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When the heat is on the fritter has to turn! Valerie Jabir On Fri, 28 Jul 2000 09:38:02 -0400 Ramsey Kysia <mbakery@erols.com> wrote: > Ex-U.N. Inspector Ritter to Tour Iraq, Make Documentary > > By Colum Lynch > Special to The Washington Post > Thursday , July 27, 2000 ; A18 > > UNITED NATIONS, July 27 –– Scott Ritter, the former U.N. arms > inspector who badgered Iraq with his aggressive pursuit of hidden > weapons, said he will return to Baghdad on Saturday at the > invitation of President Saddam Hussein. > > The Iraqi leader has agreed to provide Ritter and a documentary > film crew access to weapons facilities throughout the country so > that Ritter can judge whether Iraq has rebuilt its arsenal since U.N. > inspectors left 19 months ago. Ritter said he is also hoping to get > an interview with the Iraqi leader. > > The trip comes weeks after Ritter published an article in an arms > control magazine asserting Iraq has essentially disarmed and > challenging speculation by the Clinton administration that Baghdad > has the capacity to reconstitute its chemical, biological and > nuclear weapons programs. > > "My personal feeling is that Iraq is qualitatively disarmed and the > Security Council should reassess its position," Ritter said in an > interview. > > This marks a bizarre turnaround for Ritter, who resigned from the > United Nations almost two years ago in protest over the U.S. failure > to support even tougher U.N. inspections. Iraqi leaders, having > frequently accused Ritter of spying on Iraq for the CIA, seem to > view their erstwhile enemy as an asset in their propaganda war > against the United States. > > Ritter said his reassessment of the danger posed by Iraq's weapon > programs was brought about by a change in his own job title. As a > U.N. inspector, he was under orders from the U.N. Security Council > to achieve 100 percent disarmament regarding prohibited weapons > in Iraq, a standard Baghdad never met. As an independent > observer, Ritter said he believes that Iraq's military has been > sufficiently degraded by the U.N. inspectors to prevent Saddam > Hussein from threatening his neighbors. However, Ritter has not > articulated a persuasive explanation of why he is convinced Iraq will > not present a future threat to the region. > > Under terms of the 1991 Persian Gulf War cease-fire, Iraq is > required to forgo the development of medium- and long-range > missiles, and all chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. But > U.N. inspectors have not been allowed into Iraq to test whether the > government has met its obligation since they left in December > 1998, on the verge of a U.S. and British bombardment. > > U.S. officials contend Ritter is naively allowing himself to be used > by Baghdad to further its efforts to reconstitute its weapon > programs and say his visit will be used to support Baghdad's claim > that it has abandoned its illegal programs. > > "Having Iraq host Scott Ritter for a 'thanks for the memories' > documentary is lovely, but it doesn't substitute for full cooperation > with the U.N. inspection regime," said national security spokesman > P. J. Crowley. "They had the opportunity to cooperate with Ritter > when he was actually an inspector and didn't." > > The documentary project has aroused the interest of federal law > enforcement authorities. Ritter said that FBI agents have followed > and questioned him and the film's producer, Tom Osborne, about > their contacts with Iraqi officials and warned that Baghdad would > seek to manipulate them into joining the Iraqi cause or at least into > presenting a more favorable portrait of the regime. > > U.S. citizens are prohibited from traveling to Iraq under an embargo > imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait. Violators face up to 12 years in > prison and $1 million in fines, though there is an exemption for > journalists, which Ritter maintains he meets. > > Ritter said he intends to interview Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq > Aziz and Oil Minister Amer Rashid, and visit existing and > destroyed weapon facilities where he will investigate claims by > Western intelligence sources that Iraq is developing new viral > warfare agents in an underground installation. > > "I thought a documentary that went in and actually gained access > to these sites and interviewed the Iraqis would go a long way > toward dispelling some of the rumors" about Iraq's arsenal," Ritter > said. "But this isn't going to be a patsy rollover thing." > > Ritter said he was first invited to Baghdad last year by the Iraqi > government after the publication of his book "Endgame," which > argued that the continuation of economic sanctions on Iraq was > more "evil" than doing business with Saddam Hussein. "They were > shocked by my position in the book," Ritter said. > > Ritter said that several months later, at a hearing on Capitol Hill, he > met Iraqi-born American businessman Shakir Alkafajii, who had > heard Ritter attack U.S. policy toward Iraq. Alkafajii asked what > Ritter could do to end the sanctions and break the impasse in > relations between the United States and Iraq. "I said I could do a > documentary," Ritter answered. > > Alkafajii, who is accompanying Ritter as a "translator and cultural > adviser," secured the travel visas for the crew and agreed to put up > a $400,000 line of credit to finance the documentary. > > © 2000 The Washington Post Company > -- > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > This is a discussion list run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq > For removal from list, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk > Full details of CASI's various lists can be found on the CASI website: > http://welcome.to/casi -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a discussion list run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq For removal from list, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk Full details of CASI's various lists can be found on the CASI website: http://welcome.to/casi