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Scott Ritter to Speak Missouri Southern News Bureau FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 7, 2002 Contact: Julie Blackford (417) 625-9320 E-Mail: News Bureau Voice: (417) 625.9399 FAX: (417) 625.3142 |
JOPLIN, MO (SNS) -Scott Ritter, former
chief Weapons Inspector for the United Nations Special Commission in
Iraq, will speak at 7 p.m., Monday, Oct. 21 in Taylor Performing Arts
Center.
Ritter was on the front lines of the ongoing battle against arms
proliferation in Iraq. Ritter assembled and led the multinational team
charged with seeking out weapons of mass destruction in one of the
world's most dangerous dictatorships.
His experience in enemy territory serves as the basis for his
book, Endgame, which explores future approaches to the Iraqi
crisis. Ritter is a ballistic missile technology expert who worked with
military intelligence during a 12-year career in the U.S. armed forces.
A former major in the U.S. Marines, he spent several months of
the Gulf War serving under General Norman Schwarzkopf at Marine Central
Command headquarters in Saudi Arabia.
In 1991, Ritter joined the United Nations weapons inspections
team (UNSCOM). He led the team into Iraq in January of 1998, only to be
blocked by Iraqi officials. Accusing him of being a spy, Iraq refused
Ritter and his team an escort to the inspection sites, thereby
preventing them from doing their job.
Following the decision to defy the U.N. and block further
searches, Ritter initiated a series of additional inspections. Despite
verbal support of his efforts from the U.S. and the U.N. Security
Council, behind closed doors a decision was made 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, a Florida native, was raised all over the world in a
career military family. He is a graduate of Franklin and Marshall
College with a B.A. in Soviet History.
Scott Ritter's appearance at Missouri Southern is sponsored by
the Campus Activities Board (CAB) and is free and open to the public.
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