Saddam's fan club

The latest revelations that the deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein used oil sales under the U.N. oil-for-food program to buy friends and influence policy around the world should turn on an alarm in Washington, New York, Paris and other capitals. Saddam's influence buying is only a part of a broader phenomenon. Other oil-producing countries are engaged in similar activities on an even larger scale.

The U.N. oil-for-food officials knew about the global bribery effort and did nothing to stop it. Moreover, it is possible the officials in that august body facilitated and benefited from at least some of the transactions.

Possible? I'd say it's extremely likely.

Of the TWO people in the US listed on Saddams "oil" payroll -- one was Shakir Alkhalaji -- or Shakir Al-khalaji. He is the person that paid Scott Ritter $400,000 to make the movie critical of the UNSCOM and the inspections...Shifting Sands.

From -- ABC news -- list of people paid by Saddam in oil -- United States
Samir Vincent: 7 million
**Shakir Alkhalaji: 10.5 million

above from -- http://abcnews.go.com/sections/WNT/Investigation/saddam_oil_vouchers_040129-4.html

About the movie --

""One problem for Ritter's credibility is that his letter of resignation in 1998 said: "The sad truth is that Iraq today is not disarmed anywhere near the level required."

A second is that the film was 80per cent funded by a wealthy Iraqi-American businessman, **Shakir Alkafajii**, which led the FBI to investigate.

Ritter doesn't mention his funding in the film - what film does? - but he says in a slim volume he co-wrote (War On Iraq - What Team Bush Doesn't Want You to Know) that **he told the FBI he would terminate the film if they found any evidence that Shakir Alkafajii was using the film to gain favours in Baghdad, or that the Iraqi Government had funnelled money to the film.""** http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/26/1048653744773.html

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