Iraq is incapable of producing weapons of mass destruction and should prove it by allowing in UN weapons inspectors, a former U.N. inspector said Sunday.
Iraq's cooperation on inspections would leave the United States "standing alone in regards to war threats on Iraq and this is the best way to prevent the war," said Scott Ritter, who has been a sharp critic of US policy on Iraq. He spoke to members of parliament and to journalists on his third trip to Iraq since he resigned from the UN inspection team in 1998.
"The truth is Iraq is not a threat to its neighbors and it is not acting in a manner which threatens anyone outside its borders," Ritter said, according to AP. "Military action against Iraq cannot be justified."
Ritter, a former US Marine intelligence officer, resigned from the UN inspection team in August 1998 after several years as a member. He left denouncing former US President Bill Clinton's administration for having withdrawn support for the UN agency and undermining weapons inspection.
He has since said Washington used the inspectors to spy on Iraq. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
