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Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book - Ritter understands what defines patriotism
Review: Despite the attempts at assasinate his character during 2003-2003, Scott Ritter has been proven correct about Iraq and its lack of WMD. He is correct that we the citizens and the Congress are culpable for beleiving the Big Lie. Right-wingers will certainly try to disparage this book, but in today's climate loyalty to political party seems to take precedence over loyalty to country and to the U.S. Constitution. IMO, Scott Ritter is trying to stand up for the enlightend ideas and principles that founded our nation, and his book was a refreshing read of what has gone wrong, and what we need to do to fix things in 2004. Regime change at home, no more Big Lies.Not only does Ritter painfully point out that the details showing that the Iraq invasion was a war of aggression, and as such illegal under International Law, but he successfully articulates that the US under this administration is looking very much like the earlier periods of fascism in Germany and Italy (mid-late 1930s). As an American I find these parallels repugnant, but an objective analysis of the facts suggest we are in fact following in those same footsteps. Indeed, the neoconservative quest for "global dominance" will never happen, and may ultimately lead to economic failure of the US. The founding fathers were absolutely adamant that the US reject the temptation of Empire - as the histories of Empires all end the same way: Military overextension and subsequent economic decline. It's time to revisit the real meaning of the Constitution, the wisdom of the founding fathers, and the ideas and principles that founded our great nation. As Ritter points out, simply waving the American flag and loving America is not enough - democracy requires active participation of the citizenry. Regrettably, Ritter is right 'America is going through a crisis of gigantic proportions. It is a struggle for the ideological soul of the nation. Bush and his posse have set a course for the future that dramatically departs, in words and in action, from the values and ideals set forth by our nation's founders." (page 201) FYI to the media: During WWI, Teddy Roosevelt - a true conservative, and a species of politicians that is now all but extinct once said - "To annouce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." (page 8) As pointed out by Ritter, Bush and the radical neoconservatives are the real traitors to both the American public and the ideas for which our country has stood for since the 1770s. Indeed, the US will quickly become an internaitonal isolated, bankrupt, and Authoritarian nation if this group of ideologues is not removed during next year's elections. Thank you Mr. Scott Ritter, for helping others understand that patriotism means - to protect the ideas espoused in our Constitution, from enemies both foreign and domestic - you are an American patriot. I highly recommended this book for open-minded individuals (that includes *true* conservatives who care about our country and disavow the madness of the PNAC doctrine).
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book - Ritter understands what defines patriotism
Review: I became re-acquainted with Scott Ritter in Sept. 2002, when the President was appearing before the U.N. seeking some understanding re Iraq while this Marine former weapons inspector was appearing before the Iraqi Parliament. Because the gesture outweighed his comments, I was opposed to that visit then and still today. My credentials include two works that can be found on this website, "The Bode Testament" and "Impeachment," and I am a columnist for a Midwest newspaper. My feelings toward Mr. Ritter have changed profoundly since that fall day. This largely has to do with the process of evolving and the realization of stark reality. When one reads this book, one should be aware that "Frontier Justice" was published the first week of July!!! In July the situation in Iraq was still fluid. Most Americans, including this one, felt strongly, because they believed their President, that the WMD's would be found. It is now Oct. 2003, the CIA's David Kay has presented his report, and despite exhaustive searches no WMD's have been found. At the very least Mr. Ritter must be commended for the courage of his convictions. The Bush administration, the Blair government, and all the associative intelligence agencies were wrong about WMD's and any relationship between Saddam on the one hand and al Qa'ida and September Eleventh on the other. Contrary to what many think, we did not go to war in Iraq due to flawed intelligence. Read "Frontier Justice" to find out why we went to war, and why Americans were lied to. Equally important, Mr. Ritter encourages patriotism and good citizenship. Americans must discover the truth, then act upon that truth, according to the author. For this Marine, merely loving America and waving a flag is insufficient. In a manner of speaking, he states that we must constantly fight for the freedoms for which our veterans throughout the ages have sacrificed.
Rating: 
Summary: More Detail Needed
Review: I have read two other books by this author and a number of other articles and have enjoyed them. I have always liked his sharply focused line of attack. He does not deviate from his message. I have also seen him on TV and for the most part he holds his own. Therefore, I was excited to read this book. What I figured I was going to get was a break down of what Bush jr. and company said to get the country to go to war and then the outcome at least in regard to Ritter's area of expertise, WMD's. To my surprise and disappointment this area of the book only covered maybe 50% and it was really not that well documented. I wanted a blow-by-blow account, really getting into the details of each misstatement and speech. I wanted almost a well-detailed time line of events I could use in endless arguments with people who supported the war. The rest of the book was a number of rather lightly detailed attack lines aimed at Bush. Don't get me wrong, I am all for giving Bush jr. a well deserved hard time, but I want some meat on the bones. Pointless or unsubstantiated attacks do nothing but provide critics ammunition to discount the authors other well thought out comments. Overall I would say the book was ok, the author sticks to his usual writing style, some would say no style, but overall the book is average.
