Ritter’s article is a failure of imagination underscored by his rank arrogance.

His emphasis on the arcane history of the Islamic faith fails to shed any real light on the modern situation in the Middle East.  His account is the hyper-intellectualized equivalent of re-hashing Luther’s 95 theses or the Catholic schisms to shed light on the conflict in Northern Ireland.  Many political movements use religion to manipulate their constituencies and mask their real intentions: the current situation in Iraq vis a vis the rest of the Middle East is no different. 

More insightful historical lessons are found in the colonial occupation of the region that inflamed sectarian divisions, created artificial nations and a begot the crushing cycle of revenge into which the current administration blundered.

“Iran has publicly stated that they seek the destruction of Israel. Israel will make sure that this does not happen.”

Professor Ibraham,
What would it take for you to feel safe?  Would we need to kill 70 million Arabs, or would we need to exterminate 350,000,000 million Muslims?  Or would several billion be enough?  Perhaps, we should have all Arabs wear yellow arm bands, so that we don’t confuse Israelis and Muslims; we can round-up all the Arabs that make you uncomfortable, place them in detention camps and gradually exterminate them.  It won’t be too difficult since the methodology has already been implemented by the Nazis, so we could just follow suit.

Ibraham, would you feel better, if we immediately begin this process of extermination; after all, it is only genocide.

I doubt very much that “Professor Ibrahim” is in fact a “professor”; his position is simply too much that of the Israel-can-do-no-wrong bigot who rejects the fact of human imperfection and finitude in their behalf.  In short, is a supremacist.  In a word: racist.

So tell us, “Ibrahim”: where does the US, via the UN, get the right to tell any country, Iran included, that it can’t have nuclear weapons (that being the current lie against Iran)?  You’re correct, “Ibrahim”: it has no such right.  Which is why bigots such as yourself must engage in simpleton’s oversimplifications in effort to appeal to ignorance and racism.  To bigoty and racism identical to yours.

Have you got the point yet?  That calling yourself “Professor” doesn’t succeed in obscuring your fundamental ignorance and racism?

”The U.N. has warned, again & again, Iran about continuing its nuclear program. Iran refuses to listen.”

Professor—-Does your lesson plans include a lecture about deja vue—-your diatribe sounds familiar—-we heard this same nonsense just before we invaded Iraq—-haven’t we killed enough Muslims over the last four years.

Reply to Comment #61950 by Peter RV on 4/03 at 10:37 am

A very thorough discussion of the “wipe Israel off the map” quote may be found at:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article16218.htm

Well, TruthDig, where is my comment on “Professor Ibraham’s” ranting and raving?

Well I guess Scott liked the old congress more than the new group trying to tackle old problems.  Why not, instead of being a critic in the print media,  offer your services to those you agree with?  You’re expertise could be an asset,  It’s called being Progessive.

Professor Ibraham has a closed mind (if he has any) when he keeps repeating the boring Cia-Mossad propaganda about Iran.
First,Mister “Professor”, neither Ajmadinejad nor any Iranian Government official has ever said anything about anihilating Israel. The statement, which your propaganda machine refers to, is of Ayatolah Khomieny (defunct now more than a decade ago) in which he says “een rezheem-e ishgalqar-e Qods bayad az safayeh ruzgar mahv shavad” ,meaning litterally: “the regime that occupies Jerusalim must vanish from the pages of history”. There is absolutelly no mention, either of any famous “map” or of destruction of the Jews or of their state.
To explain this statement to our “Professor” I would suggests he reads the relentless calls of our Government and his (Israel’s) for a violent overthrow of the Iranian Government.
What Ahmadinejad was saying by repeating Khomieny’s words,is simply calling for regime change in Israel.So, what is wrong with that?
Second, Iranian nuclear program is entirely legal, Iran obeys by the rules which the U.S. itself has established to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Iran is offering all guaranties for inspection of its activities, and they naturally ask why Israel doesn’t comply with the international rules.
“Professor”, after what happened with Iraq, you can’t fool anyone with your stale tricks.

Professor Ibraham has a closed mind (if he has any) when he keeps repeating the boring Cia-Mossad propaganda about Iran.
First,Mister “Professor”, neither Ajmadinejad nor any Iranian Government official has ever said anything about anihilating Israel. The statement, which your propaganda machine refers to, is of Ayatolah Khomieny (defunct now more than a decade ago) in which he says “een rezheem-e ishgalqar-e Qods bayad az safayeh ruzgar mahv shavad” ,meaning litterally: “the regime that occupies Jerusalim must vanish from the pages of history”. There is absolutelly no mention, either of any famous “map” or of destruction of the Jews or of their state.
To explain this statement to our “Professor” I would suggests he reads the relentless calls of our Government and his (Israel’s) for a violent overthrow of the Iranian Government.
What Ahmadinejad was saying by repeating Khomieny’s words,is simply calling for regime change in Israel.So, what is wrong with that?
Second, Iranian nuclear program is entirely legal, Iran obeys by the rules which the U.S. itself has established to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Iran is offering all guaranties for inspection of its activities, and they naturally ask why Israel doesn’t comply with the same international rules.
“Professor”, after what happened with Iraq, you can’t fool anyone with your stale tricks.

Reply Comment #61824 by Professor Ibraham on 4/02 at 3:04 pm

Israel is not a signatory to the NPT, actually has some 200 nuclear weapons, and is in violation of hundreds of international laws. Iran has much more reason to be worried about Israel (and the U.S.) than Israel (and the U.S.) has to be worried about Iran. Iran is rightly worried, as I am, that Israel is going to nuke them any minute - if Mad King George doesn’t do it first. I’m not defending Iran, but Israel is worse.

IF YOU HAVE BEEN LIVING UNDER A ROCK OR CANNOT READ, AND DO NOT KNOW WHY WE ARE SLAUGHTERING COUNTRIES AND PEOPLE IN THE MIDDLE EAST, PLEASE GO TO http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/03/30/201/
AND READ ABOUT GB´S LAND MINE.

IF THE SECOND REASON IS TRUE, ASK FOR IT TO BE READ TO YOU.

To Neanderthal man- The “Oil Law” was written by American Oil Companies in the US.
It has passed the iraqi congress.The transport of oil is another matter.The pipeline has been destroyed a number of times.Read the oil law and you will see the biggest sweetheart deal for oil companies.Maybe you need to read more.

Scott Ritter may be a pot calling kettles black here.  Let’s see how well he himself can score on a couple of truly fundamental questions about Life Herownself, and the peculiar utterance of hers that likes to call itself “human.”

What, exactly, is the organic function of humanity within the living body of the Earth?  What, exactly, is the organic form of humanity consonant with that function?

Some worthwhile follow-ups would consider the likely consequences, to the natural living arrangement here, of a serious failure by the human component to fulfill its function.  Also worth a look is whether there is anything reflective, or symptomatic, of such a failure presently evident in the condition humanity’s condition is itself in these days. 

When Mr. Ritter, or any other professional expert of any kind, can give accurate answers to these questions they might also have something of great value to tell us about many other things as well.  Until then it will be wise to maintain a healthy skepticism about the entirety of their analyses and pronouncements, since absent such absolutely basic information as those answers provide, none of ‘em really KNOWS the first thing about what in hell they’re talking about.

So how about it Scott Ritter, or anybody else?  And remember, this isn’t just a pop-quiz about some esoterica specific to the followers of a particular religious revelation working-out their internecine differences half-a-world away.  These things lie at the very core and embody the essential substance of your own human nature.

This old Indian looks forward to seeing what the civilized peoples have to say.  Us free wild natural human beings will be so happy to “grade” you on your basic biology smarts.

HokaHey!

Reply to Comment #61099 by Janten on 3/28 at 8:47 pm

That is the problem with all organized religion, not just Islam, but every single one, from Christianity to Buddhism. There is a story I like about the Devil and a friend who were walking down the road, when they saw a man ahead of them stoop down and pick up something. When the man looked at it he was very startled, and then a great delight came over his face. The friend of the Devil asked, “What was that he picked up?” The Devil replied, “It’s Truth.”
“Isn’t that bad for you?” asked the friend. “Not
at all” the Devil replied. “I am going to help him to organize it.”

