Portrait of William Scott Ritter

William Scott Ritter, Jr. (born July 15, 1961) served from 1991 to 1998 as a United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq in the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), which was charged with finding and destroying all weapons of mass destruction and WMD-related manufacturing capabilities in Iraq. He was chief inspector in fourteen of the more than thirty inspection missions in which he participated.

Scott Ritter is most noted for being a critic of United States foreign policy in the Middle East stemming from his experiences as a United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq. Prior to the US invasion of Iraq in March, 2003, Ritter repeatedly stated that Iraq possessed no weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). Because of the prevailing political climate in the United States at the time, Ritter was widely condemned for this position.

Already in February 18, 2005 Scott Ritter in a speech indicated that George Bush had signed-off on preparations to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities. Ritter reiterated and clarified his statements about Iran in a March 30 article published by Al Jazeera.

Ritter published "Target Iran: The Truth About the White House's Plans for Regime Change" in 2006. In his book Ritter claims that Israel is pushing the Bush administration into war with Iran. He also accuses the U.S. pro-Israel lobby of dual loyalty and outright espionage.

Randi Rhodes interviews Scott Ritter 2/19/07 part 1

Randi Rhodes interviews Scott Ritter 2/19/07 part 2

Scott Ritter: Target Iran (1). Interview with Seymour Hersh

Scott Ritter: Target Iran (2). Interview with Seymour Hersh

Bush may use nuclear weapons against Iran. Interview with Wolf Blitzer.