- Big Dogs Weblog - https://www.onebigdog.net -

Ritter Continues Lies and Betrayal

When Jane Fonda started hawking her new tell-all book this week, my thoughts turned to her contemporary counterpart: Scott Ritter. You remember Ritter. He is a former Marine and the former Chief Inspector to UNSCOM (the UN Special Commission to disarm Iraq). Apparently, being a traitor and selling out your fellow soldiers pays quite well in certain circles. I posted previously concerning Ritter’s employment by Al Jazeera to write an occasional anti-US/anti-Iraq War column.

Ritter surfaced again in February with two new claims: President Bush had “signed off” on plans to bomb Iran in June 2005; and, the US “cooked” the results of the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq. The later claim lamely attempts to conceal Ritter’s error when he asserted last year that we would witness “inevitable defeat of the United States and the interim government” in Iraq.

“The principal theme of Scott Ritter’s talk was Americans’ duty to protect the U.S. Constitution by taking action to bring an end to the illegal war in Iraq. But in passing, the former UNSCOM weapons inspector stunned his listeners with two pronouncements. Ritter said plans for a June attack on Iran have been submitted to President George W. Bush, and that the president has approved them. He also asserted that knowledgeable sources say U.S. officials “cooked” the results of the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq.

On Iran, Ritter said that President George W. Bush has received and signed off on orders for an aerial attack on Iran planned for June 2005. Its purported goal is the destruction of Iran’s alleged program to develop nuclear weapons, but Ritter said neoconservatives in the administration also expected that the attack would set in motion a chain of events leading to regime change in the oil-rich nation of 70 million — a possibility Ritter regards with the greatest skepticism.” – Mark Jensen, United for Peace of Pierce County (WA) Rense.com

In a column he wrote for Alternet, Ritter called the Iraqi election an “American-brokered event” and likened it to elections held by Stalin and Hitler. He also claimed the Iraqi constitution was “dead on arrival.” Apparently, Ritter missed the praise lauded by the Iraqis, the UN, and countries around the world. He also must have forgotten that many Iraqis gave their lives to man the polls and to vote.

It shouldn’t create undo concern that Ritter preaches this garbage to the fanatics within our borders. They will believe any anti-Bush/anti-Iraq propaganda spewed forth by anyone – with or without credentials. The problem lies beyond our borders. It’s the former claim, though, that has the Islamic world and the “peace” factions abuzz. Islamic news organizations like Al Jazeera, Al-Haram and Jihad Unspun have repeated Ritter’s claim to stir further unrest against our country and, more importantly, against our soldiers in the field.

“The Americans are stirring things up and using the mix to their advantage. Sometimes they wait for the right opportunity, as was the case when Emile Lahoud’s term was renewed. Sometimes they make things happen. For example, the US is said to be planning a military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. Weapons inspector Scott Ritter has just revealed (Al-Jazeera, 30 March 2005) that the US Department of Defense is on standby for a possible strike in June. The date has been carefully selected. According to Israeli intelligence, June would be the point of no return in the Iranian nuclear programme[sic], a date after which no one would be able to stop Iran from making a nuclear bomb.” — Hassan Nafaa , Al-Haram

It seems to me that Scott Ritter is the one “stirring things up.” Why any of these “news” outlets would believe Ritter is beyond me. Does anyone with at least half a brain believe Ritter has an inside source in the Whitehouse? His recent history of misjudging the Iraqi situation should be enough to cast doubt on any claim he fronts. One sincerely hopes . . . and prays . . . that Ritter realizes the gravity of the situation he’s creating. After all, he is playing with nuclear war and not cap guns.

Call me a cynic, but can it be a coincidence that Ritter’s book, Iraq Confidential: The Untold Story of America’s Intelligence Conspiracy, is scheduled for release in summer of 2005? Just for the record, his book will be published by IB Tauris, a British publisher. According to one of their catalogs, IB Tauris specializes in “Iranian and Middle East studies.” Hailing from Iran, Iradj Bagherzade (the “IB” in IB Tauris) owns and operates the company. It’s amazing the shady coincidences one finds when one turns over a few rocks. Of course, it also makes one wonder why, with all the publishing houses in the US, Ritter would choose to publish abroad?

A dark day dawned when one of our favorite son’s switched sides. While our country both welcomes and thrives upon dissent, we don’t welcome those whom would give aid and comfort to the enemy. We don’t embrace those whom sell their soul, their country and their brother-in-arms for 30 pieces of silver. I consider Ritter to be the most vile kind of creature and will continue to keep my eye on him.

You can read my previous post on Scott Ritter here.