Replies

Ritter appeared via satellite on Monday's The Early Show on CBS. Jane Clayson set up the segment noted by MRC analyst Brian Boyd:
"American Scott Ritter is a former United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq. He's been critical of the U.S. position, he's actually in Baghdad this morning. Mr. Ritter, good morning. I'd like to ask you first up what your reaction is to this report from the International Institute of Strategic Studies that says Iraq could assemble nuclear weapons within a few months."
Ritter was condescendingly dismissive: "Well, what an absurd statement to make..."

Clayson challenged him: "You say it's absurd, but let's look at the evidence. What about Iraq's recent tests of ballistic missiles, and you know this report over the weekend that Iraq has made several attempts to buy several thousand aluminum tubes that would be used to enrich uranium and create nuclear weapons. Is there any doubt in your mind that Saddam Hussein would love to get his hands on a nuclear weapon?"
Ritter: "Yeah, there's all sorts of doubt. You just come to Baghdad and take a look at this city and take a look at this country and understand what war would mean to these people, because any effort by Iraq to reacquire weapons of mass destruction would be used by the Bush administration to go to war. Saddam Hussein and the government of Iraq knows that weapons of mass destruction especially nuclear weapons are a suicide pill for them and that if they get caught even trying to think about reacquiring weapons, we won't be talking about war, we'd be at war. So, you know, let's not talk about aluminum tubing for highly enriched uranium. This is ridiculous, that tubing has to go into a factory, that factory needs to be operational, and if it's operational it would be detected. So rather than talk about the tubes, let's talk about the factory."

Clayson pointed out: "You haven't been to Iraq in four years and Secretary of State Colin Powell says you are no longer 'in the intelligence chain,' so how can you be so certain that Saddam Hussein doesn't have or soon will have nuclear capabilities?"
Ritter became insulting: "Well, first of all, I acknowledge I'm not in the intelligence chains, especially the American intelligence chain. Frankly speaking, given the quality of intelligence that American provided the weapons inspectors for seven years, I wouldn't want to be in that intelligence chain. Because invariably it was inaccurate, almost certainly misleading and was politically motivated almost all the time..."

http://www.mediaresearch.org/cyberalerts/2002/cyb20020910.asp Source

Ritter can stay in Iraq. They deserve each other.

Frankly speaking, given the quality of intelligence that American provided the weapons inspectors for seven years, I wouldn't want to be in that intelligence chain. Because invariably it was inaccurate, almost certainly misleading and was politically motivated almost all the time..."

Somehow, I believe this was true under Clinton.