Terry:
The U.N. has warned, again & again, Iran about continuing its nuclear program. Iran refuses to listen.
What do you do now Terry? Should we just let them build up a nuclear arsenal? What do you do when a radical nation just goes and does what it wants?
Iran has publicly stated that they seek the destruction of Israel. Israel will make sure that this does not happen. What do you do Terry?

There is a struggle in the world.  It is between the rich and everyone else. The trouble is everyone else is divided and brainwashed. Until that changes nothing else will change.  I suspect we will be killing thousands of Iranians very shortly.  Will the American people go on a general strike? Will we be in the streets?  Will we bring this country to a hault?

“Maybe we should just give in and allow Islam to take over? What do you say?”

Professor, so if we follow your thinking to its logical or illogical conclusion we would need to nuke 95 percent of the world—of course Israel and England would be spared.

“When diplomacy fails military force then becomes necessary” by Professor Ibraham

I’ve got a question for the good professor. Just when did you see any diplomacy taking place ? Our supposed State Department has spent most all its time as far as I can remember refusing to talk to anyone it disagrees with. I maintain that Condi Rice hasn’t a clue how to conduct diplomatic negotiations. She, like everyone else annointed by the shrub, is obviously inept and like the rest of bush’s followers , was annointed by the shrub simply because she will say any lie, do anything to garner his apporval.

Hello All,

SammySnead needs to come out of the Ether and take a look at EMPIRICAL evidence, rather than diatribes from Radical Left Websites.

No one on the RL can point to a single shred of evdience that ANY oil has been “stolen” from Iraq. The FACTS prove just the opposite: that the money from the oil is STILL in Iraqi hands and shall continue to remain in Iraqi hands.

Per the usual slurs, lies, and misrepresentations, the RL proponents keep touting slogans and mantras of the lowest order, but are wholly short on FACTS.

The level of intelligence of the RL is horrifically abysmal, as is indicated by the emotional foundation of nearly ALL their arguments.

How about pulling your heads out for a walk in the sunshine, and take a look around for a reality check?

Cheers.

April Fools to you Terry Sloth.
If we do nothing you will eventually get just what you fear most.
Our restraint will just embolden these radical Islamic countries. This will lead to more attacks that will make 9/11 seem like fireworks.
Get it now TERRY? When diplomacy fails military force then becomes necessary.
Maybe we should just give in and allow Islam to take over? What do you say?

“The liberal turn the cheek Western Christian culture is clueless. Only the Conservative right wing Christians and Jews understand the true threat of Shiia and other radical Islamic sects.
That is the reason why the Western culture will fall.”

Ok, Today is April Fool’s Day; but are you suggesting we nuke Iran—-to ensure the survival of Western Civilization?

Professor, what course do you teach—apocalypse now?

Comment for GR.

Ritters point is useful in that it explains why it could never work in Iraq, so some of us get an F. 
Ritter is only trying to point out,  it could be useful to do your homework and look or try to find the facts instead of jumping into war.  This may be asking way to much, so turn this around and do some name calling instead. .
You may be correct, when you say that the world does not move on accuracy of facts, instead it moves on opinions and perceptions, does this include greed and power?
You use the terms “pedant”, “liberal elitism”. I use the term fearless leaders. Will we ever agree?
Instead of attacking and name calling lets keep to the issue.

Re: Comment #61317 by Cedric on 3/30 at 5:01 am

“FrostedFlakes: What a dumb handle. I doubt that you are a real citizen of this country? You are without doubt an intellectual fool who thinks they only know the truth. The bunch of you left wing radicals need to live in Iran and some of those Arab Muslim countries. Then you will see what corruption and oppression really is.
You are scum. You live free in this country and then spit on it. You are a real disgrace.”
——————————————————————-
There is nothing that is simultaneously more pathetic and amusing than the convulsive rantings of an ignorant, brainwashed republican fool who blindly follows republican scum like George W. Bush!

Again, I have found that there are only 2 kinds of republicans: 1) idiots, and 2) crooks!  If I am wrong, please direct my attention to the exception.

Bukko of Australia:
You are correct. Muslim Shiia believe that in the name of Allah they will succeed against much larger forces that are infidels in accordance with Islamic law.
Peace with the Infidels is only used to plan against those who are stronger at the present time but who at the right time will be overcome through Jihad.
The liberal turn the cheek Western Christian culture is clueless. Only the Conservative right wing Christians and Jews understand the true threat of Shiia and other radical Islamic sects.
That is the reason why the Western culture will fall.

I am curious as to why my comment on this piece was not posted.

Because this thread centres on Islamic theology, I’m curious about how one facet of the Shiite belief system might be playing into the start of a catastrophic U.S. vs. Iran war.

It seems to me that Shiites place a high value on fighting back against the oppressor, even if that oppressor is powerful enough to wipe them out. That, after all, is what their sect’s founder Ali was doing when he was killed by Yazid. He rode with a small band into the teeth of a battle against Yazid’s superior forces, even though Ali knew it was sure death. But he was convinced of the righteousness of his cause, so he did it anyway, leading to the slaughter of every man, woman and child in his entourage.

Similarly, the Shiite uprising against Saddam Hussein after Oil War I was also righteous but pyrrhic. You could also say religious resistance to the Shah or Iran followed the same pattern. No doubt there are other examples of Shiites struggling futilely against powerful forces of which I am unaware, not being a student of Muslim history.

So it seems to me that the mullahs who hold the real power in Iran (Ahmadinejad is no more able to call the shots for the country than was Khatami before him) might be willing to take on the U.S. for that sort of reason. It’s scary how THEIR mania for a fight dovetails perfectly with President Cheney’s mania. But maybe I’m reading it all wrong. Perhaps one of the Muslims who has made informed comment on this thread can tell me if I am.

As expected and as usual, Ritter is obfuscating by pretending that the war has something to do with Islam and Christianity and Judaism.

The reason we are there is for control of the oil, and it wouldn’t have mattered if the indigenous population were Benedictine monks or coptic Christians, though it was a happy coincidence that they happened to be Islamic so that we could start out painting them as an enemy of good and god.

What is sad about Ritter and others who might mean well, is that they keep on talking about things which have no bearing and fail to discuss the real issue, which is what would be the result over ten or fifteen years if we DON’T steal oil somewhere on the planet.

Whether we could make it or not will be irrelevant and immaterial if we are unwilling to talk about alternatives, and apparently that is the case, for no one, Democrat or Republican, nor Scott Ritter nor Bob Scheer, nor Paul Krugman nor any other major pundit wants to broach the subject of what to do about our energy situation.

Maybe you understand now why the Cheney energy meetings were so secret that he had to use the bribed Supreme Court to keep prying eyes and ears from getting the facts.

Come on people: don’t you know that if we didn’t WANT turmoil in Iraq, we’d have given them water and electricity long ago? It has nothing to do with their religion, it has to do with their oil.

What happens when you take a “quiz” from a pedant? You ALWAYS get an F!

There is much to admire in what Ritter has done for the peace effort, but his pedantry in this piece only reinforces attacks of liberal elitism.

Do you imagine that any teenage suicide bomber of the last 7 years would have gotten even an C on Ritter’s quiz?  Do you think any of those suicide bombers would not have triggered his explosives had he possessed greater historical knowledge of the Shia/Sunni schism?  Of course not.

The world moves not on the accuracy of facts, but on opinions and perceptions.

Truthdig is one side, NOW check out
marklevinshow.com
savagenation.con
haddity.com

For all of the postulating about what’s wrong with America,and what can we (as citizens)do about it, I’d like to offer a proposal. Get rid of campaign financing totally. Make it illegal to contribute as a “private” citizen or a public/private corporation.Pretty simple, huh?Let the Gov’t take a certain (and controlled) amount of funds in taxes.This would, effectively,ensure a “level playing field” without advantage going to candidates that have more “special interests” funding than their rivals.With this process in place,we have a better chance of electing “truly” representative politicions.Wow,what a concept.Can you imagine Representatives that really will do, and vote properly on the issues that elected them.Let’s get the money out of the system,and see what happens. I’m willing to bet that things get better. Especially when the issues involve what is best for Americans. ALL Americans. Not just the ones with bucks that “buy” votes and influence the legislative process. I don’t have a group but, YOU WANNA JOIN?

