Is that the actual plane behind Ritter - at Salman Pak???
How was that swept under the rug?
What was his explanation?
Is that the actual plane behind Ritter - at Salman Pak???
How was that swept under the rug?
What was his explanation?
Scott went with reporters to try and convince them that nothing went on there paid with his own money. He was on with Paula Zahn trying to convince her that Saddam had nothing to do with his trip.
http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/09/13/ritter.cnna/
ZAHN: Who paid for your last trip to Baghdad?
RITTER: I paid for it, together with donations from American anti-sanctions movement, the Institute for Public Accuracy — the Iraqi government had nothing to do with funding this trip, or even organizing this trip.
ZAHN: Not a single cent.
RITTER: Not a single cent.
MONITORING AND VERIFICATION IN A
NONCOOPERATIVE ENVIRONMENT: LESSONS
FROM THE U.N. EXPERIENCE IN IRAQ
by Jonathan B. Tucker
“The systematic destruction of evidence also took place at sites involved in the Iraqi BW program.Two weeks before the first UNSCOM biological inspection team visited the research laboratory at Salman Pak in August 1991, the Iraqis tore down several structures at the site that had survived the Coalition bombing campaign unscathed, including buildings housing fermenters, an aerosol inhalation test chamber, and a small incinerator. The steel aerosol chamber was crushed and deposited at a dump several kilometers away. The Iraqis then bulldozed the site and covered it with fresh dirt to erase any remaining evidence. They also burned reams of documents, leaving melted looseleaf binders and piles of ashes scattered around the site. According to a member of the UNSCOM team that visited Salman Pak: Although the Iraqis were able to produce some original research papers and hand-drawn sketches of the layout of the buildings now reduced to rubble, they were unable to produce any documentary evidence to support their assertions, claiming that everything was destroyed by the bombing. Although none of us wanted to admit it, one thing became painfully clear: the only thing we were going to get from the Iraqis was what they wanted to give us.
24 Impeding Inspections During no-notice inspections of sensitive sites, the Iraqi minders have found excuses ranging from transportation bottlenecks to bad weather to delay the U.N. team’s arrival and buy time to remove incriminating evidence. Since inspections of undeclared sites far from Baghdad require the use of a helicopter to transport the inspection team, the Iraqi authorities insist on 15 hours’ notice to “stand down” their air defenses so that the U.N. helicopters can fly safely. Although inspection teams try to avoid revealing the location of the target site by declaring a large block of airspace for the helicopter to fly through, the Iraqis still derive useful clues from the advance notice, particularly if they are concerned about a particular clandestine facility within the declared zone.
25 On a few occasions, the Iraqis have also threatened to open fire on UNSCOM helicopters if they approach secure areas such as presidential palaces. Once the inspectors arrive on-site, plant managers sometimes refuse to provide requested documents or give answers that are inappropriate to the questions asked. Another common delaying tactic is for Iraqi officials to feign incomprehension and request the services of an interpreter even though they are capable of speaking fluent English in other situations.U.N. inspection teams are generally not allowed to interview more than a few senior engineers and technicians employed at an inspected facility, regardless of the type of site visited. During plant walk-throughs, minders from the National Monitoring Directorate may prevent plant workers from responding to inspector pressure the few individuals who speak some English to work through an interpreter. In addition, the fact that the minders videotape all interviews has a chilling effect on the willingness of plant workers to speak freely. At times, Iraqi stalling tactics have verged on intimidation. During a biological weapons inspection at Salman Pak, for example, Iraqi soldiers deliberately placed live munitions and a radioactive source inside bunkers that were to be inspected. In addition to frightening the UNSCOM inspectors, this tactic delayed the inspection until the ordnance had been removed and a nuclear expert had been called to check the radioactive source.
26 On another occasion, the Iraqi authorities tried to prevent the excavation of a field near Salman Pak suspected of containing buried biological munitions. The Iraqi officials brought in Moslem clergymen who spent two hours pleading with the UNSCOM team that the field was a grave site and that digging would be sacrilegious. Although the chief inspector finally ordered the excavation to proceed, only one trench had been completed before the backhoe broke down and work had to cease because of the intense midday heat. On subsequent days the clergymen did not return and the excavation proceeded, but no incriminating evidence was found.”
Scott Ritter became very popular with leftwing media giants after his trip.
Journalists like Seymour Hersh from The New Yorker magazine,
John R. (Rick) MacArthur, president and publisher of Harper’s Magazine and Bill Moyers from The Public Broadcast Service all promoted Scott Ritters propaganda. The NY Times followed suit.
Scott Ritter played a big role in the documentary “Bill Moyers Journal: Buying the War.”
Democracy Now teamed up with Scott Ritter and John R. MacArther in an interview titled “Rick MacArthur and Scott Ritter On The Lies of Our Times” essentially putting pressure on The NY Times to change their position on the war.
Scott Ritter and Seymour Hersh worked on a book together titled “Iraq Confidential”
I wrote about this and provided links at my blog over at TownHall. Scott Ritter became a tool for the lefts agenda.
Understanding left-Wing Fecal Spoons and Iraq
Saturday, September 01, 2007 2:00 AM
http://cdonohoe.townhall.com/g/ecc76030-ff8d-4bbf-b607-17c8e1a81881