[antiwar-van] Scott Ridder criticizes Colin Powell's UNO Presentation/

[Charles Boylan]

Dear Friends,
Following two items: a rebuttal of Powell by Scott Ritter forwarded to me by Irene MacInnes and a report on a  Resolution coming before Lakehead City Council posted in the Feb 4th TML (www.cpcml.ca).  This resolution doesn't conciliate with the Federal Government position that war is "ok if the Security Council approves it" found in some others. We can not accept a United Nations Security Council resolution that flies in the face of the UN Charter just because Council members are blackmailed by Bush's line "you are either with us or against us."  No US led invasion against Iraq is justifiable.  Hope to see all Vancouverites at the February 15th demonstration meeting at Canada Place, 12:30 pm. Saturday and marching to the Art Gallery Rally.  Apologies for any duplications.
Charles Boylan

 
From: Ismail Zayid 
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:@is.dal.ca; 
Sent: Friday, February 07, 2003 6:12 AM
Subject: " Ritter dismisses Powell report" Japan Today. Feb. 7,2003


Ritter dismisses Powell report

  Japan Today            Feb. 7,2003
Thursday, February 6, 2003 at 17:30 JST
TOKYO - Former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter on Thursday dismissed
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's allegation before the U.N.
Security Council that Iraq is hiding weapons of mass destruction as
"unsubstantiated" and based only on "circumstantial evidence."

"There's nothing here that's conclusive proof that Iraq has weapons of
mass destruction," Ritter, a former U.S. Marine and outspoken critic of
Washington's policy on Iraq who participated in U.N. weapons inspections
there from 1991 to 1998, told Kyodo News in an interview.

"Everything in here is circumstantial, everything in here mirrors the
kind of allegations the U.S. has made in the past in regard to Iraq's
weapons program," he said.

Powell on Wednesday presented what he described as "irrefutable and
undeniable" evidence that Iraq has been deceiving U.N. arms inspectors
and hiding banned weapons. He played intercepted telephone conversations
between Iraqi officials and showed satellite photos as part of the U.S.
drive to convince the world of the need to disarm Iraq, by military
force if necessary.

"He just hits you, hits you, hits you with circumstantial evidence, and
he confuses people - and he lied, he lied to people, he misled people,"
Ritter said of Powell.

Ritter argued that the United States is giving weapons inspectors too
little time to do their job.

He said many things in Powell's presentation should be properly
investigated, such as a Nov 26 communications intercept in which two
senior Iraqi military officers were overheard talking about the need to
hide from U.N. weapons inspectors a "modified vehicle" made by an Iraqi
company that Powell said is "well known to have been involved in
prohibited weapons systems activity."

"What vehicle? I mean, obviously Colin Powell's concerned, he presented
it, so let's find out what the vehicle is - but let's not bomb Iraq
based upon that," Ritter said.

Ritter also questioned the veracity of Powell's allegation that Iraq
still possesses vast amounts of anthrax and described as irrelevant his
repeated references to dry powder anthrax contained in envelopes and
sent through the U.S. postal system in the fall of 2001, which killed
two people and created a national panic.

"What anthrax is he talking about?" he said, adding that Iraq is only
known to have produced liquid bulk anthrax, which has a shelf life of
only three years.

He said the last known batch of liquid bulk anthrax was produced in 1991
at a state-owned factory blown up in 1996.

"Colin Powell holds up a vial of dry powder anthrax and he makes
allusions to the attack in the United States through the letters. That
was U.S. government anthrax! It had nothing to do with Iraq," Ritter
said.

Ritter accused Powell of engaging in "classic bait-and-switch" in his
U.N. presentation, catching his listeners' attention with one piece of
information and then putting up an irrelevant photograph "to make them
think the two are the same when they're not."

"I mean, the photographs are real but what do the photographs show," he
said. "The Powell presentation is not evidence...It's a very confusing
presentation. What does it mean? What does it represent? How does it all
link up? It doesn't link up."

"Iraq, anthrax, vial, dry powder - what connection do they have? None,"
he said.

Ritter termed a "fabrication" Powell's assertion that Iraq may have 18
trucks from which it can produce biological agents such as anthrax or
botulinum toxin, and noted that U.N. inspectors who followed up on such
U.S. intelligence based on defectors' testimony were only able to find
two trucks used for testing food.

"They had nothing to do with biological laboratories. That's what (U.N.
chief inspector) Hans Blix says. He says, 'There's no mobile lab."'

"You know who came up with the idea of mobile trucks? The
inspectors...We sat back one day and said, 'If we were the Iraqis, how
would we hide biological production? We'd put them on trucks,"' Ritter
said.

"So we designed it and we went out looking for them. But the problem is,
you look for something that you have no evidence exists, but by
postulating the existence you create the perception of existence. Now we
look for trucks...and we don't find them," he said.

In his presentation, Powell spoke of the futility of trying to find the
trucks in question among the thousands that travel Iraqi roads daily
without Baghdad voluntarily surrendering the information.

Ritter, however, said Powell was merely trying to create an impression
that U.N. inspections could never work.

"You can never expect the inspectors to find these 18 trucks," he said,
because "these trucks don't exist."

Defectors' reports, he said, could be misleading, especially those
coming from people associated with the opposition Iraqi National
Congress, who he said could have been "pre-briefed in advance to tell
lies."

"Are these legitimate defectors or are they deliberately out there
falsifying testimony? I don't know. What I do know is I'm not willing to
put American lives on the line based on the testimony from an Iraqi
defector. I want something a little bit more solid than that," Ritter
said.

But he stressed he is not arguing that Iraq does not possess weapons of
mass destruction - merely that the U.N. inspectors should be given
sufficient time to do their job in Iraq and make a final determination
based on solid evidence. (Kyodo News)


Thunder Bay City Council to Vote on 
U.S. Military Action
The Thunder Bay City Council will vote on a resolution to oppose a pre-emptive U.S. military attack on Iraq. At a Committee of the Whole meeting of Thunder Bay City Councillors on January 28, 2003, the following motion moved by Councillor Betty Kennedy and seconded by Councillor Mary Roy was passed and will be voted on at City Council meeting on Monday February 10th. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. and can last until late at night. 

RE: U.S. Military Actions 

WHEREAS U.S. military actions would risk the deaths of thousands of Iraqi civilians, 

AND WHEREAS a pre-emptive and unilateral U.S. military attack would violate international law and our commitments under the U.N. Charter, 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we, the members of Thunder Bay City Council oppose a pre-emptive U.S. military attack on Iraq unless it is demonstrated that Iraq poses a real and imminent threat to the security and safety of the United States and its peoples; 

AND THAT we urge both the Canadian and U.S. Government to work through the U.N. Security Council and reaffirm our nation's commitment to the rule of law in all international relationships; 

AND THAT a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Prime Minister of Canada, the President of the United States, the Leaders of all Federal and Provincial Parties including FCM (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) and AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario). 

Congratulations and thank you to Councillor Kennedy and Councillor Roy for making this important motion. Come to City Hall on February 10th at 6:15 p.m. as Councillors arrive to show your support for voices of Peace. 

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