As someone who has read both “Iraq Confidential” and “Target Iran,” I was shocked to see Scott Ritter, of all people, stating, “As the mission of the United States has shifted from disarming Saddam to installing democracy to creating stability….”  Ritter knows better.  The mission was “never” to “disarm Saddam” or to bring democracy or stability.  As Ritter himself forcefully demonstrated in “Iraq Confidential,” the “mission,” beginning with the sanctions regime imposed by Bush I, then Clinton and ending with the Bush II invasion was “regime change.”  The mission was and is that of imperial conquest for the purpose of controlling a strategic nation sitting on the second largest oil reserve in the Middle East. This is the reason the monies that were poured into the so-called “reconstruction” went first to the establishment of “permanent” U.S. military bases, complete with PX’s and bowling alleys.

Stability is only desired for the benefit of the corporate global project.  America’s ruling elite have willingly sacrificed stability for profit.  The neocons are only interested in the Shiite, Sunni & Wahhabi divisions to the extent that they can exploit them to maintain imperial control.  Divide and conquer.

While Mr. Ritter’s piece should be welcomed for its educational function, I suspect that it would in no way alter the status quo even if every American citizen read and understood it.  Until Americans understand the true meaning of the global class war embodied in the corporate global project, nothing will change.

Scott Ritter’s article is invaluable.It offers Americans historical insights into the complexities of Iraq and the history of Islam.We are ignorant of the people and their history.we can’t manage a people of great cultural complexity, we don’t understand.Clearly,we have no right to wrest resources from another people.there is no idea of the consequences of our meddling.Unfortunately,that is exactly what is happening with the attendant murder and destabilzation of iraq.We have blundered our way into iraq to reappropriate oil reserves,for oil corporations and to introduce free markets in a place that is largely in chaos.
Many well informed obsevers have claimed victory for the neocons and the New American Century PAC project.Why can’t we claim that this ,is in fact a victory?There need not be a successful peace,nor a stable country.The US has created huge Permanent bases and the control of oil. All that is needed is an effective police force and army.Recall,that the Dems initial grievance wasn’t invading Iraq. They,collectively said,“Why now?” This weak arguement shows the Democrats agreed,some day we must take out Saddam.There is complicity on the part of both parties.

Americans have a new way of holding the society’s discourse, arising from generalized historical amnesia and the withering away of critical thinking skills. It’s much easier than listening and reading everything, (all the conflicting facts and opinions), and trying to come to your own conclusion. Here’s the trick:
Step 1: Get an IMPRESSION. (The faster the better- snap judgments come from the gut, the true source of correct impressions. Bestseller: 
“Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking”)
Step 2: Adopt an ATTITUDE. Choose the attitude you like from among the attitudes of people you identify with on TV. 
Got one? ok, you’re ready. Now when someone asks you what you think about something, you can say “Well my attitude on that is… [fill in]”. And bingo! you are an informed and opinionated person without any effort at all! 

This works in the invisibly behind consensus reality, but is also worked directly from the visible top: try a Google search for Bush + “my attitude” - you’ll find whitehouse.gov transcripts of his speeches - either he or some of the people behind him know what they’re doing.

(Bush just recently commented on Tony Snow’s cancer- “His attitude is he’s gonna fight it. My attitude is we should pray for him”)

Cedric,
I found the Ritter article very informative and interesting.  I find you amusing.
What do you find offensive about the Ritter comments in the article? (aside from the name).
Did you even read it?
Your opinions would be worthy of true debate, if you actually focused on the issue at hand.

FrostedFlakes:
What a dumb handle. I doubt that you are a real citizen of this country? You are without doubt an intellectual fool who thinks they only know the truth.
The bunch of you left wing radicals need to live in Iran and some of those Arab Muslim countries. Then you will see what corruption and oppression really is.
You are scum. You live free in this country and then spit on it. You are a real disgrace.

I saw Scott deliver this speech live in Los Angeles.  He is right to say that average American’s as well as most of our elected officials have no idea what is behind the Civil War in Iraq.  And that ignorance is deadly.

peace
Matthew
http://www.cotam.org

Excellent article - I compliment you.  Many comments here, unfortunately, don’t seem worthy of rational thought, let alone rebuttal. But I’ll try one anyway.

The only time in real life I ever find two sides to an issue is when one side consists of the evil and exploitative saying “everyone who is against me is the same - they’re all evil, they’re all opposing THE TRUTH” and the other side is, of course, everyone else in their widely varying opinions and levels of understanding.

It’s called “projection”, and it can’t, unfortunately, be defeated by rational argument or education.

All the rest of the time, real-world issues consist of dozens, hundreds, thousands of different perspectives, of which any attempt to simplify to a reasonable number of choices is the difficult dance known as politics.

Hey Cedric and GI Joe

Seems to me that GI Joe, Cedric and George Bush are the only ones that know the facts: Suspect they may be the same person or least clones.  Almost 99.9 percent sure.

Ritter brought to our attention and expanded on the age old problem, (for so many years) that some special folks believe they are the only ones with the facts and everyone else must go tits up. 

Our troops are in this mess because of not the facts, that is for sure. Almost 99.9 percent sure.

Thanks to Mr. Ritter for the concise, coherent, and compact history lesson.  It should be required reading for all Americans. If all Americans had been required to read this UNESCO inspector’s interview by William Rivers Pitt in “War on Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn’t Want You to Know” back in Sept. 2002, the U.S. would NEVER have been able to launch the invasion. Oh, the price of ignorance…

Americans don’t understand Vietnam yet, much less Iraq. It’s true we are kept ignorant and dumbed down by our equally insipid sources of information. These are reasons we should never have started the illegal war. These are reasons we must get out. I think our Democratic-led Congress is making significant progress.

Interesting, and conspicuous, and not very clever, and somewhat, well, propagandistic, how “G.I. Joe” and “Cedric” both use exactly the same phrases, saying that truthdig is:

1. “anti-American, anti-Israel and anti-God”
2. “a propaganda center…”

But more interesting to me than these grievances, is “Cedric’s” complaint: “Your views are not the views of the majority and do not represent the truth.”

Cedric, do you really believe that the views of the majority represent the truth?  If we take that to its logical end, should we not assume that slave-holders in your fair country were unimpeachable, as they long had an over-whelming majority in their favor?  And beyond that, if the majority is to be considered the rule, then should not the majority of the world represent the truth much more than the majority of just one nation?  If that is the case, would not the truth be far more anti-american, anti-israel and anti-Jesus than even poor truthdig?

Cedric, truthdig is undoubtedly a forum for people who are not content with the majority opinion, in large part because the majority opinion, by its very nature, is organized to an apalling degree by institutions who benefit greatly from what Chomsky calls “the manufacture of consent.”  Of course, the majority can also be right sometimes.  And as it says in Leviticus, “Do not follow the minority [either] into sin.”  And in fact, there are some alarmingly anti-semitic comments that appear among the chatter on these forums, although generally not in the articles themselves.  But Cedric, though the majority of five year olds would hate you very much if you had the guts to tell them, in truth, there is no Santa Claus.  Many of the things you read on truthdig may rub you the wrong way.  Why not?  They rub me the wrong way too.  This is a website, and thus, by definition, not always a font of wisdom.  But Cedric, you should acknowledge nonetheless that it takes courage to stand in the minority.  You should know.  You stand in the majority here, don’t you?

Scott Ritter: Calling Out Idiot America

And boy did we respond ... and respond ... and respond ...

Thanks Scott! (chuckle)

Just proves the wisdom in that old saying,

“The more we learn, the more we know we need to learn.”
... Or something like that.

Fact: Truthdig is a propaganda site which spouts self serving lies about the United States, Israel and God. All featured articles presented on this site are anti-American, anti-Israel and anti-God. Show me objective proof that this site is presenting both sides of the story?
If not, my observations of this site being a propaganda center to push a specific agenda are correct.

Ok Cedric, here’s a little truth for you about Israel. The Zionists planned and carried out Plan Dalet, the plan to ethnically cleanse the Palestinians in their hopes to create a 100% Arab free Jewish state. The Palestinians call it Nakba, The Catastrophe. The Zionist planning began the late 19th century and ended in 1949. Although one could argue that Plan Dalet continues to this day.

One of the Zionist activities was to sneak into a Palestinian village in the middle of the night, attach TNT to the houses and blow up the sleeping inhabitants: mothers, fathers, children, babies, grandparents. That was one way to empty villages and plant fear in the hearts of unarmed Palestinians who according to Zionist’s own records, were cordial people who did not want to fight.

