Posted on 10/07/2004 12:15:10 PM PDT by TexKat
WASHINGTON (AFP) - France complained to the United States over accusations that French nationals and businesses took bribes from Iraqmade in a report by the chief US weapons inspector.
The French embassy approached the White House and the US State Department to express anger at the way the allegations were made public.
"The ambassador told the White House and the State Department of our displeasure concerning the methods used," an embassy official told AFP.
The official said France was particularly unhappy about "the fact that the names of individuals and companies were made public without any apparent attempt to verify the allegations, and without giving them an opportunity to explain themselves."
The study by the Iraq Survey Group said former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein paid millions of dollars in cash and petrol export vouchers to elicit help in his bid to end the UN sanctions regime on his country.
Mentioned in Charles Deulfer's report are former French interior minister Charles Pasqua and Patrick Maugein, an official of the French petroleum company Soco International said to be close to French President Jacques Chirac.
Pasqua and Maugein have strenuously denied accepting consideration from the Saddam regime.
France and Russia were the main recipients, according Duelfer's report, by virtue of the influence they wielded as permanent members of the UN Security Council.
The French foreign ministry denied the accusations earlier, calling them "unverified, either with those concerned or with the authorities of the concerned countries."
Duelfer's report, citing documents recovered from Saddam's intelligence services, said the Iraqi payments particularly targeted French political, economic and journalistic circles.
The report refers to a list published last January by the Baghdad newspaper Al-Mada of some 200 names from 40 countries that allegedly peddled influence with Iraq in return for export vouchers for millions of barrels of oil.
Charles Duelfer, head of the Iraq Survey Group, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. France complained to the US over accusations that French nationals and businesses took bribes from Iraq made in a report by Duelfer.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Matthew Cavanaugh)
If the beret fits . . .
Does Franch actually think it has some type of reputation that it needs to protect? I mean, they do realize that "surrender monkey" and "weasel" and "corrupt" are not complements,,,right?
They are complaining on us? Powell should demand that chirac resign over his cronies getting paid off!
Keep squawking France. That's the only way the media will ever report what the Report says about you.
Interesting development.....
If he is wrong about the French and the oils scandal is he also wrong about WMD?
Will two wrongs make a correct?
Interesting development.....
If he is wrong about the French and the oils scandal is he also wrong about WMD?
Will two wrongs make a correct?
They may not, perhaps George could explain that to Mr. Chirac
when they meet the next time.
Hehehehehehe~~!
BOO FRIGGIN' HOO!
Not angry over the actual allegations, just the WAY they were made public. Sheesh, can you say guilty as h311?
No one likes public airing of differences or accusations.
Take, for example, France's public obstruction of American policy in the ME.
Now we're getting somewhere!
Ah, the French think a Savant is a poodle wearing a beret!
Angry that they're Saddam's whores? Go cry to the UN frogs.
I do care that Americans were involved but not named in the report.
I only believe every word of this.
Ask yourself this question: what would make Saddam part with his precious oil revenues? Furthermore, why would he have to pay off bribes unless there was something to hide?
Sue us.
Where's French outrage at French government officials taking bribes?
"Not angry over the actual allegations, just the WAY they were made public."
Similar to Dem spinmeisters when confronted with Kerry's abysmal attendance in Senate committee. ("Well, those numbers are confidential!") So it's no problem that he's a shirker, it's just a problem that people KNOW he's a shirker. Dems and French are corrupt losers.
One more thing: the article suggests that the Hussein bribes were paid to get sanctions removed. That makes little sense, for the way to get this done would have been to come clean about WMD and NOT pay bribes... unless you wanted to KEEP your weapons...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1068890/posts
posted by freeper: ganeshpuri89
Hey, Chirac........Tell it to the UN. They've been getting to the bottom of this on your behalf for a year now. If any of this surprises you or embarrasses you, I suggest you take it up with your UN Staffers representing your interests. Unless they are too busy laundering the trails......
Saddam was only allowed to sell a specific amount of oil. He needed to bribe people outside the oil industry. So what he did was issue politicians vouchers for oil, which would then be taken to oil firms and sold to them for cash. He was selling oil contracts on production which was say a year out because he could only sell so much. He would rather get his cash in-hand than wait. Paying 10% for it was fine by him. One of the reasons for so much foot dragging by the UN was because he had issued vouchers two years out. Thus meaning any armed invasion to topple him would make those contracts worthless. Very smart of him! Kind of like a multinational insurance policy against an American invasion.
French anger at getting caught. I expect a surrender soon.
"The first, Jacques Chirac, described the second, Saddam Hussein, as a personal friend, showed him around a French nuclear reactor and invited him to his home for the weekend. It was about this time that the prime minister was nicknamed Jacques Iraq."1
In French: Vous êtes un groupe de thiefs et des lâches.
In English: You are a group of thiefs and cowards.
The really funny part is that once he got the money less the bribe, he then bought some amorphous boatload of baby formula at $10,000 per hundred weight, and then at a real cost of $100 per hundred weight, he'd pocket the other $9,900. It all passed the audit test. He just paid way too much for things. It happens in big government every day, and in this case it was for food and medicine right? He...He....
> Where's French outrage at French
> government officials taking bribes?
Yes, it is a bit funny they don't defend themselves against the accusations, just the way the accusations were made.
That's not how a falsely accused person acts.
1. Shakir al-Khafaji/1 million.
2. Samir Vincent/10.5 million.
You can google on those 2 names and make of what you wish.
Gosh, it sucks to be France, doesn't it?
Typical French arrogance. When you don't have facts on your side, ad hominem attacks work just fine. Kerry does this all the time, must be his French ancestry. Pathetic.
Don't blame me...got the translation from Yahoo.
French Whoring: First a profession, then an art form, and now a Foreign Policy.
"The French embassy approached the White House and the US State Department to express anger at the way the allegations were made public. "
They don't deny the allegations just that their corruption was exposed.
Now this is getting serious, the Pigs are starting to squeal.
Main stream papers are carrying the story and 'Effin is still digging his UN and french hole.
Of course he is also an imbicile for not even looking into the fact that Saddam's WMDs are alive and well and living right next door in Syria, as also knows David Kay.
Ah yes, the poor frogs, always on the wrong side of history. Surrender is their national policy!
Are you saying we've been hoodwinked by Bush's propaganda?
Let the froggies croak. I always knew there was more to Chirac's "standing-up-to-the-Americans" act...
US tourism is still relatively bleak in France. Of course, the Islamofascists love to vacation (and settle down) in that area.. Eurabia will arise in the not so distant future given how Muslims vs Europeans breed...
Duelfer was SUPPOSED to post the findings on the basement bulletin board of the Eiffel Tower. France paid Saddam good money to guarantee that, sacre bleu!
(What the hell IS "sacred blue" supposed to mean, anyway?)
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