"The most important thing to know about Scott Ritter is that he was right." - Seymour Hersh Moreover, he and his family have been financially decimated.
Scott Ritter is imprisoned on charges related to an intimate encounter he had in an adult chat room operated by Yahoo. However one feels about his private life, Scott has certainly distinguished himself as a national treasure by relentlessly and selflessly speaking truth to power. One is hard-pressed to think of any foreign policy analyst who has ever combined expertise, oratory and bravery in suc
h a compelling manner. Looking back on the former UN weapons inspector’s assessment that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq when President George W. Bush and his advisors claimed otherwise to “justify” a military invasion, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh commented: “The most important thing to know about Scott Ritter is that he was right.”
Fearing that the Obama administration might perpetrate a similar debacle based on a similarly misguided premise, Scott said on MSNBC: “The problem with Iran is that we’ve created a threat that doesn’t exist.” At the conclusion of the interview, host Dylan Ratigan declared that Scott “has certainly more experience, more credibility and more information than most anybody else we talk to...that guy was fantastic.”
In a just-published major profile , Matt Bai, chief political correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, wrote: “History will record...that Ritter was right, while those who showed him nothing but contempt were flat wrong...No doubt his very existence continues to discomfit those who insisted on Hussein’s lethality, and whose explanation for why they were wrong — that the intelligence was fabricated, essentially — has always been undercut by the fact that Ritter was never taken in.“
In addition to having served in the United States Marine Corps and for the United Nations Special Commission, Scott has for many years been a voluntary firefighter in his hometown of Delmar, NY. Also, Scott co-founded The Veterans Project, a nonprofit that helps military veterans readjust to civilian life. Whatever is the reason for Scott’s unusually harsh punishment, an important voice has been silenced. To provide assistance in their time of need, The Veterans Project has established a special development fund. 65% of all monies raised will go to the Ritter family to cover their most pressing debts (legal fees, the mortgage on their home) and general living expenses. The remaining 35% will be used to develop analysis and creative works by and about veterans – including Scott – under the auspices of The Veterans Project. A Pennsylvania judge is expected to rule by March 6 whether or not Scott is entitled to a new trial. If not, he will appeal his conviction. Either way, funds are urgently needed to ensure he receives topnotch legal representation. Fortunately, Scott is being treated respectfully by prison guards and fellow inmates, and is in great shape physically. But it is a difficult psychological challenge to endure solitary confinement, even though he had POW training. Scott is continuing to write prodigiously (albeit by hand), and The Veterans Project will proudly facilitate the dissemination of his work. Although the Ritters are currently experiencing an acute financial crisis, it is in accordance with Scott’s wishes that our fundraising effort is structured to subsidize his family’s long-term wellbeing, and to support kindred veterans who are using mass communication platforms to help themselves and others. Jeff Norman (co-founder of The Veterans Project) , writer Bill Taub (who has been working with Scott) and Marina Ritter (Scott’s wife) are overseeing the campaign under the umbrella of Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs (SEE) . To donate online (anonymously or not, whichever you prefer), please go to . Checks should be made payable to “SEE/The Veterans Project” and mailed to:
The Veterans Project
3520 Overland Avenue, Suite 110
Los Angeles, CA 90034
Please write “Scott Ritter” on the memo line. All contributions are tax-deductible. Thank you for your support.
