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Monday, February 21, 2005 7:52 PM

[socialWandR] Scott Ritter says US attack on Iran planned for June

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/2295/NEWS: Scott Ritter says US attack on Iran planned for June Print E-mail Written by Mark Jensen Saturday, 19 February 2005On Friday evening in Olympia, former UNSCOM weapons inspector ScottRitter appeared with journalist Dahr Jamail. -- Ritter made twoshocking claims: George W. Bush has "signed off" on plans to bomb Iranin June 2005, and the U.S. manipulated the results of the Jan. 30elections in Iraq....SCOTT RITTER SAYS U.S. PLANS JUNE ATTACK ON IRAN, `COOKED' JAN. 30IRAQI ELECTION RESULTSBy Mark JensenUnited for Peace of Pierce County (WA)February 19, 2005Scott Ritter, appearing with journalist Dahr Jamail yesterday inWashington State, dropped two shocking bombshells in a talk deliveredto a packed house in Olympia's Capitol Theater. The ex-Marine turnedUNSCOM weapons inspector said that George W. Bush has "signed off" onplans to bomb Iran in June 2005, and claimed the U.S. manipulated theresults of the recent Jan. 30 elections in Iraq.Olympians like to call the Capitol Theater "historic," but it'sdoubtful whether the eighty-year-old edifice has ever been the sceneof more portentous revelations.The principal theme of Scott Ritter's talk was Americans' duty toprotect the U.S. Constitution by taking action to bring an end to theillegal war in Iraq. But in passing, the former UNSCOM weaponsinspector stunned his listeners with two pronouncements. Ritter saidplans for a June attack on Iran have been submitted to PresidentGeorge W. Bush, and that the president has approved them. He alsoasserted that knowledgeable sources say U.S. officials "cooked" theresults of the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq.On Iran, Ritter said that President George W. Bush has received andsigned off on orders for an aerial attack on Iran planned for June2005. Its purported goal is the destruction of Iran's alleged programto develop nuclear weapons, but Ritter said neoconservatives in theadministration also expected that the attack would set in motion achain of events leading to regime change in the oil-rich nation of 70million -- a possibility Ritter regards with the greatest skepticism.The former Marine also said that the Jan. 30 elections, which GeorgeW. Bush has called "a turning point in the history of Iraq, amilestone in the advance of freedom," were not so free after all.Ritter said that U.S. authorities in Iraq had manipulated the resultsin order to reduce the percentage of the vote received by the UnitedIraqi Alliance from 56% to 48%.Asked by UFPPC's Ted Nation about this shocker, Ritter said anofficial involved in the manipulation was the source, and that thiswould soon be reported by a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist in amajor metropolitan magazine -- an obvious allusion to New Yorkerreporter Seymour M. Hersh.On Jan. 17, the New Yorker posted an article by Hersh entitled TheComing Wars (New Yorker, January 24-31, 2005). In it, the well-knowninvestigative journalist claimed that for the Bush administration,"The next strategic target [is] Iran." Hersh also reported that "TheAdministration has been conducting secret reconnaissance missionsinside Iran at least since last summer." According to Hersh, "DefenseDepartment civilians, under the leadership of Douglas Feith, have beenworking with Israeli planners and consultants to develop and refinepotential nuclear, chemical-weapons, and missile targets inside Iran.. . . Strategists at the headquarters of the U.S. Central Command, inTampa, Florida, have been asked to revise the military's war plan,providing for a maximum ground and air invasion of Iran. . . . Thehawks in the Administration believe that it will soon become clearthat the Europeans' negotiated approach [to Iran] cannot succeed, andthat at that time the Administration will act."Scott Ritter said that although the peace movement failed to stop thewar in Iraq, it had a chance to stop the expansion of the war to othernations like Iran and Syria. He held up the specter of a day when theIraq war might be remembered as a relatively minor event that precededan even greater conflagration.Scott Ritter's talk was the culmination of a long evening devoted todiscussion of Iraq and U.S. foreign policy. Before Ritter spoke, DahrJamail narrated a slide show on Iraq focusing on Fallujah. He showedmore than a hundred vivid photographs taken in Iraq, mostly byhimself. Many of them showed the horrific slaughter of civilians.Dahr Jamail argued that U.S. mainstream media sources are complicit inthe war and help sustain support for it by deliberately downplayingthe truth about the devastation and death it is causing.Jamail was, until recently, one of the few unembedded journalists inIraq and one of the only independent ones. His reports have gained asubstantial following and are available online at dahrjamailiraq.com.Friday evening's event in Olympia was sponsored by South Puget SoundCommunity College's Student Activities Board, Veterans for Peace, 100Thousand and Counting, Olympia Movement for Justice & Peace, andUnited for Peace of Pierce County.-- NOTE: Dahr Jamail will make three more appearances in the Puget Soundarea this weekend: (1) SATURDAY, FEB. 19, 7:00 p.m., at the KirklandCongregational Church, 106 5th Avenue, Kirkland WA. Admission $5 --Sponsored by Evergreen Peace & Justice; (2) SUNDAY, FEB. 20, 1:00 p.m.at the Vashon Land Trust. Vashon Islanders for Peace will be hostingDahr Jamail and Bert Sacks on the subject of Exit Strategies fromIraq; (3) SUNDAY, FEB. 20, 7:30 p.m. at UW Kane Hall, Room 120. Hostedby the Interfaith Network Of Concern for the people of Iraq (INOC),the University of Washington -- Department of Communication, the IraqiCommunity Center of Seattle (ICCS), and the United NationsAssociation, Seattle.NOTE TO MEDIA: This piece has generated considerable public and mediainterest, receiving 14,325 hits as of 1:00 p.m., Feb. 21, and causingthe UFPPC web site to crash several times on Monday. -- Kate Hunter ofVashon Islanders for Peace suggests reporters seeking to reach ScottRitter contact Dennis Mills of the Olympia chapter of Veterans forPeace at mills.dennis--Mark Jensen is a member of United for Peace of Pierce County.Last Updated ( Monday, 21 February 2005 )

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