U.S.

U.N. Inspector Quits In Protest

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

August 26, 1998 / 6:51 PM EDT / CBS

U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter has been singled out by Saddam Hussein as a "hyena" and an American spy. He certainly has been aggressive in his search for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, reports CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin.

Ritter quit Wednesday, accusing the U.N. and the U.S. of surrendering to Iraq. In a two-page letter to chief weapons inspector Richard Butler, Ritter said the inspections have become only "an illusion, one which I cannot and will not be a party to."

Specifically, Ritter complains about the U.N. Security Council's "refusal to effectively respond" to Iraq's recent decision to stop cooperating with inspectors. In the past, the U.S. has threatened air strikes if Iraq did not let the inspectors in. This time, however, the U.S. took no action and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan instead proposed a review of relations between Iraq and the inspectors, an action Ritter says would be a farce.

Ritter is disliked not only by the Iraqis, but also by some American officials who accused him of giving classified information about Iraqi weapons to Israel -- an accusation Ritter denies. The FBI is investigating, but one official says he doubts Ritter will be charged with any crime.

Ritter may be controversial but he is not alone. Another inspector told CBS that Ritter is expressing what many inspectors feel. As Ritter put it in his letter, "the sad truth is Iraq today is not disarmed anywhere near the level required by U.N. Security Council resolutions."