Former UN inspector Scott Ritter speaks

[Tiger Al 0]

This is a speech he gives at a high school. He was a Marine intelligence officer in Desert Storm and a UN weapons inspector in Iraq for eight years and was critical of Bush's claims of WMD's because, having been there, he knew the claims were either false or incompetent.

LINK

[AUloggerhead 2,356]

This is a speech he gives at a high school. He was a Marine intelligence officer in Desert Storm and a UN weapons inspector in Iraq for eight years and was critical of Bush's claims of WMD's because, having been there, he knew the claims were either false or incompetent.

LINK

Right. He clashed with Gen Schwarzkopf during the Gulf War over Patriot missile kill claims. He clashed with President clinton in 1998 because he thought clinton was too lenient with Iraq over their non-cooperation with the UN inspectors. clinton lobs some crusie missiles into Iraq & Afghanistan to divert attention from his impeachmenet proceedings on perjury & obstruction of justice. Four years pass, Ritter has been writing books & articles and jumps on the anti-Bush bandwagon leading the charge that no WMD are in Iraq -- this despite the fact that he's no longer associated with the UN inspection team and the fact that the UN inspection team was thrown out of Iraq by the Iraqis without ever resolving the issues from when they were last there in 1998. Oh yeah, one other thing but don't let this cloud your judgement of the man: In 2000, Ritter was arrested for trying to solicit sex from an undercover police officer posing as a 16-yr old teenager. It seems, Ritter struck up this internet conversation with this girl, see, and agreed to meet her ... ah well, I'm sure you've all read sordid stories about perverts like this.

So now this honest-to-God Boy Scout is going around speaking to ... High Schools? Gave up on the internet route, huh? Sorry dude, this one doesn't pass the smell test. If you see him, ask Scott Ritter if he ever considered looking for Iraq's WMD in Libya, or Syria, or Sudan or some other proxy state.

Let me add this viewpoint: Discredited

[CarolinaTiger 0]

c'mon, logger...you know sex scandals don't bother the dems...

[rexbo 104]

c'mon, logger...you know sex scandals don't bother the dems...

Of course they don't, it adds to one's credibility, and the bigger the scandal the more 'human' they are, and therefore more 'trustworthy'.

[AUloggerhead 2,356]

c'mon, logger...you know sex scandals don't bother the dems...

You can't call it a 'sex scandal' because what Scott Ritter did didn't meet the clintonian standard of said scandal. There was no touching involved. Hmmm, this IS a familly-type board so how can I put this ... ? Let's just say George Michaels & Pee Wee Herman can both empathize with Scott Ritter. Get the picture?

I find it laughable that people that agree with what Scott Ritter has to say make it a point to laud him as a Marine intelligence officer & the chief UNSCOM weapons inspector when in fact, his little run-in with the law is about as unintelligent a career move as you can make -- not to mention he could never again be considered for an officer's commission nor a security clearance. The very definition of a 'loose cannon' in more ways than one.

[Tiger Al 0]

Loggerhead, just out of curiosity, exactly what crime was he charged with, when was the trial, how did he plead and what was the verdict?

[AUloggerhead 2,356]

Do a google search on "Scott Ritter Sex Scandal." I got a 1030 hits in 0.12 seconds. Here's one detailing CNN's decision to sit on the story (surprise, surprise)

Link

Sorry, I was wrong about the year he was arrested -- I should have said 2001 instead of 2000.

Edit: Here's one with some more detail (discrimminating adults only): Loose Cannon

[Tiger Al 0]

He was charged with attempted endangerment of a child, a misdemeanor that carries up to 90 days in jail.

I can't find how he pleaded.

The case was adjourned in contemplation of dismissal, meaning if he stayed out of trouble for six months, the charges would disappear and the file be sealed.

The charges were dismissed. That's neither a finding of innocence or guilt. That means, in America, innocence is presumed.

And so, how does this negate his opinions based on his years as a weapons inspector in Iraq?

[AUloggerhead 2,356]

He was charged with attempted endangerment of a child, a misdemeanor that carries up to 90 days in jail.

I can't find how he pleaded.

The case was adjourned in contemplation of dismissal, meaning if he stayed out of trouble for six months, the charges would disappear and the file be sealed.

The charges were dismissed. That's neither a finding of innocence or guilt. That means, in America, innocence is presumed.

And so, how does this negate his opinions based on his years as a weapons inspector in Iraq?

You can't find how he pleaded because this modern-day Defender of Truth, Justice and the American Way won't talk about it!!!

You don't find this behavior the least bit odd? Just a tad troubling? I mean, here he is telling anyone who will listen "The Truth" about the deceitful, dispicable Bush Administration & WMD in Iraq, and he refuses to even discuss the "truth" of his arrest with respect to if he is indeed a pedophile. If news accounts are to be believed, Ritter attended sex offender counseling. I'm no detective but hey, could this be why the case was adjourned in contemplation for dismissal? Sure looks that way to me.

Yes, I'd say the boy has a slight credibility problem. For one thing, his alleged predilection for lewd acts with minors makes him a HUGE security risk. Not only now, but it calls into question if he was exploited by enemy agents in the past. I'll let a couple of links say it better than I can:

Link 1

... O.K., so why even discuss it? Ultimately this is not a matter of prurient interest but national security. The Iraqi blackmail angle is certainly plausible, and similar operations may be ongoing against the current inspection effort. Police states excel at recruiting foreigners, and creating informers is one of the Mukhabarat's (the Iraqi intelligence service) primary jobs. Iraqi society, like that of the Soviet states on which it is largely modeled, is thoroughly infested with civilian stoolies controlled by the secret police. Every foreigner who goes to Iraq is watched, especially those on official business, who are considered enemy intelligence agents anyway. Some of them are subjected to subversion operations. There are many methods available to intelligence services seeking to suborn officials, but mostly it comes down to three addictions — money, drugs, and sex. These are individual weaknesses that allow intelligence services to play the role of enabler or blackmailer, or frequently both. They are trusted, time-honored levers of control, effective singly or when used in combination. They can destroy careers, and ruin lives — and that is why they work.  ...

