[Peace] Scott Ritter/PBS tonite

[Dlind49 at aol.com]

SCOTT RITTER

August 31, 1998
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Transcript 


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Questioning both the United States' and the United Nation's resolve to rid 
Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, U.N weapons inspector Scott Ritter 
resigned from his post after seven years of service. Following a background 
report, Elizabeth Farnsworth speaks with Mr. Ritter about his decision. 
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A RealAudio version of this segment on media coverage. 
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NEWSHOUR LINKS: 
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August 31, 1998
A discussion with Mr. Ritter.

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August 14, 1998
Did the U.S. government stop surprise weapons inspections in Iraq?

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August 6, 1998
Ambassador Butler discusses the latest conflict with Iraq. 

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June 24, 1998
A Newsmaker interview with Ambassador Butler. 

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June 24, 1998
A Newsmaker interview with Iraqi U.N. Ambassador Nizar Hamdoon. 

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May 4, 1998
The U.S. decides six Iraqis detainees pose a security risk and must return 
home. 

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Online Forum
Noam Chomsky and James Woolsey debate U.S. foreign policy.

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March 4, 1998
An interview with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.

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March 2, 1998
An interview with Iraq's Ambassador to the U.N. Nizar Hamdoon.

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February 27, 1998
Congressional views of the U.N. deal with Iraq.

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February 24, 1998
James Baker and William Perry discuss the deal's impact on U.S. foreign 
policy. 

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February 20, 1998
A panel of experts examine the crisis from the Iraqi perspective.

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Browse the NewsHour's coverage of the Middle East and the United Nations. 
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OUTSIDE LINKS 
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The Homepage for the United Nations. 
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The homepage for Iraq-ArabNet. 
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JIM LEHRER: And finally tonight former UN Inspector Scott Rigger. Margaret 
Warner begins with some background. 
MARGARET WARNER: For the past seven years, Scott Ritter has been a central 
figure in the United Nations inspection effort in Iraq. He has headed the 
team in charge of uncovering and countering Iraq's efforts to conceal its 
weapons programs. But last Wednesday, in a blunt letter of resignation, 
Ritter charged that the Special Commission in charge of the inspections, 
known as UNSCOM, has become "hobbled by unfettered Iraqi obstruction and 
non-existent  Security Council enforcement of its own resolutions." Ritter 
went on to charge that the UN Security Council has become "a witting partner 
to an overall Iraqi strategy of weakening the Special Commission." UNSCOM 
chairman Richard Butler accepted Ritter's resignation. 

Ambassador Butler accepts the resignation. 

RICHARD BUTLER: I read it. I talked with him about it. It was clear to me 
that the best course of action was for me to accept it. In doing so I 
expressed to him my deep regret that his departure from UNSCOM will take away 
from us skills, knowledge, and dedication that we needed and him being very 
valuable. 

MARGARET WARNER: Butler would not comment on whether he agreed that UNSCOM 
inspectors are being hampered in their work, as Ritter charged. 

RICHARD BUTLER: Whether or not I share those views is something that I won't 
go into here. What I will say is this: Scott and I agree that there is still 
work of disarmament to be done. 

MARGARET WARNER: But Butler strongly denied news reports that Secretary of 
State Madeleine Albright had pressured him to hold off on additional surprise 
inspections of Iraqi facilities. 

RICHARD BUTLER: I have never felt that that pressure will represent-that the 
representation of those views would be described as undue pressure or 
persuasion but, above all, I have never found that they cross the line 
between their legitimate interest in policy and my unique responsibility for 
operational decisions, never. 

MARGARET WARNER: Secretary of State Madeleine Albright also responded to 
Ritter's charges. 

Sec. of State Albright responds. 

MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, Secretary of State: We are the foremost supporters of 
UNSCOM and have been working very hard to assure that UNSCOM can continue to 
do its work. In fact, we have been the ones that have been covering its back 
to a great extent in the Security Council. And we believe that it is 
absolutely essential for Saddam Hussein to come clean in terms of the weapons 
of mass destruction and to follow-to follow through on all the Security 
Council obligations that he has. The United States has been the country in 
the lead keeping Saddam Hussein in his box. 

MARGARET WARNER: Ritter, a former U.S. Marine Corps captain and a long-time 
disarmament specialist, has been at the center of controversy before. In 
January, the Iraqi government accused him of being a U.S. spy, and tried to 
prevent him from conducting inspections. The resulting showdown almost led to 
U.S. military strikes against Iraq. That crisis was defused in February with 
an accord that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan negotiated with the Iraqis, 
establishing new ground rules for inspectors. Ritter conducted his last 
inspection in March. Earlier this month, Iraq announced it was suspending 
cooperation with most UNSCOM inspections.