Scott's hooked up with "Progressives." Think of it as lefty, pro-Palie protesters wearing suits & ties.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 29, 2002
1:12 PM

CONTACT: Institute for Public Accuracy
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020;
Norman Solomon, (415) 552-5378

Interviews Available:
Ritter: A 'Sham Hearing' on Iraq
Von Sponeck: Weapons Sites 'Defunct and Destroyed'

WASHINGTON - July 29 -

SCOTT RITTER, wsritter@aol.com, www.commondreams.org/views02/0721-02.htm
Ritter, who was a chief UN weapons inspector in Iraq, is the author of Endgame: Solving the Iraqi Problem Once and For All. He said this afternoon: "Sen. Joe Biden is running a sham hearing. It is clear that Biden and most of the Congressional leadership have pre-ordained a conclusion that seeks to remove Saddam Hussein from power regardless of the facts, and are using these hearings to provide political cover for a massive military attack on Iraq. These hearings have nothing to do with an objective search for the truth, but rather seek to line up like-minded witnesses who will buttress this pre-determined result.... This isn't American democracy in action, it's the failure of American democracy. Before we go to war with Iraq, we must be able to determine that Iraq poses a threat to the national security of the United States. Such a determination must be backed up with substantive fact. I believe that Iraq does not pose a threat to the U.S. worthy of war. This conclusion is shared by many senior military officers. According to President Bush and his advisers, Iraq is known to possess weapons of mass destruction and is actively seeking to reconstitute the weapons production capabilities. I bear personal witness, through seven years as a chief weapons inspector in Iraq for the UN, to both the scope of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs and the effectiveness of the UN weapons inspectors in ultimately eliminating them. While we were never able to provide 100 percent certainty regarding the disposition of Iraq's proscribed weaponry, we did ascertain a 90-95 percent level of verified disarmament. These are the sort of facts that must be included in any hearing that seeks to determine the threat posed by Iraq today. It is clear that Sen. Biden and his colleagues have no interest in such facts."

HANS VON SPONECK, von_sponeck@yahoo.com, www.vitw.org, www.democracynow.org, www.counterpunch.org/sponeck1.html
As a former UN Assistant Secretary General, Von Sponeck headed the UN "oil-for-food" program until he resigned two years ago in protest over the continued sanctions on Iraq. He was in Iraq two weeks ago, visited sites purported to be weapons sites and found them to be "defunct and destroyed." He said this afternoon: "Evidence of al-Qaida/lraq collaboration does not exist.... Six years of revisions to sanctions policy on Baghdad have repeatedly promised 'mitigation' of civilian suffering. Yet, in 1999, UNICEF confirmed an estimated 5,000 excess child deaths every month above the 1989 pre-sanctions rate. Four months ago, UNICEF reported that more than 22 per cent of the country's young children remain chronically malnourished. Credible opposition groups outside Iraq have called for delinking economic and military sanctions. At the March Arab summit in Beirut, all 22 Arab governments (including Kuwait) called for the same. If the economic embargo on Iraq is not in their interest, then in whose interest is it?"

###

Common Dreams NewsCenter is a non-profit news service
providing breaking news and views for the Progressive Community.

The press release posted here has been provided to Common Dreams NewsWire by one of the many progressive organizations who make up America's Progressive Community. If you wish to comment on this press release or would like more information, please contact the organization directly.
*all times Eastern US (GMT-5:00)

Fair.org

Sam Husseini

Sam Husseini is communications director for the Institute for Public Accuracy, a consortium of policy experts. Prior to joining IPA, he was with the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. He was with FAIR for several years before that, as a volunteer and activism coordinator.

In addition to regularly contributing to Extra!, he has been published in the Washington Post, Newsday, Al Jadid Magazine, The Nation and numerous other outlets on politics, media, the Mideast and pop culture.

Extra! Articles:

Truth in Labelling: Depite ties to two governments, WINEP succeeds in neutral pose (Think Tank Monitor, 11-12/00, with Ali Abunimah)
Right-Wing Business in Farmer's Overalls: The American Farm Bureau Federation (Think Tank Monitor, 3-4/00, with Scotty Johnson)
The Fumento Mythology: Hudson Institute fellow twists science to minimize AIDS (Think Tank Monitor, 11-12/99)
What's in a Name?: In Jerusalem story, terminology takes sides, 9-10/97
Felons on the Air: Is GE's Owning NBC Illegal?, 11-12/94
NPR's Fresh Air: "Extremist" Author Silenced for Lack of "Moderate" Opponent, 4-5/93
Zuckerman Unbound, 1-2/93