,
#1 Scott Ritter at Chapman U. Tuesday, March 18th
Delp-Wilkinson Peace Lecture, Spring 2003:
THE COMING WAR WITH IRAQ: HOW DID WE
GET HERE?
A lecture by Mr. Scott Ritter,
former U.N. Weapons Inspector in Iraq
Tuesday, March 18, 2003 at 7 PM
Beckman Hall 404
Chapman University
As a chief weapons inspector for the UN Special
Commission in Iraq, Scott Ritter was labeled a hero
by some, a maverick by others, and a spy by the Iraqi
government. In charge of searching out weapons of
mass destruction within Iraq, Ritter was on the front
lines of the ongoing battle against arms proliferation.
Scott Ritter has had an extensive and distinguished
career in government service. He is a ballistic missile
technology expert who worked in military intelligence
during a 12-year career in the U.S. armed forces, including
assignments in the former Soviet Union and the Middle
East. A former major in the U.S. Marines, Ritter also
spent several months of the Gulf War serving under
General Norman Schwartzkopf with Marine Central
Command headquarters in Saudi Arabia.
In 1991, Ritter joined the UN weapons inspection team,
or UNSCOM. He took part in 52 inspection missions,
14 of them as chief. He led the UN weapons inspection
team into Iraq in January of 1998, only to be blocked
from the weapons sites by Iraqi officials.
Following Iraq's decision to defy the UN and block further
searches, Ritter initiated a series of additional inspections.
Despite verbal support of Ritter's efforts from the U.S. and
the UN Security Council, behind closed doors they resolved
not to confront Iraq's policy. Unwilling to accept the lack of
official action against the Iraqi decision, Ritter resigned
his position proclaiming that the "illusion of arms control
is more dangerous than no arms control at all."
Ritter went back to Iraq in 2000 for a different reason. He
filmed a documentary, "In Shifting Sands: The Truth of
UNSCOM and the Disarming of Iraq", which focuses on
the disarmament of Iraq and its implications for U.S.
foreign policy. The documentary gives an eye-opening
view of America from the international community's perspective,
while presenting an unwavering hard line on issues of
international justice and global security.
Today Scott Ritter proposes that the UN Weapons inspectors
should be allowed to complete their work rather than have a
premature allied invasion of Iraq.
Admission is free. For further information,
contact (714) 997-6556
Original: SCOTT RITTER @ CHAPMAN COLLEGE ON TUES.