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Iraq Confidential: The Untold Story of the Intelligence Conspiracy to Undermine the UN and Overthrow Saddam Hussein
Scott Ritter is the straight-talking former marine officer who the CIA wants to silence. After the 1991 Gulf War, Ritter helped lead the UN weapons inspections of Iraq and found himself at the center of a dangerous game between the Iraqi and US regimes.
As Ritter reveals in this explosive book, Washington was only interested in disarmament as a tool for its own agenda. Operating in a fog of espionage and counter-espionage, Ritter and his team were determined to find out the truth about Iraq’s WMD. The CIA were equally determined to stop them. The truth, as we now know, was that Iraq was playing a deadly game of double-bluff, and actually had no WMD. But to have revealed this would have derailed America’s drive for regime change.
Iraq Confidential charts the disillusionment of a staunch patriot who came to realize that his own government sought to undermine effective arms control in the Middle East. Ritter shows us a world of deceit and betrayal in which nothing is as it seems. A host of characters from Mossad, MI6 and the CIA pepper this powerful narrative, which contains revelations that will permanently affect the ongoing debates about Iraq.
As Ritter reveals in this explosive book, Washington was only interested in disarmament as a tool for its own agenda. Operating in a fog of espionage and counter-espionage, Ritter and his team were determined to find out the truth about Iraq’s WMD. The CIA were equally determined to stop them. The truth, as we now know, was that Iraq was playing a deadly game of double-bluff, and actually had no WMD. But to have revealed this would have derailed America’s drive for regime change.
Iraq Confidential charts the disillusionment of a staunch patriot who came to realize that his own government sought to undermine effective arms control in the Middle East. Ritter shows us a world of deceit and betrayal in which nothing is as it seems. A host of characters from Mossad, MI6 and the CIA pepper this powerful narrative, which contains revelations that will permanently affect the ongoing debates about Iraq.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published September 23, 2005
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April 25, 2018
Scott Ritter was the guy in charge of field operations for UNSCOM, the United Nations entity charged with performing weapons inspections in Iraq, and he has tales to tell. Bottom line is that the USA never intended for sanctions to be lifted on Iraq, no matter what the UNSCOM team turned up. In order to keep UNSCOM from actually completing its mission, the US engaged in a systematic policy of interference, misinformation and dirty tricks. And this was under Clinton, as well as under both Bushies. The US policy was to see regime change in Iraq. In fact the US attempted to sponsor a coup in the mid-1990’s. It attempted to use UNSCOM as cover for its activities.
Scott Ritter - from ABC Australia
It is very interesting to see how Ritter learned of the various USA machinations from his friends in other countries’ intelligence services, and interesting as well to see how Israelis and Brits dealt with UNSCOM. It is clear that the Iraqis had someone on the inside who was feeding them information. I seem to recall that it was the French. The stories he tells can get a bit repetitive, but it is worth while reading up on the details. This is a must read for anyone serious about understanding the role of sanctions in the Middle East, or anywhere else, for that matter.
=============================EXTRA STUFF
A piece Ritter wrote for the London Review of Books on the issue of no-notice inspections as it pertains to the USA-Iran nuclear deal. Timely, and definitely worth a look - ‘We ain’t found shit’
Ritter wrote many articles for Truthdig from 2007 to 2010
A Ritter article about Tariq Aziz many years after
Williams River Pitt posted this BuzzFlash article in 2013 looking at a connection to how Ritter and another who many see as a truth-teller (although many consider a traitor) have been treated by the world - Edward Snowden, My Book with Scott Ritter, and the Art of Crushing the Messenger to Crush the Message
Scott Ritter - from ABC Australia
It is very interesting to see how Ritter learned of the various USA machinations from his friends in other countries’ intelligence services, and interesting as well to see how Israelis and Brits dealt with UNSCOM. It is clear that the Iraqis had someone on the inside who was feeding them information. I seem to recall that it was the French. The stories he tells can get a bit repetitive, but it is worth while reading up on the details. This is a must read for anyone serious about understanding the role of sanctions in the Middle East, or anywhere else, for that matter.
