I received an email solicitation (PDF) from the conservative magazine Human Events a couple of weeks ago that begins like this:

Did you know WMDs have been found in Iraq?

• 1.77 metric tons of enriched uranium
• 1,500 gallons of chemical weapons agents
• Chemical warheads containing cyclosarin (a nerve agent five times more deadly than sarin gas)
• Over 1,000 radioactive materials in powdered form meant for dispersal over populated areas

This is only a PARTIAL LIST of the horrific weapons verified to have been recovered in Iraq to date. Yet, Americans overwhelmingly believe U.S. and coalition forces found NO weapons of mass destruction.

The question is… WHY do they believe this lie?

The solicitation then goes on to urge recipients to subscribe to Human Events. But I want to focus on the bullet list, which treats readers like fools. Every single one of the claims that the magazine makes is misleading, as I can show after ten minutes of Google searches:
–1.77 metric tons of enriched uranium – This material had been under seal at the Tuwaitha complex, a former nuclear research facility, since 1992. It wasn’t removed from Iraq by the US until 2004.
–1,500 gallons of chemical weapons agents – According to the Washington Post, a military spokesman said these agents were found in an insurgent lab created after the invasion.
–Chemical warheads containing cyclosarin – The head of Polish military intelligence said the warheads are from the Iran/Iraq war of the 1980s.
–Over 1,000 radioactive materials in powdered form meant for dispersal over populated areas – These materials, which the US removed from Iraq in 2004 along with the enriched uranium mentioned above, were actually used for medical and industrial purposes according to an Energy Department spokesman, who said that “much of the material was ‘in powdered form, which is easily dispersed’” (my emphasis), not that it was “meant” for dispersal.

With magazines like this, it’s no wonder that so many Americans believe we found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.