War on Iraq, by William Rivers Pitt and Scott Ritter

This is a short pamphlet (75 pages), written in 2002 by William Rivers Pitt. Mr Pitt is an expert on the Middle East, an activist and a Democrat. Scott Ritter gets equal billing as there are some fifty pages of interview material with him, done by phone.

There are two little intro chapters. One basically going over Ritter’s military career, and another which gives a wonderfully concise history of Iraq. We forget that Iraq can’t really be considered a construction of Middle East politics. It was ‘created’ by the British after the first world war, when they defeated the Ottoman Empire. The British ordained an Iraqi royal government for the country. Trouble ensued.

The interview part makes for compelling reading, as Ritter has lots of inside information. His knowledge of weapons technology sure is an eye opener.

This little book is probably a little dated now, with all we now know. But it’s worth a read, to compare Ritter’s claims with what’s happening today in Iraq.