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I think I might have an idea of what is going on. RITTER SET HIMSELF UP in Albany.

Here's my reasoning:

--> Whatever Iraq is blackmailing him with is very nasty. Whatever the blackmail evidence is, it will get Ritter put in prison for life. His visit to a children's prison in Iraq leads to some chilling thoughts. He could have been forced to participate in the blackmail "evidence" by Saddam.

--> Ritter needs a way out. He wants to escape Saddam's blackmail, and somehow lead a normal life again.

--> Ritter solves the situation by committing a similar crime, but on a far less deranged scale. He SETS HIMSELF UP to be busted by Albany police for soliciting a minor.

--> For the ruse to work, Ritter must get caught, ALL STILL WHILE denouncing the USA publicly and supporting Iraq -- so that Saddam won't suspect that Ritter set himself up. Ritter's plan is to get 90 days in jail and trash his own reputation. Throughout, he cries "harassment", "USA sucks", "they set me up", etc - in order to fool Saddam. This keeps Saddam from releasing whatever blackmail evidence he has against Ritter. Ritter continues supporting Iraq publicly for the rest of his life -- so that Saddam will never release the evidence.

--> But something goes wrong in Ritter's plan. The cops are either incompetent or somehow catch on that he's up to something. They let him go... but one month later, Ritter does the same thing AGAIN.

--> Now things are interesting. Only an idiot would get caught doing the same thing twice. UNLESS RITTER WAS PURPOSELY TRYING TO GET CAUGHT. This is Ritter's way of putting himself on the sidelines, without having the blackmail evidence released. He'll get 90 days in jail, with a misdemeanor charge and trashed reputation; but in the end he'll be a free man and can try to live as anonymously as he can. It’s better than having Saddam’s blackmail evidence putting him in prison for life.

--> However, despite setting himself up twice, the judge and assistant DA let him off the hook! Either they are incompetent, or the Feds/CIA are wise to Ritter’s scheme. Either way, the case gets sealed and tucked away.

--> Ritter manages to get a newspaper to “leak” the story. The cat’s out of the bag now.

--> NOW his plan begins to work. He continues to publicly support Iraq in the news, but his reputation is severely damaged. Slowly, he becomes irrelevant. But he must continue to convince everyone that he supports Iraq, especially Saddam, otherwise the blackmail evidence will be released.

--> Flash to five years from today. The Iraq war is over, Ritter has spent a little time in jail, there are jokes about him on Saturday Night Live. He moves to northern Montana and tries to live as anonymously as he can. Sometimes the odd reporter comes around and asks him what really happened. But Ritter still supports Iraq in the interview. Because for all he knows, someone out there still has the blackmail evidence...

Comments??