Scott Ritter: Kerry's a Phony

EIB ^ | 2-9-04 | Rush Limbaugh

[jmstein7]

Many people have been asking, "Where's Scott Ritter?" Well, ask no more. The former Iraq weapons inspector, who was arrested after being nabbed twice for soliciting what he thought were 14- and 16-year-old girls but turned out to be undercover cops in an online chat room, has written a column for New York Newsday on the weapons of mass destruction question. It's headlined: "Kerry, Too, Needs to Clear the Air."

Ritter recounts Kerry's "pious rectitude" in attacking President Bush on the intelligence on Saddam Hussein's WMDs, but then drops this blockbuster: "The problem for Sen. Kerry, of course, is that he, too, is culpable in the massive breach of public trust that has come to light regarding Iraq, WMD and the rush to war." I'm by no means condoning Ritter's editorializing about this war, but I am pointing out that he thinks Kerry guilty of this "massive breach of public trust."

Kerry had a chance to stand up and say, "It's all BS." Instead, he voted for the liberation and is only now changing his tune. This is reminiscent of then-Senator Al Gore selling his vote for the first Gulf War to then-Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole because Dole promised him more TV time to grandstand. Ritter states: "John Kerry seems to share in this culpability, and if he wants to be the next president of the United States, he must first convince the American people that his actions somehow differ from those of the man he seeks to replace."

Ritter writes that when he lobbied Congress for a review of the nation's Iraq policy in April 2000, he spoke to Kerry who asked him to put claims of "hyped-up intelligence regarding the threat posed by Iraq's WMD" in writing. Ritter had the Arms Control Association send "several copies" to Kerry, then sent one of his own. The senator never responded. This guy's point is that Kerry knew everything Bush knew. The press put Ritter on as a guest 24/7 when he made these same charges about the president. Let's see if they do the same now that the very same guy is slamming John F. Kerry.

[evad]

Surely this will be plastered on all the alphabet networks and cable new stations....

NOT!

[Paleo Conservative]

It takes one to know one.

[South40]

Nothing Scott Ritter has to say is worth reading.

[AfghanIraqVeteran]

I would have to agree with Scott on this one. Hard as it is since he is a phony also.

[mhking]

"I'm Happy."

[Just mythoughts]

So Newsday a clinton rag?

[South Dakota]

Forrest Gump and his dog?

[Huck]

Ritter recounts Kerry's "pious rectitude

Or was it rectal piety?

[Pukin Dog]

Funny thing, it took Ritter making these comments for the DU crowd to discover Ritter is a child molester.

Words fail me.

[Just mythoughts]

Why Newsday? Why today? Why Ritter? Somebody is throwing us a bone.

[mass55th]

"Forrest Gump and his dog?"

Forrest Gump is the one in the middle.

[FReepaholic]

>>...Funny thing, it took Ritter making these comments for the DU crowd to discover Ritter is a child molester....<<

Great observation.

[dglang]

Ya beat me to it, I was going to post the same remark.

[gov_bean_ counter]

"Kerry, Too, Needs to Clear the Air."

I'll say...

Swiftboats.net has a very detailed accounting of swiftboat activity. Shows Kerry as commander of PCF 66. Unlike, most of the other boats no crew was identified as being under him. There are stories of firefights and even a man tossed overboard. Kerry isn't a part of those stories. Interesting that during Kerry's stint many boats were transferred from An Thoi to other staging areas. Kerry's wasn't. I don't think we have been told the truth about Kerry's time in Vietnam. He should fess up, less he continue to dishonor the service of others who sacrificed much more than he.

[lilylangtree]

The pot calling the kettle black, hmn!

Anyway, maybe the following comments by Kerry is by-way of somewhat of an explanation.

"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force-- if necessary-- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."
- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002.

"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his
continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..."
- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003.

[futureceo31]

I have heard quite a few people bring up the fact of his getting medals in such a short period of time. Is this normal and do we know anything more about this? I say bring it all out since he keeps talking about his service and is going after Pres Bush's service.

[BigSkyFreeper]

As much as it pains me to say this; Ritter is absolutely correct.

[anonymous_user]

Just posted on another thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1074808/posts

On January 25, 2004, a daily newspaper in Iraq called al Mada published a list of individuals and organizations who it says received oil from the now-deposed regime. Among those listed is Shakir al Khafaji, an Iraqi-American from Detroit, who ran "Expatriate Conferences" for the regime in Baghdad. Al Khafaji also contributed $400,000 to the production of Scott Ritter's film "In Shifting Sands." (my emphasis)

[ThePythonicCow]

his getting medals in such a short period of time

Two of the three purple hearts were for superficial wounds. And I've heard conflicting stories as to just how heroic were his actions for the third such medal.

I'll wager a pretty penny that he knew darn well that three purple hearts got you a ticket back to stateside, and that he didn't hesitate to report any such qualifying injuries. And from what I've seen of the creep so far, I certainly don't trust that they were not self inflicted wounds.

I was just a few hundred miles away from him at the same time myself, in USAF uniform. If one really didn't want to serve hazardous duty, and one had the skills to understand the system and use the regs to ones advantage, one certainly would know how to get wounded three times quickly and get out of there. If I ever run for public office (fat chance) you won't hear me bragging about my duty. I served honorably, but not with distinction or bravery.

But at least I didn't spit on my country and fellow soldiers when I got back home.

[JOE6PAK]

[SiliconValleyGuy]

I agree with Ritter. But I wouldn't form any opinions based on his. It's just one piece of slime calling another piece of slime a piece of slime.

[futureceo31]

Thank you for your service. You might want to repost your comments on the new thread that has started regarding his medals.

[Capt. Tom]

Why Newsday? Why today? Why Ritter? Somebody is throwing us a bone.

You will see a lot of attacks on Kerry now by the leftist press. It doesn't count because of the limited attention span of the public.

When it gets critical a couple of months before the election the press will fall silent on Kerry's shortcomings. When pressed about the non- coverage of Kerry's downside, the press will respond "we talked about that before that's old news now."

The big difference today is that talk radio , Fox news, the Internet and some right leaning newspapers will talk about it in the late summer and early fall when it counts. - Tom

[Just mythoughts]

Over all I tend to agree. Ritter is a special case because of his history. Newsday using Ritter to go after Kerry, like Ritter has credibility, is odd.

So to whom would a piece like this serve? Somebody at Newsday owe someone else a favor? Maybe another dim?

Will anyone follow-up in the media asking Kerry to respond to Ritter? Likely not, so maybe someone is sending a signal to JFKerry to get his attention.

[VadeRetro]

Ritter doesn't think Kerry went far enough soon enough selling out his country. Also, Kerry likes his women older and richer than Ritter does.

[CFC__VRWC]

Why Newsday? Why today? Why Ritter? Somebody is throwing us a bone.

If I'm not mistaken, Scotty's thrown in with Dennis Kook-cinich

Maybe Scotty thinks Grandfather Twilight's favorite candidate looks like Peter Pan or something.

Something tells me the Loony Left isn't about to go quietly into the night and fall in meekly behind Jean Luc Cheri, and Ritter may be firing some of the opening salvos.

[Just mythoughts]

Interesting. I didn't know this, thanks.

[dsc]

It is also worth noting that a purple heart is not an award for valor.

For a long time, the marines gave "wound stripes" instead, which were worn on the opposite sleeve from hash marks for service.

Of course, I don't denigrate the purple heart. Anybody with a legitimate purple heart showed up and went in harm's way, and that's all that's required. That is honorable, and to be respected.

[armymarinemom]

[Salvation]

Guess I missed this!