Arms inspector turned peace activist says get ready for the draft

Former United National Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter gained more prominence, or notoriety, for what he did after leaving that job. His blunt criticism of the war in Iraq, and in particular, the Bush administration’s policy in the Mid-East, has made him a hit on college campuses.

Ritter drew a large crowd and standing ovation at SUNY New Paltz last night by claiming, among other things, that the recent election in Iraq is a fraud. “Stalin had elections. Hitler had elections. Saddam Hussein had elections. Elections don’t bring democracy,” he said.

Not, Ritter argued, when it is the U.S. Military, not the people themselves that are running the election

Ritter contends that the Military is becoming less functional as a tool of an ambitious foreign policy that, he says, is headed for showdown with Iran, an adversary far more ominous than Iraq.

That, he says, will mandate the inevitable reinstitution of a draft. “A breakdown of our military’s ability to handle these adventures. Congress will be confronted with that and congress will have to take action. So, the blame will be thrust on the shoulders of congress, and the Bush administration will say ‘Well, we didn’t want this’. But, it had to happen.”

Ritter says he supports the U.S. Military, and those who serve, when they are defending America. What they are doing now, he says, is empire-building, based on a premise of lies.

The forum was organized by “Alternatives to Military” (ATM) on the eve of today’s planned rally at SUNY New Paltz, marking the second anniversary of the start of the Iraq war.

One of the organizers, Rebecca Rotzler, Deputy Mayor of the Village of New Paltz, says while they would love to end recruiting altogether at colleges, a more realistic goal is to give equal visibility to alternatives, including conscientious objection.


http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/Ritter_SNP-19Mar05.htm