You may well be right. I may feel that whatever evidence they provide will be like the movie Capricorn One, where the government fabricated a trip to Mars. As you said, they could do this. Hopefully, any evidence provided will be something that can be verified by a third party.
It is a quandry that has caused me intellectual problems, because I *want* to know the truth, and if the truth is that Iraq truly is a threat, then I *want* us to go in and wipe out that threat, even if it means obliterating all of Iraq.
If it were only myself who felt this way, it would be something that the rest of you could easily write off: who cares if one man disagrees with our national policies? But I think it likely that there are many who feel similar to the way I do. It is not one person whistling in the dark, but several -- how many I do not know.
How can the government regain our trust? Not just my trust, but the trust of those who only half-believe what they are told? How can the cynicism which increasingly is gripping this country be abated? Only by repeatedly demonstrating honesty in its conduct, I would guess, and that doesn't seem likely to me. When everyone in government appears to only care about their personal (or by extension party) power, and not what is best for the country, it is only natural that many will come to the conclusion that they cannot be trusted.
I'm not just distrustful of the administration, but of government in general, and the federal government in particular. I guess this makes me a whacko and a paranoid. In my mind, it makes me realistic and clear-sighted: I do not cling to a false optimism about what our government is really trying to do. OTOH, it is very possible that I am excessively negative when someone in government (rarely) actually tries to do their job honestly. We all make trade-offs based on our worldview. I accept those I've had to make.
Tuor
What third party would you trust? What do you think about the report out of the Czech republic that Mohammed Atta met with Iraqi intelligence just before 9/11?