Iraq War Forum: Scott Ritter Speaks

I attended the Iraq War Forum in Warrington last evening to listen to Scott Ritter and Ray McGovern speak about their experiences on the front lines during preparations for the war. I heard some amazing things. Ritter spoke about how two White House Administrations (both Bush and Clinton) abused the UN weapons inspectors to spy on Saddam Hussein for the purpose of assassinating the Iraqi leader. He repeatedly underscored that this was the reason his UN inspection teams (he was the head of the United Nations wmd inspection teams) were blocked and then expelled from Iraq. He ridiculed the Bush White House for then using this as a justification for war.

The other obvious disturbing part of this reveleation is his claim that we used the UN as a way to attempt to assassinate a foreign leader. It is the stated policy of the U.S. not to assassinate a foreign leader. Even attempting to do so would be a serious violation of the law.

Of course this also undermined the UN weapons inspection process to the point where they were expelled and no longer capable of properly insuring Iraq could no longer reinstitute their wmd programs. Once Iraq determined Bush and Clinton were using the UN teams to kill him he, as any sane person would, ceased trusting them any longer.

Ritter remarked, unequivocally, that the Iraqis had destroyed 95% of their wmd's and that Saddam's own son-in-law, who headed these programs, told the U.S. when he defected that all of the wmd's had been destroyed in 1991. He underscored that we based this war on the very flimsiest of reasons.

He also says Iran has NO nuclear weapons program.

He said there was no moral, legal, or honest justification for this war. He said it was foisted on the American people through lies, misinformation and demagoguery. So, folks, it isn't simply me ranting on this blog about this war. Scott Ritter, the man who said before the war that Bush, Cheney, Rice and Rumsfeld were lying is also saying it. The man who was proven correct by later events and history, who was vilified by the Oval Office for daring to speak up and tell America the truth.

America didn't listen to Scott Ritter then. I hope they begin to do so soon.