Scott Ritter today published the sixth edition of short video statements that he has dubbed “Ritter’s Rant.” Today’s episode is headlined “Who Controls the President?”
Ritter begins by reminding viewers that candidate Trump repeatedly denounced American involvement in foreign wars, and yet “here we are with the President of the United States today basically taking ownership of the Israeli-Iranian conflict, speaking in terms of collective responsibilities. ‘We have control of the skies over Iran. We know where the supreme leader is hiding. Oh, we’re not going to kill him, but we know where he is.’ And demanding the unconditional surrender of Iran to whom? The United States? Are we at war with Iran to the point where the president is demanding unconditional surrender?” (2:10)
An alarmed Ritter asks: “How did we get to this point?” He reminds viewers that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard recently stated that Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapons program, and does not constitute a national security threat to the United States. “And yet, when President Trump was confronted on Air Force One with the reality of Tulsi Gabbard’s assessment, he said, I don’t care what she says, that Iran has a nuclear weapons program. Where is the president getting his information? Who is briefing the president?” (3:07)
Ritter then describes the “stovepiping” of intelligence, without using that expression (4:09): “We know that Israel has been making a case that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program. Is the president of the United States of America, allowing the Israeli government, allowing Israeli intelligence to run an endgame around the Director of National Intelligence and brief the President directly? As an American, I would take umbrage at that very notion that a foreign power has taken the lead in briefing the President of the United States on matters that pertain to war.
