Bahrein Tribune, 02.11.2002 Former inspector urges Berlin to step up opposition to war BERLIN: A former UN weapons inspector and Gulf War veteran yesterday appealed to German leaders to keep up their opposition to US military action against Iraq, arguing that there are still alternatives to war. Scott Ritter, who served as a weapons inspector in Iraq from 1991-98, said Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s staunch opposition to military action in Iraq during his campaign for September 22 elections conveyed an important message to the American public. “The German election resounded across America, Germany sent a clear signal to the American people that Germany would not participate in a war against Iraq,” said Ritter, in Berlin to speak at a weekend forum called “Iraq: Alternatives to Embargo and War.” Hans von Sponeck, former head of the UN oil-for-food programme who quit his job in 2000 to protest the effect of international sanctions on ordinary civilians, criticised Germany’s foreign minister for weakening his anti-war stance on a recent visit to Washington. Joschka Fischer said on Thursday Berlin would not send troops to Iraq, but left open the possibility of playing a supporting role in a possible strike. “This is a step back,” said von Sponeck, a German. Heads of the various peace groups that organised the forum said German and US government officials declined invitations to take part in the two-day conference that starts today. Ritter and von Sponeck, who have been on the public speaking circuit opposing war against Iraq, spoke in favour of the return of UN weapons inspectors with unfettered access, saying previous teams had eliminated 95 per cent of Iraq’s deadly weapons and its ability to produce them. “When you use the term weapons of mass destruction, you’re playing on fear and ignorance ... implying that Iraq represents a threat to the international community,” Ritter said. There have been no inspection teams in Iraq since Baghdad kicked them out in 1998. At a separate news conference, Raid Fahim of the Iraqi Communist Party said non-military means of pressing Saddam to give up weapons of mass destruction and also halt human rights abuses had not yet been exhausted. “War also brings destruction, and we know this regime will do anything to stay in power,” Fahim said. But Latif Rashid, a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan leader based in London, said Saddam has brought any US-led attack on himself by breaking UN Security Council resolutions. – AP