David Ben-Gurion was the master planner, even Gold Meir participated (one of my heroes since childhood, but not anymore), as did Mosha Dyan, Yitak Rabin and many others who went on to hold high office in the State of Israel.

And that ain’t even the half of it. Jordan was involved (and not on the side of the Palestinians). This is not anti-Semitic propoganda, but what I learned from reading The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe, an ISRAELI historian. So Cedric, I suggest you do a little reading since you are so interested in Truth.

RE:60961 (Steven)

Let’s have a little fun! Watch me take everything Steven wrote (and correct some spelling and grammar), and replace key words, such as Islam, with Christianity, etc.
*********************************************
I for one am sick and tired of EVERYONE who says like Pat Robertson and all these other sand fleas with their index finger raised, that I/we Muslims “must” understand…..ANYTHING!!!!! I AM MUSLIM! Christ is a pagan MOON false God! Since Isaac and Ishmael this crap has gone on. They (Christianity) will never be happy, they only understand war/killing, and contribute nothing. They lie for the propagation of Christianity, and seek Christian democracy worldwide, be they radical or not! You spent time there, have great knowledge about them, big F’ing deal. You’re with us or with the terrorists! Instead of calling Muslims idiots, and saying we need to understand, why not tell the Lying Murdering Christians to Understand? Let them kill each other, stay the F away from us. Leave the Middle East! I will not and no one I know will EVER convert to Christianity, and I don’t care what they do to themselves, just leave us out of it. They Attacked Us! (Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Iran coming soon!) Call me what you will, but (since) the day Christians threatened me….Hell (has been) open for Business, guaranteed!
God Bless Iraq, God Bless ISLAM…DEATH to all Christians, Death to the U.S.A…but I suppose you’ll stand there and let them say death to Islam while they stomp on us in our own Country!...
********************************************
Actually, that wasn’t much fun. Well, Steven…what you wrote above and I changed, is simply turning the table on you, and showing you for what you are doing. Hatred, vile, slimy and naked, doesn’t care who you are…it makes anyone who spews it ugly, offensive and repulsive.

Cedric;
The truth is always one sided, to itself. Maybe you don’t understand how a real news magazine works. They report and comment on important world events so that we may be informed of those events (i.e. facts, things that actually happened -I get the feeling I have to spell things out for you). This is not a forum for the “views of the majority”, which I gather is your truth-tester, it is a forum for digging at the truth through the lenses of reason and history. But you don’t undestand those things, they need at least some mental effort.
Maybe I need to say things in the language of declarative-sentences you understand:
99.9% of what you say is anti-intelligence.
99.9% of what you say comes out your ass.
And unlike you I could possibly back those claims up with your kind of truth “the views if the majority.”

In regards to Cedric posts # 60739 & 61016:
Sir you are part of the problem. Your lack of rationallity and your incessant demagoguery is exactly what America needs less of. This sense of “the loudest guy” in the room is right, puts you in the same class as this corrupt administration which obviously is so endearing to you. You question facts as if they don’t exist just because they don’t make you right? Or are you so truly superior that your idea of what it is to be an American is all that matters? Always remember that this country was founded by people who dissented from their governing body, and if they hadn’t where would you be? Just because you have a big mouth it doesn’t make you a patriot (see George Bush, Dick Cheney, and the rest of the draft dodgers). And don’t question others’ patriotism, especially when your narrow views don’t represent those of us whom have served this country dutifully.Open your mind and not your mouth. God bless America, and even the fools.

To Geogia Whitman
  Of course, I am aware, not only of slavery, but also of the fact that some of our founding fathers were themselves slave owners. Neither am I ignorant of the extermination of the Indians but, neither the first nor the latter were determinant factors in creating our glorified concept of “American Values”. They are rather their innocent victims.

It is becoming apparent in America, and let’s just use post #60961 and 61016 as examples, that the so-called right wingers have abandoned a fairly significant message of their own God: Love your enemy.

I not only see it here, but hear it on the radio and from the mouths of “authors"Let them stick to their dogma. They will in time be reduced to a small faction that is ignorable. Love is more powerful, and they have chosen to not go down that path.

if the inspectors had found any evidence of nuclear weapons of mass destruction, there would have been no invasion of Iraq—No country in the world possessing nuclear weapons has been militarily invaded—When the inspectors found no evidence of ‘nukes’, tragic irony allowed Bush and the neocons their green light for aggressive war—Iraq becanme safe enough to invade—they did continue to play the nuclear canard as a reason for the invasion knowing full well the inspectors were correct—this is criminal cynicism at its worst—they deserve Saddam’s fate

Ah, yes, a long, sad story it is, Mr. Ritter. And the saddest part is that all of it that has transpired since the passing of Muhammad is deviance and innovation on the part of people with small minds, small hearts and ambitious agenda. The whole structure of organized Islam is contrary to one of the injunctions of the teachings as given by the Prophet Muhammad: there shall be no intercessors between a person of faith and Allah. And it is this, of course, that the Sufis tried to remedy, by making the individual’s mystical connection to, and path toward, Allah primary. Of course, many of those who attempted to become Sufis also succumbed to the temptations of personal agenda and innovation so they too lost their ways and dragged others with them into the confines of religion organized under the guise of mysticism.

It has often been said and written that the Wahabbis hijacked Islam. Though that is true, it is also true, as your historical account illustrates, that Islam has been hijacked ever since it passed from the hands of the Prophet Muhammad into the hands of ambitious people who don’t realize that Islam, submission to Allah, means not submitting to one’s own ego. (This has actually been the fate of all organized religions.)

When Ibn Taymiya proclaimed that true jihad involved a relentless struggle against the enemies of Islam, he was quite right about that. The problem was that the definition of the enemies of Islam was refocused on outside forces, real and imagined, who were believed to be trying to destroy Islam. Left to thrive and rule were the real enemies of Islam, the “nafs ammarah”: the small ego, the commanding self, the petty passions, cravings, desires and fears of humans gone astray and lost in confusion. In fact, it is these real enemies of Islam that are recruited and encourage to follow their passions in the supposed defense of Islam.

Then, as someone else has already mentioned, there is the whole political history of the area - all that has been done TO the tribes of this whole area - TO, rather than FOR, because it has all been done and is being done FOR others who want their oil.

Again, as has already been mentioned, it’s interesting and helpful but far from necessary for Americans to know even a tiny part of what you have presented, Mr. Ritter, in order to know that to have started this war in the first place, and to be continuing it as we are, let alone expanding it at all, is all terribly wrong and unjustifiable. It only takes an intelligent human being with an understanding and compassionate heart to know and feel that this war is all wrong. Unfortunately, we have G.W. Bush, the Decider, who is “a war president” who said “I have war on my mind” which means he is incapable of seeking and seeing peaceful solutions to problems.

Those of us who are intelligent and who have understanding and compassionate hearts owe it to ourselves, to our country, to the world and especially to the people of Iraq and the surrounding countries to show that we are aware, to show that we care, to show that we are sorry, by impeaching Bush and Cheney. Impeachment needs to be put on the table and acted on immediately to not allow this travesty to continue any longer. We have no other choice other than silent complicity.

Actually, it looks to me that that the Democrats are getting their act together.  The Republicans are caving. Impeachment is in the air.

Hey Cedric,
  Anti-religion, yeah.  Anti-American, 100% no.  We care about our country and hate to see it hijacked by religious “idiots”.  I, as you, are human.  I hate to see us killing each other over religious affiliations.  Don’t you?  We all can find shelter under science.  Come join the future, remember the past failure of religion, and march into the prosperous future as brothers of humanity.  In science, and only science, does truth come to light.

POLLY ESTER:
Actually not. I just tell the truth. This site is 99.9% anti-American, Anti-Jewish & Anti-God. That is fact.
It is obvious that you can’t handle the truth.
Again, when you see a site that is sooooo one sided it is a propaganda center for those who wish to push their agenda.
Your views are not the views of the majority and do not represent the truth.

Mariam Russell…

The UNSCOM was largely unsuccessful in uncovering any Iraqi WMD programs, until it received some information about them from Saddam’s son-in-law in 1995. The IAEA was completely ignorant of Iraq’s nuclear weapons program, although it had been conducting inspections of Iraqi nuclear installations for decades.

