INSPECTOR: 'I AM BITTER'

But now, he doubts anyone will listen.

Last week's attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center have changed everything, and Mr. Ritter's reaction is one of anger.

Warnings

"I've been saying this was going to happen for a few years," he said. "Our foreign policy is creating a generation of people growing up to hate the United States -- especially, a foreign policy that has no discernible objective. It was just a matter of time until we reaped what we had sown."

Even though he had predicted such a tragedy, Mr. Ritter said that seeing the shattered buildings made his stomach turn.

"You turn on the TV and you're saying, `My God, they're doing it. It's happening,'" he said. "The scale and scope are unimaginable."

Iraqi duty

"I said, `That's not what's going to happen,'" he recounted. "`They're not going to use missiles; they're not going to use biological weapons. They're going to use bombs.'"

Part of the reasoning behind his argument is the effect of what Mr. Ritter calls failed U.S. foreign policy. "What happened only reinforces the message I've been trying to put out," he stated. "I'm not a humanitarian worker; I've always approached the idea of sanctions from a perspective of failed foreign policy."

He pointed to Iraq as a prime example, demanding: "What goes through the mind of an Iraqi woman holding her child who's dying of dysentery over several days? Is there love in her heart for America? When you hold a nation responsible and they have no choice but to sit there and suffer, they will rally around their leader."

New focus

"There's a time for preventive diplomacy, and that's before something happens," he said. "I don't think people are ready to hear lectures about preventive diplomacy."

While he wouldn't speculate on suspects, Mr. Ritter put both Iraq and terrorist Osama Bin Laden high on the list. He also no longer hopes for diplomatic engagement with Saddam Hussein, given the Iraqi leader's reaction to the U.S. tragedy.

"When he gloats over the deaths of so many Americans, I can't in good conscience advise diplomatic engagement with this man," Mr. Ritter stated.

What's next

"We're dealing with madmen here," he said flatly. "I'm advocating getting rid of these people. But we have to differentiate between them and innocents; if we blindly strike out, we're only going to make matters worse."

He worried that with such public pressure on the government to avenge the thousands of victims, the U.S. might do just that. "Politicians are basically held prisoner to the emotional whim of their electors," he said. "Right now, there's not much talk about patience, love and understanding."

Muslims

"You don't condemn every Protestant because Protestants carried out acts of terrorism in the name of religion," he explained. In the same way, "a Catholic who commits murder is not a Catholic, and a Muslim who commits murder is not a Muslim. There are millions of Muslims who didn't do this. They're on our side. We're going to have to be very mature as individuals and as a nation."

Americans can find that maturity, said Mr. Ritter, by learning about U.S. foreign policy and how it's affecting the world -- something he plans to cover in his now-augmented talks.

"Accountability is a two-way street," he said. "We need to hold accountable the system that made this possible. One of the things I'll be pointing out is that the American people cannot continue to stick their heads in the sand when it comes to foreign policy. For three years now, I've been trying to get people to wake up to the fact that what we do in the Middle East affects their lives -- more than just the prices at the gas pumps."

Urges information

"Become educated," he directed the entire country. "Don't ignore these issues. Become informed and you've empowered yourself; that sense of helplessness is replaced by a sense of purpose.

"We have a disease right now in America called failed foreign policy," he added. "The best way we can hold [the government] accountable is to become informed. If you call your congressman and you have your act together, he will sit up and pay attention. If a large group is calling, confident of their facts, he's going to listen. [But] if your opinion is solely based on the politics of fear, you're not going to get a reforming foreign policy; you're going to get a reactionary foreign policy."

In a country that so values its freedom, said Mr. Ritter, it's important not to "turn it over to bureaucrats and politicians. This is a democracy. The last I read the Constitution, you didn't just hand over foreign policy to the government."

(Mr. Ritter's talks, titled, "In Shifting Sands: The Difficult Search for a Solution to the Iraqi Situation," will be held Sept. 19, 7 p.m., at SUNY Cobleskill, call 234-2892; Sept. 26, 12:30 p.m., at Adirondack Community College, call 743-2200; Sept. 26, 7:30 p.m., at St. Thomas School, Delmar, call 453-6695; and Oct. 18, 7:30 p.m., at St. Margaret Mary Church, Albany, call 453-6695.)

(09-20-01) [[In-content Ad]]