And another:

Link 2

... It is not unreasonable to suggest that Ritter may have been manipulated by Iraqi and other intelligence agencies. We know about his arrest for soliciting sex with an under-age minor. Ritter insists the case was dismissed, and the records were sealed. He reportedly underwent sex offender counseling but doesn't want to talk about it. Before that, he worked in the old Soviet Union as a "disarmament specialist," where he met Marina Khatiashvili, a young woman from Soviet Georgia who would later become his second wife. She served as a Russian-supplied "escort" and translator, and reported to the KGB. In another controversy, Ritter accepted $400,000 from an Iraqi-born American businessman, Shakir Alkafajii, to fund his half-hour documentary, "In Shifting Sands: The Truth About UNSCOM and the Disarming of Iraq." The film was screened at the U.N. and was supposed to air on Al-Jazeera, the Arab television network. Ritter has strongly denied being an Iraqi agent. ...

See what I mean. Scott Ritter's whole public personna is based upon an assumption that he's telling the unvarnished whole truth & nothing but the truth.

Now, how do you explain his 180 degree turn in his public statements on WMD in Iraq in 1998 with what he's saying now? Looking at the big picture, a prudent analyst would have to question his credibility.

[CarolinaTiger 0]

He was charged with attempted endangerment of a child, a misdemeanor that carries up to 90 days in jail.

I can't find how he pleaded.

The case was adjourned in contemplation of dismissal, meaning if he stayed out of trouble for six months, the charges would disappear and the file be sealed.

The charges were dismissed. That's neither a finding of innocence or guilt. That means, in America, innocence is presumed.

And so, how does this negate his opinions based on his years as a weapons inspector in Iraq?

i nominate this quote for the classics forum.

[DKW 86 7,726]

Logger's post could be post of the year.

Clear, concise, to the point.

Researched, linked and devastatingly blunt.

If Ritter was in IRaq and was with a minor, the blackmail potential of all this would be huge!

It would also explain the 180 degree turn he made recently in his opinions of Iraqi weaponry.

Muslim laws of ownership of females mean this could actually have happened and in a Muslim country.

:no: :no:

[Tiger Al 0]

You can't find how he pleaded because this modern-day Defender of Truth, Justice and the American Way won't talk about it!!!

He said because the records are sealed that legally he isn't allowed to talk about it. Do you know this to be untrue? I don't.

You don't find this behavior the least bit odd? Just a tad troubling? I mean, here he is telling anyone who will listen "The Truth" about the deceitful, dispicable Bush Administration & WMD in Iraq, and he refuses to even discuss the "truth" of his arrest with respect to if he is indeed a pedophile. If news accounts are to be believed, Ritter attended sex offender counseling. I'm no detective but hey, could this be why the case was adjourned in contemplation for dismissal? Sure looks that way to me.

His discussing his case or not discussing it doesn't affect his ability discuss other things, namely WMD's in Iraq.

Yes, I'd say the boy has a slight credibility problem. For one thing, his alleged predilection for lewd acts with minors makes him a HUGE security risk. Not only now, but it calls into question if he was exploited by enemy agents in the past.

The key word there is alleged. Everything you say has been done so based on unproven allegations and expounded on with assumptions. Here's a fact for you: In the case of WMD's in Iraq, EVERYTHING that Scott Ritter has said has turned out to be true and EVERYTHING that Bush, Cheney, Powell, Rice, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz said about them has turned out to be NOT true. I'd say his credibility on WMD's in Iraq is batting 1.000.

Too many people become distracted by allegations when they should see these things for what they are and keep their eye on the ball.

[AUloggerhead 2,356]

He said because the records are sealed that legally he isn't allowed to talk about it. Do you know this to be untrue? I don't.

Yes, I do know it to be untrue. The purpose of sealing the case is to protect him from the state, not the state from him. He is under no legal constraints from speaking out or commenting publicly on this. Aaron Brown of CNN called him out in an on-air interview: Scott, you're not telling us the whole truth, are you?

His discussing his case or not discussing it doesn't affect his ability discuss other things, namely WMD's in Iraq.

{sigh} Technically, you're correct. Ritter's physical ability to turn phonetic sounds into words/sentences & converse on any topic wasn't harmed through his arrest experience. :roll: However, what harm can be done to him by identifying (or corroborating news accounts) the 90-days-in-jail Class B Misdemeanor he was arrested for? If the charge is so minor & so insignificant, then why deflect any inquiry into it at all without naming it? I wonder if Scott Ritter thinks that being a pedophile would damage his credibilty as a truthteller. ... Oh, wait ...

Here's a fact for you: In the case of WMD's in Iraq, EVERYTHING that  Scott Ritter has said has turned out to be true.

Please, Al. You know better. He's changed his tune 180 degrees from 1998 to the present. You can't say EVERYTHING and not include the years before 1999.

... Too many people become distracted by allegations when they should see these things for what they are and keep their eye on the ball.

Al, I read that statement from you & I think of what Scott Ritter is publicly proclaiming now (all the while telling us to ignore his arrest) and then I'm reminded of that great line from a famous movie:

PAY NO ATTENTION TO THAT MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN! I AM THE GREAT AND WONDERFUL OZ!