Posted on 02/05/2005 6:12:49 PM PST by Calpernia
Scott Ritter may be the Bush reelection team’s worse nightmare.
The former UN chief weapons inspector in Iraq and card-carrying Republican is barnstorming America with a blunt message: George W. Bush’s war on Iraq was waged on a “bodyguard of lies.”
“We need regime change, and we need it quick,” Ritter told a gathering of peace activists in New Jersey on Sunday. “George W. Bush does not have the right…to represent the American people, if he told a lie. And he told a whopper.”
That whopper, said Ritter, was claiming that the US government had evidence that Saddam Hussein was hiding massive amounts of weapons of mass destruction and that was why Iraq must be invaded. The facts, he said, are that “the inspections worked. The United Nations did disarm Iraq.”
“I want the president impeached because he lied to the Congress of the United States,” Ritter said. “He may well go out and tell another lie about weapons of mass destruction” being found amid the rubble in Iraq. But, Ritter said, any scheme to plant evidence would run afoul of professional soldiers like those he served with in Gulf War I. “I can tell you, my fellow officers won’t sustain that lie.”
Ritter is a former Marine major who worked as a weapons inspector for the United Nations in Iraq from 1991 to 1998. These days he’s an antiwar activist on a mission to pacify Washington, DC.
“What happened in Baghdad last month was not in accordance with international law. What happened in Baghdad last month was a west Texas lynching,” Ritter said at New Jersey Peace Action’s annual dinner, where he was the guest of honor. “President Bush is implementing a policy of imperialism.”
Ritter said Americans who don’t want the United States to go the way of all empires—which, he said, die of indigestion—will have to fight an historic political battle over the nation’s future. “We can’t allow a bunch of neoconservatives to hijack America,” he said. “It’s not a right-wing fraternity pin—the American flag, we own it, the American people.”
Ritter said he has been taking his blunt message to college campuses and other forums around the country. And when anyone demands that he support the war in Iraq, he replies: “What part of war do you want to support?” and describes in graphic detail the hell hole of war.
Recounting the story of a Marine in a battle in Iraq, Ritter said that a soldier is only one face of patriotism. “Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the other face of patriotism—the people of the United States. … The other face of patriotism is the American citizen who gets up in the morning” and carries out the duties and responsibilities of citizenship.
“If you give up now, you are giving up on American democracy,” he said. Ritter urged the assembled peace activists to reach out to Republicans like himself and raise the constitutional issues and uncomfortable facts that Bush has run roughshod over. Among those facts, he said, is this glaring one:
“Bush was a deserter from his unit during the Vietnam War. He doesn’t know what it means to support the troops.”
Jan Barry, a Vietnam veteran, is a journalist living in New Jersey. Jan is also an editor of VAIW and a contributing editor of Intervention Mag.
Maybe a NJ ping? I had no idea we had an updated, active group of the VVAW. Meet the VAIW. There website is in the original link. Site is running and up to date. I posted this article nw_arizona_granny found for archiving purposes.
Yep.... he is.
His credibility was shot when he flipped on the topic after Saddam paid him a ton of cash.. (450K??) to 'make nice'. Then, the kiddy twiddling, was the topper.. He's a traitor at least, but messing with children is a 'whole 'nuther' reckoning come judgement day. JMHO...
I won't argue with you tonight but in the sense of what we talk about WMD, there were no substantial stockpiles. I know they found Sarin and such but in small quantities. Uranium by itself is not labled a WMD and most experts I hear talk don't equate a dirty bomb to WMD cause the psychological terror is worse than the physical. Now i'm sure you don't agree with me but if we had found SIGNIFICANT stockpiles, than you must be calling all the Republicans liars and cowards for not pounding this fact at every occasion available including the State of the Union
>>>>he was actually right about the WMD which gives him some credibility in some circles....
??? what? Have you not been following all the weapons articles here at FR?
NCR... I'm not here to argue at all!!!!!!
I'm not calling pubs liars, I'm calling dems liars... They are not satisfied because stockpiles were not found..... one WMD is enough for me.. I had hoped to make that absolutely clear.
