Scott Ritter
Scott Ritter
William Scott Ritter Jr.was a United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998, and later a critic of United States foreign policy in the Middle East. Prior to the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Ritter stated that Iraq possessed no significant weapons of mass destructioncapabilities, becoming "the loudest and most credible skeptic of the Bush administration’s contention that Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction." He received harsh criticism from the political establishment but became a popular...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPublic Servant
Date of Birth15 July 1961
CountryUnited States of America
Scott Ritter quotes about
We had the proof. We couldn't present it. And that's where we are today.
In fact, the very policies that we are executing today only alienate us abroad, strengthen Saddam Hussein and give him cause to reconstitute these capabilities once he has the means,
I know that inspections did work, ... We achieved a 90 to 95 percent level of verified, absolutely certain accountability for Iraq's weapons program.
It was never about getting rid of weapons. It was about propaganda to justify continuing sanctions until Saddam could be removed from power.
We had the information. We had the goods on the Iraqis, clear and irrefutable evidence of Iraq's prohibited activities. We caught them red-handed.
There is a lot of inaccurate information and irresponsible speculation today, particularly from the U.S. government.
We just don't know when, but it's going to happen.
Anyone who said that, doesn't know Scott Ritter. I'm a tool of no one but myself.
The Bush administration has its sights set firmly on Tehran. The same deception is taking place right before our eyes and most Americans remain blind. It is going to happen. It is happening as we speak.
Now, in Kosovo, we have NATO, a defensive treaty organization that has existed admirably for 50 years . . . being led down a path of its eventual demise by the Clinton administration, which has no effective vision of where NATO or the United States should fit in vis-a-vis Europe.
I believe that this inspection was rushed through, and the sites weren't chosen for disarmament reasons, but rather to be provocative in nature so Iraq would respond in a predictable fashion,
One of the problems with President Bush issuing that kind of ultimatum is that he has no credibility. Members of his administration have said inspections don't matter. Members of his administration have said that, even if they get back in Iraq and succeed in disarming Iraq, that they're still going to seek regime removal.
One of my biggest concerns is that people think I am a tool of the Iraqi government,
There are people in Baghdad pursuing the initiative that I started, and I want to give them every chance of success. I don't want to provide any distractions.