Oil-for-Terror? There appears to be much worse news to uncover in the Oil-for-Food scandal.

National Review ^ | April 19, 2004 | Claudia Rosett

[quidnunc]

Beyond the billions in graft, smuggling, and lavish living for Saddam Hussein that were the hallmarks of the United Nations Oil-for-Food program in Iraq, there is one more penny yet to drop.

It's time to talk about Oil-for-Terror.

Especially with the U.N.'s own investigation into Oil-for-Food now taking shape, and more congressional hearings in the works, it is high time to focus on the likelihood that Saddam may have fiddled Oil-for-Food contracts not only to pad his own pockets, buy pals, and acquire clandestine arms — but also to fund terrorist groups, quite possibly including al Qaeda.

There are at least two links documented already. Both involve oil buyers picked by Saddam and approved by the U.N. One was a firm with close ties to a Liechtenstein trust that has since been designated by the U.N. itself as "belonging to or affiliated with Al Qaeda." The other was a Swiss-registered subsidiary of a Saudi oil firm that had close dealings with the Taliban during Osama bin Laden's 1990's heyday in Afghanistan.

These cases were reported in a carefully researched story published last June by Marc Perelman of the New York-based Forward, relying not only on interviews, but on corporate-registry documents and U.S. and U.N. terror-watch lists. It was an important dispatch but sank quickly from sight. At that stage, the U.N. was still busy praising its own $100-billion-plus Oil-for-Food program, even while trying quietly to strip out the huge graft overlay from the remaining $10 billion or so in contracts suddenly slated for handover to the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). That was shortly before the records kept in Baghdad by Saddam began surfacing in such damning profusion that Secretary-General Kofi Annan was finally forced last month to stop stonewalling and agree to an independent investigation — though just how independent remains to be seen.

As it now appears, Oil-for-Food pretty much evolved into a BCCI with a U.N. label. The stated aim of the program, which ran from 1996-2003, was to reduce the squeeze of sanctions on ordinary Iraqis by allowing Saddam to sell oil strictly to buy food and other relief supplies. As Oil-for-Food worked in practice, however, the program gave Saddam rich opportunity not only to pad his own pockets, but to fund almost anything and anyone else he chose, while the U.N. assured the world that all was well. (For the full saga, see my article in the May issue of Commentary, "The Oil-for-Food Scam: What Did Kofi Annan Know and When Did He Know It?").

-snip-

[Allan]

I didn't see this source on the 'MUST Excerpt' list, so I posted it in #29 ...

No
but you must understand
quidnunc excerpts absolutely everything
for he is a person of the highest moral integrity
who out of deep sensitivity and caring
would not dare infringe
on anyone's personal property
or copyright
and
of course
such virtue must be made known
to the entire world
so others will emulate...
he is a Canadian
after all.

[Tailgunner Joe]

ping.

[MeekOneGOP]

Thank you, Canada. I refrained from posting this before, but since you insist ...

[Eaker]

Already posted in an unbowdlerized version at Oil-for-terror?

Well thank goodness that I was pinged to this one as I was not pinged to that one.

Thanks, skoolmarm.

[GOPJ]

The UN is sooooooo corrupt.

...that Saddam may have fiddled Oil-for-Food contracts not only to pad his own pockets, buy pals, and acquire clandestine arms — but also to fund terrorist groups, quite possibly including al Qaeda.

There are at least two links documented already. Both involve oil buyers picked by Saddam and approved by the U.N. One was a firm with close ties to a Liechtenstein trust that has since been designated by the U.N. itself as "belonging to or affiliated with Al Qaeda." The other was a Swiss-registered subsidiary of a Saudi oil firm that had close dealings with the Taliban during Osama bin Laden's 1990's heyday in Afghanistan.

[devolve]

Somebody needs to sandbag "Swiss Miss" Kerry by asking him about problems in public school education like dropouts and truancy.

Kerry's horrible attendance in the US Senate for 2 whole years+ is a real set up.

