Article

2002-09-08 Axis of Evil

Iraq is incapable of producing weapons of mass destruction and should prove it by allowing in U.N. weapons inspectors, an American who was once on the inspections teams said Sunday. With his comments during a visit to Baghdad, Scott Ritter - who has been a sharp critic of U.S. policy on Iraq - joined a long list of officials from European and Arab nations who have urged Iraq to accept inspectors to defuse a crisis with the United States.
Ritter's turnaround on Iraq wasn't even subtle. Money? Women? Both?
Iraqi cooperation on inspections would leave the United States ``standing alone in regards to war threats on Iraq and this is the best way to prevent the war,'' said Ritter, a former U.S. Marine intelligence officer, who spoke to members of parliament and to journalists on his third trip to Iraq since he resigned from the U.N. inspection team in 1998. As in the past, his trip was organized by the Iraqi government. The rest of his schedule was not yet public.
Wonder what else they've organized for him?
``The truth is Iraq is not a threat to its neighbors and it is not acting in a manner which threatens anyone outside its borders,'' Ritter said. ``Military action against Iraq cannot be justified.''
"Never has been, never will be..."

Posted by Fred Pruitt 2002-09-08 08:34 am|| || Front Page|| [11142 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 The reason for Ritter's 180Âº turnaround is no secret, lucre.

http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/sanction/iraq1/000731.htm

"Ritter said he was first invited to Baghdad last year by the Iraqi government after the publication of his book "Endgame," which argued that the continuation of economic sanctions on Iraq was more "evil" than doing business with Saddam Hussein. "They were shocked by my position in the book," Ritter said.

Ritter said that several months later, at a hearing on Capitol Hill, he met Iraqi-born American businessman Shakir Alkafajii, who had heard Ritter attack U.S. policy toward Iraq. Alkafajii asked what Ritter could do to end the sanctions and break the impasse in relations between the United States and Iraq. "I said I could do a documentary," Ritter answered.

Alkafajii, who is accompanying Ritter as a "translator and cultural adviser," secured the travel visas for the crew and agreed to put up a $400,000 line of credit to finance the documentary."

Posted by Eric 2002-09-08 09:30:43|| 2002-09-08 09:30:43|| Front Page Top

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