Have you met the new and improved VVAW?
i read them all.....read my earlier post...if these were really the ones Bush and the rest of us thought they had, then don't you think we would be driving this down the throat of everyone, night and day......you are playing with the word games of WMD....I hate Ritter and his ilk but I"m also not totally blind.....STOCKPILES were not found and every neocon, Repub etc has said this......I even think alot of this crap is in Syria but we have to prove it first
We know and they are not yet destroyed.
Bump!
listen.....i hear your frustration.........but ONE WMD is bad but it wasn't what we thought were there....sure Dems are liars, but what I"m pointing out is that all the Repubs have said we found no significant WMD.......that is what they said........hell, even Richard Pearle has said that and Paul Wolfiwitz and you don't get any more neocon than these fellows
The big stuff went to Syria and also on boats someplace. There were 3 incidents we followed here at FR about ships leaving ports with WMD. Those stories fell off of news radar. The Syria movement was more closely tracked here.
There were weapons of mass destruction. Iraq was about MORE than that though.
Exactly..... 14 month runup to the war left lots of time to move them.. Question is, how much time do we have to find them..
Stepping out a moment here to ask a question. Wouldn't it be better to follow the WMD trail wherever it leads... Syria, Iran or scrapyards in the Netherlands.. perhaps even to Alqueda ships on the seas.... than to stay in Iraq for too long. I don't want to leave Iraq vulnerable, but frankly, the clock is ticking... We are bound by our word to do what was promised for Iraq, but we must protect our own country as well... doing both is possible, but I want to find those WMD's. For too long, congress critter said they were there... they did not disappear unless Ted Kennedy ate them.. We've got to find them. Does anyone feel the same way??
>>>don't you think we would be driving this down the throat of everyone, night and day..
NO. Because the weapons was the publicity to get us into Iraq. This war we are in is about MORE than Iraq. Iraq was a positioning. We had the weapons and the no fly zone stuff to enter.
The WOT title was an exact title. Iraq is not the focus. Iraq was the opportunity to get base positioning.
Oh... you mean congress-critter repubs! Sure, they're playing politics, while the rest of us listen to the clock tick. Is it rude of me to point out that there are Freepers and journalists that are far more informed on an HOURLY basis that congresscritters???
It's obvious, even on FoxNews... at the end of each day, they are ill-informed because they do not even do basic surfing to catch news from all corners..
That's one reason I love F/R among other sites such as Lucianne... one story links to another and another... and helps to add a full spectrum of information, opinion, and fact.. well rounded information that fellow freepers freely offer to us.. my hat is off in thanks...
I totally agree.....I most likely agree with all the infor on hidden weapons and I was for the war......sometimes people here get offended when someone has an independent thought but don't be alarmed. I'm on your side........but all I said is that Ritter in the eyes of some has credibility cause they think he was right......doesn't matter that we all hate him, it only matters what we can prove......wow, that's a line from "A Few Good Men"......but you get the point,.....don't attack the messanger please
>>>Wouldn't it be better to follow the WMD trail wherever it leads...
No. Because you have tunnel vision here. And I didn't post this article tonight with the time to re explain the entire war scenario to you. I posted it for archiving since it is on a site of interest.
Are war is not with Iraq. Iraq was a positioning tool. Our war is on terror which emcompases ALOT of other countries including ours.
Yes OURS!
The war is not against Islam. Although the extreme version is a part of it.
Iraq was for positioning and for base establishing.
listen you are preaching to the choir......I most likely know as much or more about this war in Iraq....that was not the point of my initial post.....why are you getting all up in arms.......why do you feel so threatened?????....
Okay Cal...
tunnel vision...
sure.
cya
.
As a Vietnam Veteran of the 1st Major Battles for Freedom in Vietnam long ago...
I never ever thought I would live long enough to witness a President of the United States publically declare our new 21st Century...
..'The LIBERTY Century'..!
I never ever thought I would also witness a President of the United States promise during his Presidency:
Freedom's return to...
Communist Cuba
Communist Vietnam
Communist North Vietnam
as well as
Freedom's arrival to...
All the countries of the Middle East
...as America's own best self-defense against future terrorist attacks here at home.
BUSH has and witness it all I have.
GOD is GOOD.
Signed:.."ALOHA RONNIE" Guyer
Veteran-"WE WERE SOLDIERS" Battle of IA DRANG-1965
http://www.WeWereSoldiers.com
http://www.lzxray.com/guyer_set1.htm
.
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