What made Scott Ritter so sure that he had succeeded in finding and destroying Iraq’s WMD where others had failed, and that there was nothing significant left to uncover, and that he could safely declare that as a fact? That is my question. He doesn’t answer it in the quote you provided; he merely states that he believes that 90%-95% of WMD had been uncovered. But on what basis did he arrive at that figure? And was he justified, on the basis of the known facts, to make an unqualified assertion without any expression of doubt or reservations? Why was he so sure that there were no unknown stockpiles and installations that he and his team of inspectors had not uncovered?

I think his book “Endgame” is a better source than Wikpedia. Neither is satisfactory, unfortunately.

While I am thoroughly impressed with Ritters speech and stamina, I can’t help but agree with the fact that he needs to re-evaluate his target audience.  His energy needs to focus on getting the message out to those citizens who would otherwise neglect to seek him out.  Ritter acknowledges the fact that as a citizen it is his responsibility to teach those who are not in his position of direct access to this intelligence.  Find a way to do this and let’s finally get the citizenry moving towards a more informed, problem solving republic.

Response to GI Joe (comment 60615), from David (comment 60518):

There is considerable evidence that its been six years since America had a legitimately elected government.  But, that small point aside, the government it did have in the 80’s was more than happy to support Saddam in his war with Iran (you may recall the widely published image of Donald Rumsfeld shaking hands with the “murderous dictator”).  And America was quite content to look the other way when he gassed the Kurds, among his many other atrocities.  American foreign policy makers (elected and appointed) have over the years supported many such illegitimate thugs – case in point, the Saudi regime next door, where 25,000 royal family members “live large” off the natural resources of the people, a regime aided and abetted by the US, as a central tenant of its foreign policy, since the time of FDR.

Your linkage of Saddam to Hitler is unfortunate.  The invasion of Iraq by the United States is a war crime, just as Hitler’s invasion of Poland, of Czechoslovakia, of France, and elsewhere across Europe was a war crime.  Remember, in the aftermath of Hitler’s monstrous enterprise, it was an American, Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, who played a central role in the Nuremberg Trials, and out of these proceedings came the following view: “To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole. ...Crimes against international law are committed by men, not by abstract entities, and only by punishing individuals who commit such crimes can the provisions of international law be enforced.”  And so, by any measure, the death of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, and the displacement of millions more, is a true war crime.  There is no gratitude due the United States of America based on its actions in Iraq.

But let us please return to Ritter’s views (the point of the exercise), and my commentary of them.  The premise of his piece is that Americans must be better informed before they can render judgment on what he cites as the “congressional cowardice” of the Democrats.  To restate the central point of my commentary, Americans need not answer a skill testing question to render the actions of Bush and his administration as criminal.

Polly,

Which God is Cedirc killing for.

Seems some folks never discuss the issue, instead attack the sender for his perceived antiism.

Open your eyes to what is happening in Iraq with that kind of thought.

Cedric learned nothing from Scotts article.

Lee

I for one am sick and tired of EVERYONE,Repubican
or Democrat that say’s Like Bin Laden and all these other sand fleas with their index finger raised,that I/we Americans “must” understand…..ANYTHING!!!!! I AM CHRISTIAN! Allah is a pagan MOON false God! Since Isaac and Ishmael this crap has gone on.They(Islam) will never be happy,they only understand war/killing,and contribute nothing.They lie for the propagation of islam,and seek Sharia worldwide.be they radical or not!You spent time there,have great knowledge about them,big F’ing deal.your american or not!Instead of calling Americans idiots,and saying we need to understand,why not tell the Lying Murdering Muslims to Understand.Let them kill each other,stay the F away from us.I will not and no one I know will EVER,convert to Islam,and I don’t care what they do to themselves,just leave America Out of it.They Attacked Us! Call me what you will,but the day Muslims threaten me….Hell will open for Business,I guarantee it!
God Bless Israel,God Bless America,...DEATH to all Muslims,Death to Islam….. but I suppose you’ll stand there and let them say death to America while they stomp on our flag in our own Country!

Dear Scott,

thanks for the learned review of the history of the region.

Next pop quiz subject, for extra credit points:

What’s the relationship between these two cities in the Iraqi conflict—Washington and Tel Aviv?

Re: Comment #60917 by new_york_loner on 3/28 at 7:06 am

Actually, Ritter has talked quite openly about the problem of Israel/Palestine, for example, in a recent interview with Sy Hersh. (Don’t have the URL handy—google it.) He’s not shy about that critical issue, but it isn’t the only issue. This from someone who plans to be in DC for the end-the-occupation protest on 6/10-11, and who is Jewish (secular), so bring on the “crypto-Zionist” and “self-hating anti-Semite” comments! LOL; I get it from both sides.

Anyway, one key point that hasn’t been brought up is that, regardless of what Ritter wants (and I don’t think he wants it), worship of Ritter, as opposed to thanks, is actually a symptom of the disease. Do not subsume your autonomy and critical thinking to anyone! Challenge everything, and rely on your native common sense and accumulated expertise to make your own decisions. Don’t “outsource” your autonomy to Ritter, Chomsky, or anyone else.

Without such robust and independent (ie, autonomous) critical thinkers, democracy is impossible. In fact, it’s a cover for tyranny.

And that is the “take-home” from Ritter’s purposely hard-hitting article, IMHO.

Best, Dug

“Do you find it interesting that every subject on this Truthdig site is Anti-American, Anti-Israel and Anti-God?”

This is the repetitive chant, of all those who want to dismiss anyone who does not obsequiously go along with the Bush program.

For the last six years, if you spoke out against the war, cronyism, corruption and the U.S. policy in the Middle East, you were characterized as being anti-American or anti-Semitic.

Cedric, we’re all wise to your type of character assassination, and we know that you’re full of it!

Scott Ritter certainly knows a great deal about Islamic history and Islam-related curremt evemts. But still, I give this report a failing grade - unless I somehow missed or overlooked it, not a single word was written about how Zionism (Jewish colonialism) in Palestine has pushed the Muslims away from reform, and back into fundamentalism.

It’s as if the generous US financing and approval of Israeli oppression were non-factors in Mr. Ritter’s grand equations.

Even the “fearless” Scott Ritter cowers in fear of AIPAC and the pro-Israel lobby, or so it seems.

The Israeli master plan for the region was revealed in 1996, in a white-pasper entitled “A clean break - securing the realm”. The US was to do the heavy lifting for our client state. The Israeli plan is proceeding on track. Next stop- Iran.

Sorry, Scott, you ignored the deranged, 500-pound gorlla in the room. So who is the real “idiot”? Scott Ritter or the American public? Or both?

Scott Ritter is no dummy, he is probably fully aware of Israel’s key role in ME war-mongering,  nevertheless,  Ritter is acting as just another de facto Israeli agent, posing as an American patriotball00.

The Israel lobby controls the agenda and frames the debate for both the Dems and the GOP. Sadly, despite all of our generous support of Herzl’s utopia, the USA does not enjoy any reciprocal control of Israeli politics. The tail wags the dog.

In Respone to Peter RV

“American Idiot” is pretty effective. Greenday’s Album title (which Scott Ritter borrows) was the most successful album in 2004. The title is good, but the problem is as you said, deeply ingrained ignorance. The Kids were jamming all over Idiot America.

Give our world famous reading illiteracy problem, (40 million last I heard), the people who need this information most, wouldn’t be able to understand it, let alone locate Iraq on a map. “...63 percent of Americans aged 18 to 24 failed to correctly locate the country on a map of the Middle East.”
National Georgaphic News

<We are a collection of misfits of all the nations of the world who came largely here with the sole idea of becoming reach [rich], and fast. Nothing else matters.>

Yes, Peter, but my ancestors were hauled here on slave ships for that desire. If a literate person fails to register that simple fact of American history, then what should we expect from the rest?

Perfect Scott, now join kucinich and give the rest of the world what they want….no more wars…

I nominate Scott Ritter to be the President of the United States.

