made the absolute right decision in freeing the people of Iraq from the clutches of Saddam Hussein," he said.

Who's going to write that history book, Condoleezza Rice and Tony Blair?

A report released this week by The Associated Press states at least 3,240 Iraqi civilians died during the U.S. invasion and that the figure "is sure to be significantly higher." What were those people liberated from? What about the Americans who died or were wounded in this outrageous war?

What our leaders have done ought to be a crime. Urge your congressman, whether Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, Rep. John Sweeney or Rep. Michael McNulty, to support the Resolution of Inquiry and then investigate whether the administration's lies to Congress and the American people amount to criminal offenses.

And, most important, the administration has to be prevented from committing such deadly acts again. The warhawks already are pointing their swords toward Iran with the same kinds of allegations they used months ago concerning Iraq.

How can the junta of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Powell ever be trusted again? That's what Congress and the American people have to be asking themselves.

On this Flag Day, we must insist that the most famous symbol of America does not become even more dishonored while being waved by an administration leading us into another unjust war.

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Cary Brunswick is managing editor of The Daily Star. He can be reached at (607) 441-7217 or cary@thedailystar.com.