Rating: 
Summary: The book by which history will be decided
Review: I was expecting a much more systematic analysis of Iraq's WMDs and the Bush administrations misrepresentation of their threat and/or existence. You will find a better analysis of this in Ritter's short interview book "War on Iraq." I highly encourage people to buy Ritter's books (Frontier Justice, War on Iraq, Endgame), even though his literary skills are mediocre and he has apparently been arrested for some immoral internet activities. So far though, he has been the only expert to have been right about the MIA WMD. The stockpiles repeatedly cited by both Clinton and Bush II were produced before 1991. By now, if they hadnt already been destroyed by Saddam, they would have degraded to the point of worthlessness. The chances that Iraq had reconstituted any viable weapons program since inspectors left is a near fantasy. Ritter says the inspectors achieved a high level of disarmament: 90-95% of the actual weapons and 100% of the production capacity. This position has been seconded by former UNSCOM officials like Rolf Ekeus. Saddam's half-brother and defector Hussein Kamel also testified to the UN that he personally ordered the destruction of Iraq's WMD, which is what all high level Iraqis in custody have been telling US military officials. So read these books. Inform yourself. When someone says to you "but Saddam did have the anthrax...we know he did." Tell them, "yes, he did, but the kind of anthrax the Iraqis made has a shelf life of 3 to 5 years. It was produced before 1991. You do the math." You are guaranteed to sound smarter than the past 2 presidents. I would also encourage people to bring the issue of the limited shelf-lives of Chem-Bio Weapons to their representatives, since they seem clueless as to the science of WMD. For more on this go to FAS.org Also, if you're interested in further inaccuracies about the supposed threat posed by Saddam (and there are far more that 16 words), go to GLOBALPOLICY.org (the direct link doesnt work sometimes, use a search engine) They have archived news reports concerning the Iraq War that highlight flagrant inaccuracies being parroted by the Bush administration officials (and yes Clinton too). Go to the Iraq Crisis link on the mainpage.
Rating:
Summary: Like him or no, Ritter's the only one whos been right so far
Review: I was expecting a much more systematic analysis of Iraq's WMDs and the Bush administrations misrepresentation of their threat and/or existence. You will find a better analysis of this in Ritter's short interview book "War on Iraq." I highly encourage people to buy Ritter's books (Frontier Justice, War on Iraq, Endgame), even though his literary skills are mediocre and he has apparently been arrested for some immoral internet activities. So far though, he has been the only expert to have been right about the MIA WMD. The stockpiles repeatedly cited by both Clinton and Bush II were produced before 1991. By now, if they hadnt already been destroyed by Saddam, they would have degraded to the point of worthlessness. The chances that Iraq had reconstituted any viable weapons program since inspectors left is a near fantasy. Ritter says the inspectors achieved a high level of disarmament: 90-95% of the actual weapons and 100% of the production capacity. This position has been seconded by former UNSCOM officials like Rolf Ekeus. Saddam's half-brother and defector Hussein Kamel also testified to the UN that he personally ordered the destruction of Iraq's WMD, which is what all high level Iraqis in custody have been telling US military officials. So read these books. Inform yourself. When someone says to you "but Saddam did have the anthrax...we know he did." Tell them, "yes, he did, but the kind of anthrax the Iraqis made has a shelf life of 3 to 5 years. It was produced before 1991. You do the math." You are guaranteed to sound smarter than the past 2 presidents. I would also encourage people to bring the issue of the limited shelf-lives of Chem-Bio Weapons to their representatives, since they seem clueless as to the science of WMD. For more on this go to FAS.org Also, if you're interested in further inaccuracies about the supposed threat posed by Saddam (and there are far more that 16 words), go to GLOBALPOLICY.org (the direct link doesnt work sometimes, use a search engine) They have archived news reports concerning the Iraq War that highlight flagrant inaccuracies being parroted by the Bush administration officials (and yes Clinton too). Go to the Iraq Crisis link on the mainpage.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent history book
Review: This book is particularly valuable for refuting the myth that Scott did a 180-degree "flip-flop", going from hawk to dove. I recommend reading it in conjuction with Barry Bearak's NY Times article "Scott Ritter's Iraq Complex".
Rating:
Summary: A Compelling Book by an American Hero
Review: This is a fine book--I just reread it now that there has been some time to give the run-up to Iraq some perspective. Ritter articulately makes the case that Iraq had long ago lost its ability to manufacture WMD's, and details his efforts to stop Bush's illegal war of aggression. This he does in a compelling, readable style, and potentially tedious technical information is handled in a clear, understandable way. Certainly, the lack of WMD's found in Iraq has proven Ritter entirely correct in virtally all of his assertions, and he has been utterly vindicated. The sad, ignorant war-supporters who ignored him--or worse, questioned his patriotism--have been exposed as un-American idiots who understood nothing of WMD's. If America had done a better job of listening to Mr. Ritter, our young people would not have died in vain, and we would not be stuck in a quagmire today. Scott Ritter is an American hero.
Rating:
Summary: A Compelling Book by an American Hero
Review: This is a fine book--I just reread it now that there has been some time to give the run-up to Iraq some perspective. Ritter articulately makes the case that Iraq had long ago lost its ability to manufacture WMD's, and details his efforts to stop Bush's illegal war of aggression. This he does in a compelling, readable style, and potentially tedious technical information is handled in a clear, understandable way. Certainly, the lack of WMD's found in Iraq has proven Ritter entirely correct in virtally all of his assertions, and he has been utterly vindicated. The sad, ignorant war-supporters who ignored him--or worse, questioned his patriotism--have been exposed as un-American idiots who understood nothing of WMD's. If America had done a better job of listening to Mr. Ritter, our young people would not have died in vain, and we would not be stuck in a quagmire today. Scott Ritter is an American hero.
Rating:
Summary: Bush is looking a lot like the loser here
Review: When America was marching towards war, Scott Ritter was one of few dissenting voices. During that time, he was ridiculed as a traitor and a paid Saddam lackey. Three months after the war, Mr. Ritter's views have been vindicated both by the absence of the elusive WMD and the recent admission by the CIA that a critical argument in President Bush's State of the Union Address was based on a crude forgery. This book delves further into how the Bush administration exaggerated, misrepresented and even lied about Iraq's WMD capabilities to launch America's first pre-emptive war.
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