I want to thank you for your article. I know a little bit more than I did now. We opened a can of worms and it was opened many years ago in the 60’s because of the oil. Here we are today, infested with it. We are ruining the planet with it, spilling blood over it. But now we have reached new deep levels to change and capture what we have taken. What was to be gained by going to this war was it revenge without conscience or with conscience. There is no doubt if we could go back we would change things and maybe concentrate on the important things like quality drinking water for the planet, free energy from out natural elements.
When I was growing up my father was into the Chariots of the Gods and believed that this was the second earth, because we destroyed the first. He believed that there was no way possible that we were a true part of this planet because we did not live in harmony like the plants and animals did the mother earth. I some times fall back to that idea and just wonder how true it may really be.
No matter what, the days at hand are not positive and have little growth. The more we feed this disease that we have created there will come a day when we will be held accountable for all that We The People thought we could sweep under the carpet and deal with another day.
My streets are not safe; they are patrolled 24/7/365. If I dare to leave they could get me and I will have to prove I am an American or not a terrorist. If I refuse to give a blood test I will be prosecuted and privileges will be taken away. If I fight, I will loose financially and will loose the battle to the Just Us System. If I am wrong I will be the mockery of headlines and if I win a note on the back page. Our rights have become privileges and out privileges have a cost. I rent my land so I can keep it and pay more taxes than it will ever be worth. When we fought for our Independence from England some 231 years ago, what was it for? All the blood dropped on our soil, for what? I hope it wasn’t for or the belief in what our country is doing and has been doing. The question right now to me is who is going to get charged with the terrible crimes we have committed towards humans.
Are we going to pay? Yes we are, no matter what. Needless to say this is not a profitable war and will cost my children dearly for the rest of their lives and probably into their children’s lives, If they decide to have children.

Great Article

Great Article.  Not even knowing the intimate complexities of these relationships in Iraq, I was against the war from the start.  It was easy for me, I am a Vietnam Vet. 
It is sad that imbeciles in charge have a tendency to ignore common sense and not to do their homework, so “lets go to war anyway.” 
Well, folks are getting rich over this anyway, good for them.

The careful explanation of the history of Islam and the subsequent split into two major groups, who in turn have split a multitude of different times, is somewhat similar to the stories of divisions emanating from the original root Christianity. With similar splits resulting in numerous “Christian” Churches all claiming to have the only truth. While the titles of the religious leaders, political potentates and rulers may be different, the underlying cause of divisions in all historical religion is pretty much the same.

The need to control.
The need for wealth and power.
The need to personally identify on a human level with the divine.

Another parallel that can be drawn between Islam and Christianity.
Patriarchal superiority and privilege, and the need to put women apart.

And still another parallel.
Resorting to violence and aggression to maintain the control, wealth and hubris. Proving that for all their differences they are very much the same.

Moving beyond the battles for control within the respective religions.
History is full of bloodletting when these two have gone after each other!

I doubt anyone seriously believes the neocons targeted Iraq because they want to convert the Muslims to Christianity. Likewise, no-one seriously believes the Iraqis are resisting occupation in the hope of converting the invaders to Islam.

With all due respect, I believe the so-called Civil War in Iraq is not the consequential end product of ignorance and bad leadership. I believe the battle that seems to be raging between two factions of Islam was the actual goal. The better to create the illusion that there really is an enemy to fight in Bush’s GWOT. (Global War On Terror) And a ready excuse to extend their reach into other Islam nations. Who co-incidentally control major resources and a great deal of wealth.

If in fact the Sunni and the Shi’i were each intent on gaining control of the entire nation of Iraq, they would unite first to drive the invaders out! That’s not what’s happening. What we see is a level of violence directed at everybody and anybody. It simply does not make sense. Unless you factor in a possible “fourth” party. In addition to the two Moslem groups and the occupiers, someone is working very hard to keep the war and the violence in Iraq from ending.

And who would profit from that?
Who profits now?

No doubt about it. We knew very little about the history, religion and culture of the people we decided to destroy when we bought the big lie and invaded Iraq. But we know even less about the motives behind the amoral and incredibly wicked men who led us to that decision.

I’ve read comments on both sides of the Ritter/  anti-Ritter spectrum.  I wouldn’t go so far as to call us idiots when misinformed, gullible, beer-swilling, couch potatoes comes more to mind.  I also recall more people voted for the American Idol than they did in our national election!  (Not a good example of intelligent people now is it)!
So much for the American educational system and our White House controlled “Free” Press.
And, Chuck Pugliese, thank God for Calabrese grandmothers and the old days in Port Chester, New York!

To Mr. Cedric:
Why don’t you learn to argue, sir, instead of giving us your stupid statistics of “anti-americanism”, “anti-semitism” and “anti-godism”? Wouldn’t it be more intelligent to catch any of us in telling lies, to clubber us with your wit and erudition?
I don’t know any of the people who write on this blog, but I read their comments which are for the most part intelligent and sometimes even brilliant. Participants seem to be looking for truths, almost always, and I often learn from them what our monolythic media keep away from me. Most of the opinions seem to be sincere, and that is all that counts.
If you want to measure what percentage of my opinion is anti-whatever you want, go ahead and have fun, but if you hope to intimidate me,sir,
I assure you, you are wasting your time.
P.S. BTW,Would you be claiming that horror inflicted in the ME, by the U.S. and Israel are
propaganda lies, or, perhaps that is all your God’s will?

So tell us what is the Truth, Cedric, who should we listen to? Those who claim to be American patriots or pro-Israel or the god-fearing.  Oh wait, you mean we should get our news from Fox.  Why don’t you point out to us exactly which digs are filled with lies and propaganda?  Which is the truth that the editors of Truthdig cannot deal with? You sound like those irreverent idiots in the White House who brand anyone who criticizes the war as unpatriotic and cowards when the entire world knows and recognizes the obvious opposite. You don’t like Truthdig, get ‘your truth’ from Limbaugh and leave the progressive, well informed public alone.

Re: Comment #60739 by Cedric on 3/27 at 10:28 am, and also re: Comment #60738 by GI JOE on 3/27 at 10:13 am

I hesitate to ask, knowing the likely range of responses (or non-responses), but do either of you want to offer:

(1) Any proof of your assertions?

(2) Any argument against Ritter’s actual post or any comments on it, or does your statement require none?

I know it’s currently considered “quaint” to insist on logic and data nowadays, but try to indulge me in my old-fashioned ways.

You should try to catch this if it comes on again.

It dovetails nicely with Ritter’s article and will help those of you who don’t view Iranians as human beings do so.

http://www.pbs.org/previews/wa-karbala/

As far as those who can’t see peace in the Middle East as being in everyone’s best interest, Christian, Jew or Muslim, they probably belong in the same club. It’s too bad there’s not a separate planet for them.

To this forum:
Do you find it interesting that every subject on this Truthdig site is Anti-American, Anti-Israel and Anti-God? That 99% of the comments support the Dig being discussed which is always negative about the 3 above topics.
Any site that is so one sided must be a propaganda tool for those few who want their view to appear much larger than it really is.
Truthdig is in fact Falsedig and does not represent major public opinion in anyway.
Distortion of truth is the name of the game here.
Suggest that all fair and objective readers see this site for what it is, A PROPAGAND TOOL FOR THOSE PREJUDICE FEW WHO CANNOT DEAL WITH THE TRUTH.

Comment:
Ritter is a liar. That is the real truth here.
He wants attention so that he can make money with writing books and lecture tours.
He is a turncoat and a traitor to his country.

He felt there was not WMD after he went over there and inspected the 2nd time. Who knows maybe they were our left over WMD from years past. Still, not a reason to invade and get bogged down in a quagmire that many predicted. Get over it folks: Cheney doesn’t care, Bush doesn’t care.

Thank You, I read your whole review of the History of the split in Islam. Knowing Geo. Bush would only read a one sentence summary of all of it, that sentence should have been: Stay the hell out of this hornets nest, like your daddy did.

