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Former United Nations Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter will present "Lessons in Leadership: Facing Down Iraq," Monday, Sept. 24, in Riceland Hall at Fowler Center, located at 201 Olympic Drive, as the next program in the Arkansas State University Lecture~Concert Series.

The 7:30 p.m. program will be presented with the support of the Department of Political Science.

Proclaiming that the "illusion of arms control is more dangerous than no arms control at all," Ritter resigned from the United Nations Special Commission in Iraq. Even prior to his very public resignation in protest, he was regularly featured in the news for his leadership of arms inspection missions in Iraq after the Persian Gulf War.

The Florida native is a ballistic missile technology expert with 12 years of experience in U.S. military intelligence, including service in the former Soviet Union and Saudi Arabia under Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf. He received his bachelor’s degree in Soviet history from Franklin and Marshall College.

As a chief weapons inspector for the United Nations Special Commission in Iraq, Ritter was labeled a hero by some, a maverick by others, and a spy by the Iraqi government. In charge of searching out weapons on mass destruction within Iraq, Ritter was on the front lines of the ongoing battle against arms proliferation.

His experience in enemy territory served as the basis for his book "Endgame," which explored the shortcomings of American foreign policy in the Persian Gulf region and alternative approaches to handling the Iraqi crisis.

In his speeches, Ritter delivers a first-hand account of the effects of the imposed sanctions on the Iraqi people. His documentary film "Endgame: Closing the File on Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction," reports the deaths of more than 1.2 million Iraqis due to United Nations economic sanctions.

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