Former Inspector Scott Ritter Says Disarmament Goal Was Pretext For War

UN: Iraq's 'weapons of mass destruction' was a hoax

Former inspector Scott Ritter says disarmament goal was pretext for war

U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 was based on false claims, he says

In a December 2003 interview, former UN arms inspector Scott Ritter said that the United States' claims that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) were a hoax. Ritter, who served as a UN weapons inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998, said that the U.S. government had deliberately misled the public about the threat posed by Iraq in order to justify the invasion of the country.

Ritter's claims have been supported by a number of other former UN weapons inspectors, including Hans Blix, the former head of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC). Blix has said that the U.S. government's claims about Iraq's WMDs were "not supported by the facts."

The U.S. government has denied Ritter's claims, but Ritter has continued to speak out against the war in Iraq. He has said that the invasion of Iraq was a "crime against humanity" and that the U.S. government should be held accountable for its actions.