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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (43513)	9/12/2002 2:27:03 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

Scott Ritter will enter the 'No Spin Zone' tonight <G>... Former U.N. Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter will be a guest on Fox's O'Reilly Factor this evening... foxnews.com Don't miss The Factor at 8 & 11 p.m. ET btw, in Ritter's interview in The Fox studio in the last hour he claims he went to Iraq on a peace mission...it was totally sponsored by a US Non-profit organization committed to getting the truth out...he received NO Iraqi money...he leveraged some contacts he had to get access to the Iraqi leaders and speak to them about the importance of allowing UN Weapons Inspectors back into Iraq...This former Marine is NOT defending Iraq but he feels Bush has failed to make a case that would justify 'a pre-emptive strike'...Scott says that if he sees the evidence coming from the Bush Admin. that would support a credible case for war he would sign on...He has fought for the country before (in fact he has a lot more military experience than many of the NeoCons that are advocating a unilateral approach to dealing with Iraq)...He claims from early '98 through Aug. '98 he wrote 4 memorandums to his boss (Richard Butler)...Scott Ritter was running the UN disarmament program in Iraq and was concerned about the UN Weapons inspectors losing their credibility as The US was using them to spy on Iraq and this was clearly stated in his memorandums written to Butler...this is a major reason why Ritter resigned in 1998...Iraq did not force the weapons inspectors to leave...it was The US that pressured The UN to remove them...its important to understand the facts and IMO some in the media have distorted things. I'm glad to see Scott Ritter has returned from Iraq and is speaking out...I commend Fox News for having him on for a long interview and for a discussion on Tonight's O'Reilly Factor. Fox also claims they will work to arrange a debate between Scott Ritter and his former boss Richard Butler...That could be interesting. IMO, Ritter should clearly lay out his case in upcoming interviews and in some editorials (in leading newspapers like The New York Times). Ritter may be more of a patriot than folks realize...before we judge him lets listen and let the facts come out...JMHO. ______________________________ Finally here's a post from a former US soldier who fought for our country in The Persian Gulf War in the early 90s... Message 17983330 Bush hasn't convinced ALL the true patriots...where's the evidence...??

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (43513)	9/12/2002 3:29:09 PM
From: Alastair McIntosh	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Mr. Ritter, does Iraq still have prescribed weapons? WILLIAM SCOTT RITTER, JR.: Iraq still has prescribed weapons capability. There needs to be a careful distinction here. Iraq today is challenging the special commission to come up with a weapon and say where is the weapon in Iraq, and yet part of their efforts to conceal their capabilities, I believe, have been to disassemble weapons into various components and to hide these components throughout Iraq. I think the danger right now is that without effective inspections, without effective monitoring, Iraq can in a very short period of time measure the months, reconstitute chemical biological weapons, long-range ballistic missiles to deliver these weapons, and even certain aspects of their nuclear weaponization program. pbs.org Apologies if this has been previously posted