Former U.N. Weapons Inspector Declares President Bush Now Plans War Against Iran

Interview with former U.N. Chief Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter, conducted by Scott Harris

As the Bush administration stepped up pressure at the United Nations to impose sanctions against Iran, the government in Tehran defiantly announced that it had recently doubled their capacity to enrich uranium. The process employing centrifuges can either produce nuclear fuel or material for a warhead. Iranian officials have long maintained that their goal is only to generate electricity and reject charges from Washington that they are on a covert path to build nuclear weapons.

In recent weeks, there have been several reports speculating that the U.S. was sending Navy ships to the Persian Gulf for a possible pre-election attack on Iran -- charges dismissed by the Bush administration. But on Oct. 29, a naval training exercise led by the United States got underway off the Iranian coast. The two days of exercises involving ships from six nations were organized under the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative, aimed at blocking nuclear proliferation by practicing the interception of ships at sea. Although U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Charlie Brown of America's 5th Fleet said the exercises would not affect shipping in or out of Iran, Iranian officials said they were watching the movements in the Gulf very carefully.

Scott Ritter is a former Marine intelligence officer who served as a chief U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998. During the leadup to the Iraq war, Ritter challenged President Bush's rationale for the war, maintaining that Saddam Hussein possessed no weapons of mass destruction that threatened the U.S. Scott Ritter has written a new book titled, "Target Iran: The Truth About the White House's Plans for Regime Change." Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Ritter about his contention that Bush is now planning to launch a new war against Iran.

Scott Ritter's book, "Target Iran: The Truth About the White House's Plans for Regime Change," is published by Nation Books.

Related links:

"Parallel Deceptions: The Bush Agenda for War in Iraq and Iran"

LISTEN to this week's half-hour program of Between The Lines by clicking on one of the links below:
www.btlonline.org
*
"Between The Lines" is a half-hour syndicated radio news magazine that each week features a summary of under-reported news stories & interviews with activists & journalists who offer progressive perspectives on international, national & regional political, economic & social issues. Because "Between The Lines" is independent of all publications, media networks or political parties, we are able to bring a diversity of voices to the airwaves generally ignored or marginalized by the major media. For more information on this week's topics & to check out our text archive listing topics & guests presented in previous programs visit: www.btlonline.org
*
"Between the Lines," WPKN 89.5 FM's weekly radio news magazine can be heard Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. ET; Wednesdays at 8 a.m. ET & Saturdays at 2 p.m. ET (Wednesday's show airs at 7:30 a.m. ET during fundraising months of April & October).
*
For an email subscription of "Between The Lines Weekly Summary" which features a RealAudio link to the week's program for Between The Lines, send an email to btlsummary-subscribe-AT-lists.riseup.net
*
For an email subscription of "Between The Lines Q&A" which features a RealAudio link & weekly transcript to one of the interviews featured on Between The Lines, send an email to btlqa-subscribe-AT-lists.riseup.net
*
www.btlonline.org
*
betweenthelines-AT-snet.net
*
www.squeakywheel.net
*
Distributed by Squeaky Wheel Productions
©2006 Between The Lines. All Rights Reserved.