=============================EXTRA STUFF
A piece Ritter wrote for the London Review of Books on the issue of no-notice inspections as it pertains to the USA-Iran nuclear deal. Timely, and definitely worth a look - ‘We ain’t found shit’
Ritter wrote many articles for Truthdig from 2007 to 2010
A Ritter article about Tariq Aziz many years after
Williams River Pitt posted this BuzzFlash article in 2013 looking at a connection to how Ritter and another who many see as a truth-teller (although many consider a traitor) have been treated by the world - Edward Snowden, My Book with Scott Ritter, and the Art of Crushing the Messenger to Crush the Message
April 23, 2022
4stars
داستان ناگفته عراق توسط اسکات ریتر در سال ۲۰۰۵ و پس از اتمام جنگ عرق نوشته شده است
اسکات ریتر ، خود از بازرسان آنسکام ( کمیته خلع سلاح عراق) بود که در این اثر گزارش کاملی از اقدامات آنسکام در خصوص مسئله خلع سلاح عراق را ارایه می دهد
او افشا می کند که، آمریکا از ابتدا به دنبال خلع سلاح نبوده و به طور ضمنی شرط رفع تحریم ها را سرنگونی حکومت صدام عنوان می کرد
حتی او در بخش هایی اشاره می کرد که آنسکام صرفا اقداماتی را برای کسب اطلاعات توسط نیروهای پوششی آمریکا فراهم می آوردند. اطلاعاتی که به حمله برق آسا و سرنگونی سریع عراق انجامید
نویسنده به ماجرای کودتای سال ۱۹۹۵ اشاره می کند که قرار بود صدام، با خیانت گارد ریاست جمهوری و کمک کمیته ملی عراق( احمد چلبی و الشعوانی) از قدرت خلع شود که این کودتا نافرجام ماند
اسکات ریتر در ادامه می گوید که آنسکام صرفا مجری سیاست های آمریکا بود و به هیچ عنوان تمایل به ارائه گزارش در خصوص خلع سلاح عراق نداشت، خلع سلاحی که عملا از سال ۱۹۹۱ و انفجار داوطلبانه ۸۱۹ موشک اسکاد ، عملا شکل گرفته بود
بازرسی های همه جانبه حتی داخل کاخ ریاست جمهوری برای پیگیری و اکتشاف اسناد یا تجهیزات موشک های بالستیکی یا سلاح های کشتار جمعی، موفقیت آمیز نبود و آنسکام نتوانست شواهدی پیدا کند اما تمایلی هم به ارائه گزارش به شورای امنیت برای خلع سلاح نداشت، چراکه هدف اصلی سرنگونی صدام حسین بود نه خلع سلاح عراق
بعد از حمله به عراق و سرنگونی حکومت بعثی، بنا به بررسی های صورت گرفته فقط میزان بسیار محدودی از سلاح های شیمایی کشف شد که این امر نشان دهنده موفقیت آنسکام در مسئله خلع سلاح بود اما ظاهرا حقیقت در خدمت سیاست قرار گرفته بود و می بایست آن چیزی حقیقت داشته باشد که سیاست می گوید
داستان ناگفته عراق توسط اسکات ریتر در سال ۲۰۰۵ و پس از اتمام جنگ عرق نوشته شده است
اسکات ریتر ، خود از بازرسان آنسکام ( کمیته خلع سلاح عراق) بود که در این اثر گزارش کاملی از اقدامات آنسکام در خصوص مسئله خلع سلاح عراق را ارایه می دهد
او افشا می کند که، آمریکا از ابتدا به دنبال خلع سلاح نبوده و به طور ضمنی شرط رفع تحریم ها را سرنگونی حکومت صدام عنوان می کرد
حتی او در بخش هایی اشاره می کرد که آنسکام صرفا اقداماتی را برای کسب اطلاعات توسط نیروهای پوششی آمریکا فراهم می آوردند. اطلاعاتی که به حمله برق آسا و سرنگونی سریع عراق انجامید
نویسنده به ماجرای کودتای سال ۱۹۹۵ اشاره می کند که قرار بود صدام، با خیانت گارد ریاست جمهوری و کمک کمیته ملی عراق( احمد چلبی و الشعوانی) از قدرت خلع شود که این کودتا نافرجام ماند
اسکات ریتر در ادامه می گوید که آنسکام صرفا مجری سیاست های آمریکا بود و به هیچ عنوان تمایل به ارائه گزارش در خصوص خلع سلاح عراق نداشت، خلع سلاحی که عملا از سال ۱۹۹۱ و انفجار داوطلبانه ۸۱۹ موشک اسکاد ، عملا شکل گرفته بود
بازرسی های همه جانبه حتی داخل کاخ ریاست جمهوری برای پیگیری و اکتشاف اسناد یا تجهیزات موشک های بالستیکی یا سلاح های کشتار جمعی، موفقیت آمیز نبود و آنسکام نتوانست شواهدی پیدا کند اما تمایلی هم به ارائه گزارش به شورای امنیت برای خلع سلاح نداشت، چراکه هدف اصلی سرنگونی صدام حسین بود نه خلع سلاح عراق
بعد از حمله به عراق و سرنگونی حکومت بعثی، بنا به بررسی های صورت گرفته فقط میزان بسیار محدودی از سلاح های شیمایی کشف شد که این امر نشان دهنده موفقیت آنسکام در مسئله خلع سلاح بود اما ظاهرا حقیقت در خدمت سیاست قرار گرفته بود و می بایست آن چیزی حقیقت داشته باشد که سیاست می گوید
December 24, 2022
Scott Ritter was a high ranking UN weapons inspector from 91 thru 98 when Clinton kicked them out in 1998. This book recounts his personal experience of the inspection process. I found his Frontier Justice much easier to digest, but that doesn’t mean I found this book without merit. It’s not like he wrote a fictional novel arguing against global warming, Yeah I’m talking to you Crichton. But this book has so many players that make short appearances, most with pseudonyms, that it’s difficult to follow. But what is clear is that Iraq has no weapons after 1991. What is tough to understand is that if the Iraqis came clean right away with the U.N. sanctions may have been dropped and Saddam could have stayed in power. I think this book forces the question; What where the Iraqis thinking? The book also discusses to some extent how the US Gov’t used the UN inspections as a cover to spy on Saddam. Bottom Line, I believe Ritter has a unique perspective to help US citizens understand what role inspections played in the build up to this current debacle of an occupation we have going on now, but this book is not an effective means to helping the average US citizen understand. (5/10)
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews