Christopher Hitchens versus Ritter: Iraq War debate PART 8

Christopher Hitchens and Scott Ritter duke it out over the Iraq war. ca 2006. Part 8

Ritter proves himself to be Hitchens' most formidable opponent in the Iraq war debates. He was intimately involved in the Gulf war, and in the events leading up to the Iraq war. He gives a very detailed account of the contradictions and hypocrisies of US policy toward Iraq. Hitchens largely agrees, but draws a different conclusion.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Christopher
• Hitchens
• Scott
• Ritter
• Iraq
• war
• terrorism
• WMD
• George
• Bush
• Dick
• Cheney
• Saddam
• Hussein
• UN
• weapons
• inspectors
• Kurdistan
• Kuwait
• Kanan
• Makiya
• Gulf
• War
• Al
• Qaeda

[DuctTapeMyFace]

Glad Hitchens finally pulled Ritter over his continual appeals to his service in the Marines.

[slantythecamel]

The more Ritter argues the more he makes the case for the invasion... and I find this typical for these debates.

[Tsnore]

It is ironic but life under an oligarchy or dictatoriship needn't be so bad, as bad as that sounds. Indonesia could be fun in the 1990s as was Laos and China and even Saudi Arabia or Egypt. Democracy was not the key arguing point here - it was the abuse of power by Bush Jr. and the exploitation of 9/11 for narrow vested US and otherwise moneyed interests.

[Tsnore]

Lord Mush's mind was incapable of fathoming the ramifications of his invasion of Iraq. Rove convinced him it would be good for his '04 chances and in his Wild Turkey-addled brain he wanted to be a two-term Resident unlike his Poppy. The whole thing was catapulted by the neocons who the nationalist/power stud, Dick Insaney, had placed in positions of power. Ritter's point about living under a dictator is sound - the sanctions and war killed far more people.

[batvette]

Former chief U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter said Iraq is capable of reconstituting a chemical weapons program within a matter of weeks.

"I believe Iraq will seek to reconstitute a militarized nerve agent that will be used in a last ditch defense of Baghdad, and I think the Iraqi government's efforts to acquire significant stockpiles of atropine are an indication that this is the direction that Saddam Hussein is heading," Ritter said on CNN's "Crossfire."

CNN Nov. 2002

[sinistar99]

@breakerofbigots The Chickenhawks hear what they want to hear. Hitchens makes the most coherant pro-war argument I've ever heard, but it still falls short because it relies on 2 counts of intellectual dishonesty. 1. We can't "speak for the dead"  --we are not allowed to talk about the cost of the war in terms of human lives etc.. 2. We dare not mentiion anything good at all in Iraq before the invasion. So as long as all data that is inconvenient is removed, Hitchens has a good argument.

[sinistar99]

@eugdog106 --which proves the age old lesson if you have to do something "based on lies" it's probably not a good idea to do." But Exxon Cheveron and BP got thier oil sharing aggreements and Cheney's Halliburton stock options went up what 450% so not all bad...

[sinistar99]

@eugdog106 What they have now is Shira Law and 10 years of a foreign army walking up and down their streets with Machine guns. tens if not hundreds of thousands more killed, bombed tortured and imprisoned. Now women can't drive cars or go to school or go outside without burkahs (they could do all these things before the invasion). With that kind of "liberty" who needs oppression!

[sinistar99]

@moh490234890238490 Though you're right there are 2 different things here My problem with Hitchens on both counts is that 1 To admit that anything at all was good in Iraq during Saddam's regime is "defending Saddam" and treated as religious herisy (which is no way to make a logical judgement) 2. we're not allowed to talk about the cost of the war in terms of human lives and injury.

[sinistar99]

@moh490234890238490 It was a good point and the point stands: The invasion and occupation of Iraq has been responsible for more deaths and suffering of the Iraqi people than Saddam. That's the point Ritter was trying to make and it was a good point if YOU were paying attention. The cure was worse than the disease. (not to mention that NOW women can't drive and have to wear burkahs and are more likely to be raped or stonded to death). It's not Left or Right it's just math.