The U.N. Knew of Saddam's abuse of Oil-For-Food moneys
Charles at
LGF links to
this report from the BBC
From the Australian Age:
bq.
UN knew of Saddam's oil-for-food thefts: BBCThe United Nations knew that Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was stealing from the oil-for-food program - and, by extension, starving his own people - but did little to stop it, according to a special report by the BBC at the weekend.
bq. After a six-month investigation, the BBC said it had evidence that Saddam took billions from the oil-for-food program, and that "these abuses were widely known about at the time". The BBC said there was evidence that Saddam demanded a kickback from companies that wanted to do business with Iraq under the oil-for-food program.
bq. Australia sold wheat worth about $A1 billion to Iraq under the program but the Australian Wheat Board strongly denies wrongdoing. However, US congressman Chris Shays told the BBC that Saddam "didn't participate with you if he couldn't get kickbacks.
bq. "He didn't buy commodities unless he got kickbacks so, if you agreed to participate, you agreed to do it on his terms. And we know what those terms were."
Well he's out now, no thanks to the United Nations. The kicker is that the UN wants to launch its own investigation and where was it planning to get the funds for this?
bq.
Iraq Protests U.N. Decision on Probe
Iraq has protested a U.N. decision to use $30 million in revenue from the U.N. oil-for-food program for Iraq to help pay for the investigation of alleged corruption in the humanitarian effort.
bq. In a letter obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, Iraq's U.N. Ambassador Samir Sumaidiaie argued that Security Council resolutions don't support the use of oil-for-food money "for an investigation into the internal practices of the United Nations in carrying out its duties."
bq. "My government believes that the use of such funds has no legal basis," he said in a letter dated Nov. 19 to U.S. Ambassador John Danforth, the current Security Council president.
bq. Last month, Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the council that money for the probe headed by former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker would come from an account earmarked to pay U.N. administrative and operational costs for the embattled humanitarian program.
bq. Volcker said in August he doesn't know how long the investigation would take, but estimated it would cost at least $30 million in the next year.
Sick mofo... Annan needs to be given the boot now. I really wonder if he realizes just how sick and corrupt he really is -- has he lost all touch with reality?
Posted by DaveH at November 23, 2004 8:49 PM