War on Iraq

Ritter makes it perfectly clear that his position concerning Iraq is not ideological--he is a card-carrying Republican after all and an ex-marine which immediately suggests he can not really be described as a liberal pacifist! He simply suggests that the excuses being given for the drive to war have not and can not be corroborated. This is an explosive little book and those who oppose any and all wars or those who support them would do well to see if they can respond to Ritter's challenges. --Mark Thwaite

Reader Reviews:

War On Iraq (1/1 people found this helpful)

War On Iraq
Scott Ritter & William Rivers Pitt
2002
U.K. Profile Books, U.S. Context Books
__________________________________

"We write to taste life twice, in the moment, and in retrospection." -
Anais Nin

Today there were another 16 US casualties in Iraq (BBC News 03/11/2003).
This follows on the heels of the announcement that more British soldiers
have been killed since the official end of the war in Iraq than during the
conflict itself (BBC News 29/10/2003). The same division in the deathtoll
has long been echoed by U.S. Defense Department figures. The U.S. and U.K.
governments insist that the continued presence of allied forces in Iraq is
justified. This largely relies on the soldiers being presented as
"liberators", a notion currently rejected by 85% of Iraqis (USATODAY.com
29/10/2003). The reason for allied forces being there at all seems to
depend on the existence of Weapons of Mass Destruction. As we all know,
these weapons have yet to be found and even former U.N. chief weapons
inspector Hans Blix has recently expressed doubts about the veracity of
such claims (Toronto Star 21/09/2003). Scott Ritter is another former UN
weapons inspector who preceded Blix in doubting the existence of Iraq's
Weapons of Mass Destruction. The difference is that he published his
concerns in "War On Iraq" in 2002 (U.K. Profile Books, U.S. Context Books)
before war was even waged. The luxury of hindsight allows us to see if
Ritter's predictions have stood the test of time, however brief.

In addition to the lack of Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction, Ritter
chiefly proposed that deposing Saddam Hussein would be ineffectual, simply
leading to an alternative head of the ruling Sunnis. Whilst this hasn't
been born out as yet, the 'Sunni Triangle', the Sunni Muslim-dominated
area north and west of Baghdad, has remained loyal to Saddam Hussein and
is proving most resistant to American-led reconstruction of the Iraqi

administration. Ritter also predicted that Turkey would provide military
bases for U.S. forces only if Kurdish independence be blocked. Indeed, the
Kurds have been included in talks about regime change with Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney, while Turkey has
stepped down from its March 1st. position denying U.S. troops the use of
bases in Turkey only enough to allow coalition planes through their
airspace. But they currently parry and thrust with the U.S. over southern
Kurdistan. Meanwhile, Ritter's suggestions that the Kurds would be
suspicious of U.S. designs for Iraq seem to be coming true; the perception
of U.S. troops as occupiers has grown most sharply in Shia and Kurdish
cities.

"War On Iraq" is mainly an interview held by author and Truthout.org
Managing Editor William Rivers Pitt. Ritter's experiences in the field as
a weapons inspector and intelligence officer back up his answers, and his
arguments are persuasive, although some questioning is clearly biased in
order to forward him as a patriot and innocent victim of his sex scandal
slur. During the interview Ritter provides systematic evidence in
contradiction of estimates of Iraqi pre-war military strength, the threat
cited in the U.S. and U.K. rationale for war. It is notable then that
there is only a handful of reviews at Amazon.co.uk, all positive about the
book and anti-war, in contrast to the more numerous, often heated and
agressive, defenders of the war who have posted their thoughts about the
book and its authors at Amazon.com. However, the american readers are
split amongst themselves, fairly evenly awarding the highest and lowest
scores.

Since the official end of the war, both sides of the Altantic have become
engrossed with internally-focused enquiries that only peripherally attend
to the apparent manipulation of military intelligence about Weapons of
Mass Destruction. In the U.K. the Hutton Enquiry investigated the death of
a leading scientist, and the U.S. intelligence bureau is considering the
intimidation of a retired Ambassador. It seems that these are easier
questions to answer than discovering the true reasons behind 'Operation
Enduring Freedom'. In the absence of any substantiated argument from the
people who took America and Britain to war, perhaps Ritter's is the best
account that we have.

What we should have been told (1/1 people found this helpful)

Very short, but with all the information that matters on the subject. Right to the point!
I'm glad I could read it.

Tell's us what the majority of the media does not. (7/12 people found this helpful)

This book is one that I think everyone should read- whether they buy it or borrow it from a libary. It does not take very long to read, but its content is paramount to the upcoming war in Iraq. Whichever side of the debate you are from (guess where I stand...), this book details facts about Iraq that the majority of the Press & the other forms of media ('News' channels such as BBC24, CNN, FOX, SKY) largely cover with a notion of balance. Perhaps a look at the upcoming Noam Chomsky book will make most realise that the media is in cahoots with the establishment: big business, governments that are meant to represent us...

Ritter has become a bugaboo for the US administration- a man who comes from a HAWK-background, but whose experience has made him detail an inconsistency in US Foreign Policy. The last week or so have found him the subject of C.R.E.E.P.- style character assassanation- with an arrest (but no subsequent charge or verdict)being mysteriously released from sealed documents. Note how the associations of the arrest are meant to weaken Ritter's case here. 21st Century McCarthyism?- anyway, Ritter was arrested once, the case eventually dropped. George W. Bush Jnr. has been arrested THREE times, with the cases dropped- so let's see what character assassantion could be like, if the press looked with any balance at those in power...

As with books like 9/11 & The Day That Shook the World, War on Iraq is a vital book- one that is good value & to the point. It makes clear what the Weapons Inspections are about & how prior inspections have been scuppered by US-spying as much as Hussein's war games. It does not make the case that Sadaam is a nice guy- it offers a rationale look at something that media & politicians largely fail to look at (apologies to Channel 4 News). This is why Ritter has become such an Alger Hiss style target; a book that should be read by at least all Americans & British- as these are the nations currently gearing up for another war on Iraq...

This book will show some gruesome thruthýs! (4/4 people found this helpful)

This is one of the most intriguing works I have read on the Middle East policies we as the general public have to (or will eventually have to)deal with. It goes deep into the underbelly on the mechanisms that drive foreign policies in US politics and explains clearly why certain facts happen the way they do. The author is an ex US weapons inspector who after seeing all the inconsistencies in the behavior of the US and UN governments has resigned from his position to write about what really goes on behind the scenes of the most powerful institutions of the world.
When you next watch the news it will make a lot more sense however be warned the book reveals some scary topics!

What team Bush dont want you to know (4/4 people found this helpful)

I have just finished this book. Ive been following the current situation in Iraq for a very long time and im glad to say that this book is very up-to-date. However its a very very short and small book...74 pages long and almost literally a pocket book.

Plenty of facts; the modern history of Iraq leading up to its current political situation. Just FYI the book wasnt actually written by Scott Ritter himself as he is only used as a source; a recent interview (Q&A session) with him covers 70% of the book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who's been following current events and would like to get some background info on the Iraq Crisis. The book is very informative and does shed alot of light on the poticis of the situation where the global media seems to be lacking. Well worth the [the price].

William Pitt Rivers, Scott Ritter