On second thoughts,if Scott Ritter’s intention is to awaken America ( the U.S.,that is), by calling it idiot, it’ll be a failure.
It’ll be a failure simply because in America, the ignorance is deeply ingrained and it is there to stay. We are a collection of misfits of all the nations of the world who came largely here with the sole idea of becoming reach, and fast.
Nothing else matters.
Here, it is even dangerous, to be a “smart guy” or “egghead”, which is easily taken as a provocations by the massive body of “know nothings” ready to defend Nation’s honor by their fists.
The trouble is that the structure of our system needs idiots in order to function as it does today. How else would those beautiful people we
elected stay in power? Americans always yearn to vote somebody who is not going to give them an inferiority complex. We want to see our leaders as “next door neighbors” just as vulgar as we are. We are perfect, as our leaders constantly remind us.We live in the “greatest Country” in the world, we are the freest, we are the best informed and ,of course, we are the bravest of them all. “Love it or Leave it” as stickers say, “You are with us or against us” as our Chief says; there is no room for doubts or ambiguity in our culture. Billy Graham declared us “God’s Nation” (gee,thanks Billy).America ought to be the most narcissistic country that ever was.
  This , of course, would be a perfect state of
mind, if we could mind our own business and leave other un-Godly nations alone. But our fearless leaders tell us, we can’t and won’t,because others have no American Values and we do, they are Haters and we are Lovers, their God is false and ours is the true one.
So, our problem can’t be to educate the non-educables, for if one could even teach them something about Iraq, that may be quite a useless knowledge for the next Evil Country we plan to attack. Scott Ritter may flunk his test as our Nation’s educator.
I am afraid, it is a bloody nose we need to come to our senses. Which might very well be in the making.

Ben…....

Despite identifying himself as a Republican and having voted for George W. Bush in 2000, by 2002 Ritter had become an outspoken critic of the Bush administration’s claims that Iraq possessed significant WMD stocks or manufacturing capabilities, the primary rationale given for the US invasion of Iraq in March of 2003. His views at that time are well summarized in War on Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn’t Want You To Know, a 2002 publication which consists largely of an interview between Ritter and anti-war activist William Rivers Pitt, the book’s author. In the interview, Ritter responds to the question of whether he believes Iraq has weapons of mass destruction:

There’s no doubt Iraq hasn’t fully complied with its disarmament obligations as set forth by the Security Council in its resolution. But on the other hand, since 1998 Iraq has been fundamentally disarmed: 90-95% of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction capacity has been verifiably eliminated… We have to remember that this missing 5-10% doesn’t necessarily constitute a threat… It constitutes bits and pieces of a weapons program which in its totality doesn’t amount to much, but which is still prohibited… We can’t give Iraq a clean bill of health, therefore we can’t close the book on their weapons of mass destruction. But simultaneously, we can’t reasonably talk about Iraqi non-compliance as representing a de-facto retention of a prohibited capacity worthy of war. (page 28)

We eliminated the nuclear program, and for Iraq to have reconstituted it would require undertaking activities that would have been eminently detectable by intelligence services. (page 32)

If Iraq were producing [chemical] weapons today, we’d have proof, pure and simple. (page 37)

[A]s of December 1998 we had no evidence Iraq had retained biological weapons, nor that they were working on any. In fact, we had a lot of evidence to suggest Iraq was in compliance. (page 46)[6]

This in Wikipedia. If you are truly puzzled, it is easy to find information.

David:
Get real. Iraq did not have a legitimate government freely elected by the people of Iraq.  It was controlled by a murderous dictator, and his sons, who ripped off the Iraqi people of their natural resources so that they could live large. He has caused nothing but trouble in the world.
If the British would have taken out Hitler, rather than sign a peace treaty with him, 50,000,000 people would not have died during WWII.
The world should thank the United States for its actions to remove this monster from the Earth.

I am puzzled by Scott Ritter’s behaviour.

In the years and months before the war, he said that Iraq had WMD. In particular, he mentioned tons of nerve gas and biological agents that were unaccounted for.

Then, a few weeks before the US invasion, he said that Iraq had no WMD. But he never explained why he changed his opinion.

He still hasn’t.

How did this begin?  911 & Weapons of Mass Destruction.  So since then we have found out that we were lied to by GWB and his flunkies.  When does it end?  I wish it would have ended when we found out we were lied to.  But NO, it continues, more money, more lives, more lies and on and on.  Thanks for the history lesson Mr. Ritter, although not all of us may be able to recite the history, some of us knew about the religious/political civil war problems in Iraq, long before GWB took us to war.  Who remember’s the retaliation towards anyone who spoke out against the war?  I was against it from the beginning, I didn’t believe GWB’s sales pitch and I don’t have anyone fighting in the war.  Who remembers GWB telling the nation that GOD told him to go to war?  Then the “Support Our Troops” bumper stickers came out and anyone who had a complaint or a different opinion about the war was unpatriotic!!!!!  I thought we had freedom of speach in this country?????  Who can explain to the Iraqi’s why the American’s think they should be there?  Do you think they give a rats ass about our history and what brought us to their soil?  What’s the excuse/reason of the day?  GWB and his buddies are there for the oil and money, anyone who thinks otherwise is in ya ya land.  It’s sickening to think of the lies that have been told & believed in the name of family values, christianity and fear of another attack on American soil.  Good grief, look at our borders, are they secured yet?  Who cares?  What American’s do well is complain, what we don’t do well is something about the complaint.  Throwing more bodies, money and excuses at this war is not going to help anything.  Our government is not going to change policy on anything as long as someone is benefiting from it and I don’t mean the Iraqi’s.

An informative review of a very complex set of relationships within Iraq, one that has existed across the Middle East for centuries.  While some readers may challenge Ritter on the completeness of his historical review, I would rather take issue with his requirement of the American people to correctly answer a skill testing question before it renders judgement on its elected officials.

It is true that Americans have long displayed a dismal understanding of the world beyond their country’s borders.  It is also true that members of the foreign policy establishment (both elected and appointed) deliberately play to this ignorance in crafting an interventionist policy that has wrought havoc and misery around the world.

I would argue, though, that American citizens need not be conversant with even the basics of Iraqi society to know - and know with absolute certainty - that speculative invasion of a sovereign nation is a war crime.  The murder of hundreds of thousands, the displacement of millions, the criminal use of depleted uranium munitions, of cluster bombs, of white phospherous, these acts alone should be enough to warrant the impeachment and imprisonment of the leaders and enablers of this monstrous enterprise.

I won’t argue with the ignorance of the populace and the congress. I certainly didn’t understand the schism in anywhere near the detail that Scott provided. Blaming just the Democrats is utter foolishness when virtually all of the Republicans, especially in the Senate, will vote in lockstep to prevent any substantive change in the Iraq policy. These same Republicans ignored the disaster that was Iraq until they lost the last election. Indeed, many of them are planning to ignore the results of the last election as well. Probably listening too much to Fox and the rest of the Republican owned, but supposedly “liberal” media. It seems that even many Republicans have figured out that Fox is the way they want things to be but not how they are. Scott, you seem to have bought into this idea as well. I don’t claim to be happy with all of the Democrats right now. It would seem to take another election to get enough new people in office to change the current situation. A one vote majority in the senate is hardly enough with that one vote belonging to Joe Leiberman. Especially when 60 votes are required to do almost anything. The best we can hope for is to force the Republicans to proclaim their whole hearted support to blindly following the current administration straight to hell. In 2009, with a Democratic President and maybe 55 votes in the Senate, we will get out of Iraq. On another note, we desperately need an independent party not beholden to corporations or weathly donors. Neither of the current parties is a good long term solution. They have no incentive to change the current system, since it so favors incumbents. While this might seem separate from the current discussion, it is the main reason we are in this predicament.

To CC who tried to smear Ritter by pulling the old “sex scandal” story, I’d suggest that he google it and find many such posts as the following:

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/j012203.html

But I’m sure that CC could care less about Ritter’s reputation. The test just proved too daunting and besmirching Ritter was easier to do.

Ritter got me—he’s right. There’s no way I could have answered this as fully as he did, and I should have been able to.

Inspired me to read Hourani’s _A History of the Arab Peoples_, having just finished Fisk’s latest.

Btw, Ritter is not a fraud, as far as I can tell. Whatever his sexual habits may be or have been doesn’t seem to automatically disqualify him from writing about his areas of expertise, especially arms-control inspections. This is a favored tactic of those who’d like to shut someone up but can’t muster a counterargument. Left and right love to do it.

The reactions to this dig are very revealing—of those who have written them (mine no less than others’, no doubt). I take Ritter’s point, which, if it wasn’t obvious, was to get educated in order to force an education on our elected representatives and to insulate ourselves from the waves of history-denuded propaganda that threaten to inundate us.

And to those above whining about their jobs, I say, bullshit. If not living in an authoritarian state matters, make the time. Three hours a week, spread out, learning about the world around you is a responsibility of citizenship. It is not required to be a consumer. Yes, I do sympathize with the time crunch, and realize it’s usefulness to the powers that be, but no one ever said life was fair. Read widely, debate, think critically. Ritter can’t do it for you: no one can. That’s his point: get cracking!

