Posted on 10/30/2004 7:14:59 AM PDT by harpu
Just when we thought the corruption of the U.N.-Iraq Oil for Food program couldn’t get any more egregious, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan announced on October 13 that he was going to pay for the world body’s internal investigation with proceeds from Iraqi oil sales.
Recall that the money from the sale of oil under the program was supposed to be used to benefit the Iraqi people. Unfortunately, Saddam Hussein transformed what was designed to be a Herculean humanitarian effort into a monumentally corrupt boondoggle rife with bribery and kick-backs. Among those apparently bribed was the U.N. official in charge of the program.
In response to the flood of information revealing the corruption, Annan named a panel led by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker to investigate, while stiff-arming other investigations, including those of the U.S. Congress. That was in April.
Last week ¯ seven months after appointing the panel ¯ Annan finally got around to deciding that the investigation should have a budget and money to fund its efforts. Though the Security Council had instructed Annan not to spend Oil for Food proceeds on the investigation, the Secretary General announced that he would do exactly that ¯ use money that was supposed to go to Iraqis to determine what part the United Nations played in helping Saddam steal billions of dollars that were supposed to go to Iraqis.
Moreover, it’s not as though Oil for Food left Annan and the U.N. Secretariat in the poor house. Under the program, they were allowed to pocket $1.4 billion to cover "administrative costs." And that doesn’t include any of the money U.N. officials might have taken under the table. In the case of the program’s director, that may add up to millions more.
Annan’s decision to spend the Iraqi people’s money investigating how his organization helped their sadistic dictator steal from them compounds the great tragedy of the Oil for Food scandal. There is no question that because of the corruption of the program, Iraqi and Kurdish children needlessly starved to death. And there is no question that the money Saddam pocketed from the program helped sustain his regime in spite of international sanctions, leading to the deaths of even more Iraqis and Kurds.
Now Kofi Annan is going to steal from them again. His choice to spend their money to hire auditors and lawyers instead of allowing Iraqis to buy food and rebuild their country adds yet another disgusting chapter to the Oil for Food debacle.
The UN has been stealing from the U.S. ever since it came into existence.
Why doesn't this suprise me???
Kofi heads the investigation into himself. The UN building in NY needs to be bulldozed and Kofi needs to be under the pile of debris.
Under the Oil for Food Program, the UN charged the following: administrative and operational costs for the programme (2.2 per cent) and costs for the weapons inspection program (0.8 per cent). The UN was getting 3% on all sales to administer the program. Over $65 billion worth of Iraqi oil were sold on the world market under the program. Hence the UN made almost $2 billion on the administrative fees.
...and probably 10 times that much in bribes and pay-offs!
It will be Whitewashed with any money going to pay for the whitewash.
Agreed. It is no wonder the UN wanted to maintain the status quo. Everybody was making money except the US and the UK.
This is probably why Clinton wants to run the U.N. It's a perfect fit for his corruption.
Exactly. And Russia was getting all the WMD they could carry; France's banks were making money hand over fist "handling" the OFF money.
Is it any wonder nobody wanted to go to war?
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