Wonder what Kerry's attendance and % of votes missed record shows over his time in the Senate since his 1982 election win.

Graphs, charts, piecharts anyone?

Some on FR are great at them.

I am not.

[Fedora]

Thank you! Interesting.

[Fedora]

Bonier and McDermott we know about. Who else?

This might provide some clues, if we can identify anyone in the House, Senate, or State Department who supported this or was otherwise tied to the lobbying groups involved:

FACES of RESISTANCE: RESPONDING TO THE CRISIS IN IRAQ

4-5. Long-time peace and justice activist Marie Bruan traveled to Iraq in May 1997 with the Iraq Sanctions Challenge - a delegation of 87 American citizens, including former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clarke. The group delivered $4 million of medicine and medical supplies to the Iraqi government's Ministry of Health and experienced firsthand the devastating effects of the sanctions upon the people of Iraq.

Iraq Sanctions Challenge 12/03/98

Led by Ramsey Clark, Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, and members of the American Muslims for Global Peace & Justice, a twenty-person delegation from the United States is taking another large shipment of medicine to Iraq in defiance of the US/UN economic sanctions. The delegation will be in Iraq Dec. 6-13, 1998. The delegation is called the Iraq Sanctions Challenge and is a follow-up to the first Challenge of 84 delegates in May 1998.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bump!

[prairiebreeze]

ping!

[Coop]

Congress is just coming off recess and are going to hold hearings and the President has appointed Volker to lead the independent investigation. The French and trostskys are blocking the resolution in the UN. Volkert says he will not start until it is sanctiond by UN Resolution.

Good stuff. I appreciate the clarification, because I haven't heard much of anything about it. Congress being on recess certainly explains part of it.

[Coop]

See CK's #27.

[Mo1]

Especially with the U.N.'s own investigation into Oil-for-Food now taking shape, and more congressional hearings in the works, it is high time to focus on the likelihood that Saddam may have fiddled Oil-for-Food contracts not only to pad his own pockets, buy pals, and acquire clandestine arms — but also to fund terrorist groups, quite possibly including al Qaeda.

I'm SHOCKED! .. did that sound believable? .. I didn't think so

IMO, They are just scratching the surface on the corruption that went on at the UN

[Mo1]

Oh and on another note

Haven't Joe Biden and John Kerry been going around to all the news channels bragging about all the private talks they have been having with UN members??

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Just mythoughts]

This sure helps to explain why all of those government buildings that held so many documents were trashed and burned. Needed to get rid of the paper trail.

All the liberals kept in the media attention was that museum, being gutted, when in fact everything had already been emptied out.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Mo1]

"Bonier and McDermott we know about. Who else?"

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1118514/posts

Asked about the allegations by Insight, Maugein denied he was involved with either company, although he did acknowledge knowing their principals, with whom he had worked as an oil trader with Marc Rich in Switzerland.

He insisted that all his dealings with Iraq were legal and conducted through the oil-for-food program

[prairiebreeze]

Interestingly, Fox&Friends interviewed a UN policy specialist at precisely the time I was reading this article. Mostly that guy was saying that Koffee needs to recuse himself completely or the investigation will be a sham.

He also pointed out though, that several entities are going to investigate this UN business and SURELY one of them will approach it rationally and uncover sonme of the truth.

He also pointed out (to the blind, deaf and dumb who were watching) that the UN isn't fit or capable of handling anything like running Iraq.

I hadn't heard Biden talk about private talks with UN members. And I will remind everyone that Biden was one of the attendees of the "liberals plotting strategies across the oceans" trips to Europe that the Beestie also was at.

Kerry just likes us to think he bumps into these jerks at lunch.....

Prairie

[MeekOneGOP]

I don't have the data/graphs, but the last I saw he had missed something like
32 of 35 votes this year. That's been some weeks back since I saw that.

[hope]

"Saddam may have fiddled Oil-for-Food contracts not only to pad his own pockets, buy pals, and acquire clandestine arms — but also to fund terrorist groups, quite possibly including al Qaeda".

Really, ya think?