Scott Ritter

As a chief weapons inspector for the United Nations Special Commission in Iraq, Scott Ritter was labeled a hero by some, a maverick by others and a spy by the Iraqi government. In charge of searching out weapons of mass destruction within Iraq, Ritter was on the front lines of the ongoing battle against arms proliferation. His experience in Iraq served as the basis for his book “Endgame,” which explored the shortcomings of American foreign policy in the Persian Gulf region and alternative approaches to handling the Iraqi crisis, and for “Iraq Confidential,” which detailed his seven-year experience as a weapons inspector.

Scott Ritter has had an extensive and distinguished career in government service. He is an intelligence specialist who served 12 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, including assignments in the former Soviet Union and the Middle East. Rising to the rank of major, Ritter spent several months of the Gulf War serving under Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf with U.S. Central Command headquarters in Saudi Arabia, where he played an instrumental role in formulating and implementing combat operations targeting Iraqi mobile missile launchers that threatened Israel.

In 1991, Ritter joined the United Nations weapons inspections team, or UNSCOM. He participated in 34 inspection missions, 14 of them as chief inspector. Ritter resigned from UNSCOM in August 1998, citing U.S. interference in the inspections.

He is the author of many books, including “Iraq Confidential: The Untold Story of the Intelligence Conspiracy to Undermine the UN and Overthrow Saddam Hussein,” “Target Iran: The Truth About the White House’s Plans for Regime Change” and “Waging Peace: The Art of War for the Antiwar Movement.” He lives in New York state.  Ritter was born in Florida and was raised all over the world in a career military family. He is a graduate of Franklin and Marshall College, with a B.A. in Soviet history.