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Speaker at USF to stir Iraq debate
By BRADY DENNIS, Times Staff Writer
TAMPA -- Scott Ritter is already causing a stir, and he hasn't even shown up yet. The former United Nations weapons inspector, now a staunch opponent of U.S. policy on Iraq, is scheduled to speak tonight at the University of South Florida. But already this week, school officials have received "a handful of complaints" about Ritter's presence, and police are planning extra security for the event. Some critics have griped about Ritter's opposition of military action against Iraq, while others complain about his run-ins with the law. Ritter was arrested twice in an Internet child sex sting in 2001 after authorities said he had sexual conversations with an undercover investigator he thought was an underage girl, even trying to entice her to meet him at a Burger King. The charges were later dropped, and Ritter has not discussed the details of the case personally. USF police Lt. Bill Pollock said he will defend Ritter's right to speak on campus. "He's coming, and I'm not going to cancel it for security reasons," as some other schools have, Pollock said. "It's an educational institution. We'll defend everyone's right to speak." Ritter worked on U.N. weapons inspections in Iraq from 1991 to 1998. He has said recently that the United States was giving up on inspections too soon and that invading Iraq could provoke terrorist attacks on America for years to come. "There's a drunk at the wheel of U.S. foreign policy, drunk on power and arrogance," he told a packed forum in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday. Ritter is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. at the USF Special Events Center. Officials said they expect as many as 2,000 people to attend the event, which is free and open to the public.
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