Thanks, Doug

Ritter is a fraud and was proven so just a few years back.  Wonder what ever happened to the case of the minor he was caught soliciting sex from.

Perhaps you should review your sources for credibility before publishing them.

Impeach George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Hideous creatures hell-bent on destroying this country’s constitution and contemptuous of the rule of law.

>>>A young woman replied, from what I understand they hate us for our values our freedoms.<<<
I think it very unlikely that is why they hate us…isn’t it because we keep meddling where we shouldn’t be meddling? Isn’t it because this war was simply to take their oil and profits? There is NO JUSTIFICATION for our meddling where we don’t belong. This obviously YOUNG lady doesn’t even know her American history. Guess how many Democratic leaders have been overthrown by the U.S. I’m ashamed of the sheer ignorance and/or the evil deviousness of my own people….

fascinating article!  I am forwarding the link to my family and friends.  This is by far the best description I have discovered to illustrate the vast differences between the warring ‘factions’ in Iraq.

Sadly, I think we (the US) got into this war without ever defining what we were trying to achieve and are paying the price for it now.  God bless our troops!

I am more concerned about the ignorance of American troops in Iraq. BBC World News interviewed male and female soliders and asked them to define the enemy. One young man answered,Iraqis and then added, anyone who is shooting at me. A young woman replied, from what I understand they hate us for our values our freedoms. They call us the great satan.

Wow.

Scott Ritter gives a lot of good information, although there are a few mistakes. And this article very much gives a Shia point of view.
As for the “wahhabis”, no one actually calls himself that… and there’s much more to that story. And any discussion of this should include the split among Salafis (which is what they do call themselves) when Saudi Arabia invited American troops into the kingdom during the Gulf War.

Also, ibn Taymiyyah belonged to a Sufi order himself, and Sufis have participated in jihad - on the battlefield - for centuries.

And “tawhid” could be translated as “unity”, but most people would get the wrong impression, because it means unity in the sense of believing in one God; it would be better translated as “monotheism”, the belief which is the bedrock of Islam.

I think that the “experts” (and I mean the few that actually know what they’re talking about) do a disservice by concentrating on the historical origin of the split between Sunni and Shia, and by pretending that there’s really not much difference between Shia and Sunni beliefs. Yes, it’s important to know the background, but Mr. Ritter should explain the many differences in beliefs and practices of Sunni and Shia Muslims today - and there are many. Yes, some may have their origins in the original split, but even many Muslims don’t even know the history that is explained here. This topic is harder to research, but it’s very relevant, because these differences are what causes the conflicts…

Yes, I too was against the war, from the beginning, without being an expert on the middle east.

I find the vehement critiscism of Ritter interesting.  He was in the forefront of genuine information before the war was launched and was basically villified.  His angst is perfectly understandable.

I too hold all of us in America responsible for this travesty of justice and the rule of international law.  Shame on us for allowing this to happen.

I fear we haven’t even begun to pay the price for this.

Why do we forever fall for the old saw; the enemy is at the gate, when in fact the enemy is within?

ZENA,

        YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

    God Bless You and Your Daughter.

May God hold our soldiers in palm of his hand.

Thank you for the history lesson, Mr. Ritter. As a student of international law and human rights, I found it very enlightening.

Hey Scott,

The reason, as everyone who has a third grade education will know, why there was no post-war planning is because WE AINT LEAVING IRAQ. THATS WHY WE ARE BUILDING 5 HUGE BASES. So when Bush and Cheney etc say every thing is fine is because every thing is fine.

The new oil law will give the foreign oil companies control over Iraq’s oil and petro-dollar will be the currency instead of the petro-Euro. All that stuff about Sunni and Shia—no one cares.

John Glock

Though Ritter’s tone here is intentionally insulting, and could probably be put more productively, I do think he grasps the quintessence of the matter: That the American people are, yes, rather stupid, for citizens of a flowering empire.  Have no doubt that Dick Cheney, who is, unfortunately, rather intelligent, considers this nation conveniently simple-minded.  This is a sweeping sociological sentiment, of course, and the same could be applied to many nations.  Yet I think it is fair, and important, to say that we are, as a nation, far too childlike in our understanding of power-politics.  I would venture to say that this is an intentional result of many propagandistic confabulations, but that’s another can of worms.  I have lived in Ireland, Italy and various places in the Middle East, and I have no doubt that, in any of those places, had the man who became president been the brother of the governor of the tie-breaking state in an exceedingly close election, and the secretary of that state, who had been his campaign manager, had been allowed to doggedly set the matter in a way that benefited him before the high court, which voted not in a way that might skew the recount, but that mendaciously prevented the recount altogether by allowing the clock to run out…  My point?  Whether you were on the left or right, in Italy, in Ireland, in Jordan, or in Turkey, where I have lived, sure, you might watch your mouth in public, as did our illustrious collective media.  But you would be considered, as Ritter puts it, an idiot, a real shmuck, not to shake your head, among friends, and say, “My god, what a bunch of scumbags.”  And from that moment, not to watch every little thing those dirty hands should touch. 

Why do I bring up this tiny bad memory from 2000, when so much “history” has flown by since then?  Because it pains my heart that, right from the murky beginning, Americans could not bring themselves to see something as unpleasant as it is: The kind of thugs who would suggest a department of strategic influence, which would skew foreign news in “our” favor, until, surprise, surprise, instead we get faked reports of uranium from niger in our own pristine domestic media, mountains of faked evidence regarding wmds, etc. 

When my grandmother came to this country from Calabria, 87 years ago, she often expressed the somewhat obstreperous opinion that Italians, as a nation, had certain cultural traits that made for political chaos over there.  What, she didn’t love Italy?  She didn’t love the Italians she was always pinching and kissing on the street?  No, she loved them, she was just honest, and humble enough to be obnoxious, like Scott Ritter, when she was pained by unearned stupidity.  She also loved America, and often praised this “golden country” for producing such a sweet and, in her beloved phrase, such a fair-and-square bunch of people.  But she also got mad sometimes because, yes, they were also incredibly stupid about things like obscenity, God, the flag, colored people, marijuana, money, fast food, the military, etc.

My point is simply this: Growing up among immigrants taught me a thing to which Americans have a strong national aversion: The notion that different nations have different personalities.  Living among Italians, I can say that sometimes Italians drive me bonkers.  But make no doubt that I live them.  Likewise, living in America, in times like this, where the national stupidity is in full glory, is starting to drive me bonkers.  Do I live my country?  Well, yes, I love it very much.  And for that matter, very much more than these bastards my simple-hearted countrymen elected (“again”), out of, yes, sheer stupidity, in 2004.  My grandmother voted for Nixon, and I got mad at her and called her stupid.  We’re Italians, we call each other names.  That’s our own national vice.  Americans, meanwhile, are very polite.  But can’t we admit that we are also exceptionally stupid?

Scott Ritter for president?  Well, we sure could do with another fellow who is absolutely certain that all his believes are true and whose tenderest feeling for others seems to be utter contempt.  Thanks to the folks who took the time to point out that little error.

Richard Mann’s comment on Scott Ritter’s blog deserves an answer.
  Here is an educator obviously miffed by Ritter’s intruding into his domain- a Marine officer pontificating on History, Mann loses his nerves and launches an attack on Ritter’s “ego” of a “drill instructor”. Thanks for telling us about non-existant WMDs,but he practically says, it is time to shut up and get lost somewhere in the barraks. A sort of Monroe Doctrine: History belongs to historians.
This would have been a debatable criticism if we lived in a normal Country.
This is not the case.
Nobody in in the U.S. seems to be doing what he is supposed to do, and our system is manifestly corrupt.
We have a President who tries to compensate for his lack of intelligence by enclosing himself into a bubble of religious insanity. We have a worthless Congress which is not responssive to the will of the People ( except to Israel). We have a news media which would be an envy in the Soviet Union. We have an Army which is on rampage committing most heinous crimes, defending the looting of our corporations which ended being practically indistinguishable from mafias. Lies reign supreme in our Country. Then appears Scott Ritter and Professor Mann has nothing better to do than to smear him.
Bravo Professor! you have done a terrific job in educating America in what it is today.