[angkor]

The key timeframe for Ritter's turnaround was between December 1998 and March 1999 (about the time his book Endgame was published).

"All inspections stopped in December 1998. That same month, in an article written for the New Republic, Ritter again warned of the continuing Iraqi threat, this time in much greater detail.... [I]n a June 1999 interview with leaders of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, a peace organization based in Nyack, New York, he had changed his tune."

What happened to Ritter in those 6 months?

In January 1999, Ritter was to speak at Calvin College "about Iraq's capability to deliver deadly chemical and biological weapons within the next six months and nuclear weapons within the next three years.

http://www.calvin.edu/january/1999/ritter.htm

In a Tuesday March 30, 1999 article in The Guardian, Ritter "...denounced the international embargo on Iraq as immoral and argued for a return to dialogue with the rogue regime," and also accused the U.S. of planting CIA agents within UNSCOM.

[Howlin]

Perhaps this isn't the first time Ritter has been caught?

[Grampa Dave]

Thanks for the timeline. It appears that he sold his soul or was extorted into changing his position.

[DAnconia55]

In January 1999, Ritter was to speak at Calvin College "about Iraq's capability to deliver deadly chemical and biological weapons within the next six months and nuclear weapons within the next three years. http://www.calvin.edu/january/1999/ritter.htm In a Tuesday March 30, 1999 article in The Guardian, Ritter denounced the international embargo on Iraq as immoral and argued for a return to dialogue with the rogue regime,"

Nice work.
So we have a two month window.

[The Great Satan]

Very interesting. Actual factual data relevant to the case. It has always struck me as quite odd that Ritter's critics -- Butler, for example -- have refrained from publicly speculating on what turned Ritter. They know the man personally, they must have some notion what makes him tick. The post above which referenced Butler's "lovely wife" remark is an interesting tidbit, too. Looks like we might have another Lee Harvey Oswald on our hands.