How the system was abused (Oil for food)

The system allowed individuals and companies to use Iraq's UN-controlled oil-for-food programme to purchase Iraqi oil at concessionary prices and resell it, splitting their huge profits with Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi leader.

Under the programme, the Iraqi regime had to sell its oil under international supervision but could choose its own middlemen.
Those intermediaries, invariably sympathetic to Saddam and his money, paid for the oil into a United Nations account at prices agreed by Baghdad.
That money was in turn used by the UN to buy food, medical supplies and other essential goods for Iraq.
The purpose of the system was to deny Saddam control of his finances and to stop him re-equipping his military.

However, when the middlemen eventually resold their cheap purchased Iraqi oil at market rates, Saddam was paid 10 per cent of the profits. The scam allowed him to rake in billions.
According to Al Mada, the Iraqi newspaper that listed the names of some of the individuals allegedly involved in the scam, French and Russian middlemen formed the largest group.
Russians received more than 2.5 billion barrels of cut-rate crude, some 1.4 billion barrels of which went to the Russian state, according to Iraqi documents leaked to the paper.
French oil traders gained 165 million barrels of cut-rate crude.

The scam worked on two levels. Not only did Iraqi oil purchasers benefit from being able to resell at huge profit but also Saddam distributed "oil vouchers" to corporations, political parties and individuals whom he favoured.
Instead of alleviating the hardships of Iraqis under the oil-for-food programme, the organisations and individuals favoured by Saddam allegedly feathered their own nests.
Saddam would also hand out oil vouchers instead of cash for goods imported illegally into Iraq in violation of United Nations sanctions.
The recipient, or middleman, would hand the vouchers for Iraqi oil over to a range of firms operating in a neighbouring Arab countries. Those firms then paid the middleman commissions of anything between five cents and 30 cents per barrel, depending on market conditions.
The bribery and corruption is alleged to have spread like a virus throughout the oil-for-food programme.

There are even allegations being investigated that some of the funds approved for release to Iraq under the oil-for-food programme were for highly questionable investment opportunities.
There was the £11 million authorised for an Olympic sports city for Uday Hussein, Saddam's depraved eldest son, and the £28 million for television and radio equipment for the propaganda machine that spouted anti-American and anti-British vitriol.

1976 : (IRAQI SHAKIR AL-KHAFAJI COMES TO THE US) - "Iraqi-born American has funded Democrats," by Steve Miller, The Washington Times, May 6, 2003

1980 - 1988 : (IRAN-IRAQ WAR : HUSSEIN BRIBES ARAB LEADERS FOR SUPPORT) Saddam Hussein has a long history of bribing anyone who could help his regime--businessmen, diplomats, politicians, and journalists. Throughout the Iran-Iraq war, which lasted from 1980 to 1988, Saddam lavished Arab leaders with gifts and contracts in exchange for their support. - "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

1981 : (THIS IS THE YEAR IRAQI AL-KHAFAJI LATER CLAIMED HE MET SADDAM HUSSEIN - 'ONCE' - TO DISCUSS THE FATE OF HIS [ALLEGEDLY] JAILED BROTHER) He said he met Saddam once, in 1981, to discuss the fate of his younger brother, who was jailed for political activities. "He lied to me then; he told me my brother would go free after the Iran-Iraq war," Mr. al-Khafaji said. [year later.] - "Iraqi-born American has funded Democrats," by Steve Miller, The Washington Times, May 6, 2003

1982 : (IRAQI AL-KHAFAJI IS INDICTED FOR ILLEGALLY TRYING TO SMUGGLE GUNS TO IRAQ) Like many Iraqi exiles, al-Khafaji has a complicated relationship with his native country. In 1982, while a university student in Detroit, he was indicted for attempting to illegally transport guns to Iraq. A jury cleared him of the main charge but convicted him of failing to provide the Customs Service with written notice of several hunting rifles and handguns in his airline baggage.
Al-Khafaji says he ended up spending four months in federal prison for this "technical violation." The weapons, he adds, were presents that a friend had purchased and "I was only delivering them."
Other exile sources say al-Khafaji, who organizes regime-sponsored expatriate conferences in Baghdad, remains loyal to the government out of fear that family members in Iraq may be imprisoned or killed. One of al-Khafaji's brothers was executed by Hussein, these sources say. - Washington Post

1990 : (IRAQI LEADER SADDAM HUSSEIN SHIPS 100 NEW MERCEDES CARS TO MEDIA NEWS EDITORS IN EGYPT & JORDAN; TWO DAYS BEFORE IRAQ INVADED KUWAIT, HUSSEIN OFFERS EGYPTIAN LEADER MUBARAK $50 MILLION IN CASH) Shortly before Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, he shipped 100 new Mercedes 200 Series cars to top editors in Egypt and Jordan. Two days before the first attack, he offered Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak $50 million in cash, ostensibly for grain. - "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

1990 : (AFTER IRAQ INVADES KUWAIT, IRAQ TRIES TO BUY OFF ARAB LEADERS) After the invasion, he sought to buy neutrality or at least complacency by promising Mubarak and other Arab leaders that he would forgive all Kuwaiti debts once Iraq annexed the tiny nation as its nineteenth province. As the Galloway affair [of 2003's Gulf War 2] makes clear, these practices continued throughout the 1990s, despite the increased scrutiny of Iraq's financial dealings by the United Nations. - "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

1991 : (IRAQI LEADER HUSSEIN COMMENT ABOUT JOURNALISTS) One "top Egyptian editor" told the Wall Street Journal back in 1991 about a conversation he had with Saddam. "I remember his saying, 'Compared to tanks, journalists are cheap--and you get more for your money.'" - "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

FEBRUARY 15, 1991 : (IRAQ BRIBES FOR GOOD PR) "For years, the Iraqi leader has been waging an intensive, sometimes clandestine, and by most accounts highly effective image war in the Arab world," wrote Wall Street Journal reporters Jane Mayer and Geraldine Brooks in an exposé published February 15, 1991. "His strategy has ranged from financing friendly publications and columnists as far away as Paris to doling out gifts as big as new Mercedes-Benzes." That campaign continued until days before the regime was deposed. "If they're not bought and paid for, they're at least rented," says a top national security official, who adds that the administration has intelligence implicating big-name journalists throughout the Arab world and Europe. - "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

1990s : (UN SCANDALS : EMBEZZLEMENT & THEFT IN SOMALIA, CAMBODIA, KOSOVO & BOSNIA) In the 1990s the world body was beset by embezzlements and theft in relief operations in Somalia and Cambodia. In the Somali capital of Mogadishu, a safe that contained more than $3 million in cash to run U.N. operations "inexplicably" disappeared from headquarters. Scotland Yard was called in to investigate. The culprits were never found. A senior U.N. official at the Mogadishu center suspected of involvement was never charged and later retired with full benefits. In U.N. operations in Cambodia, the Canadian air services company Skylink was accused of overbilling and kickbacks. The investigation launched by the U.N. never reached definitive conclusions, though Skylink did agree to a restructuring of its contract. More than $5 million on that contract could not be accounted for. Similar charges of overbilling and kickbacks have plagued U.N. operations in Kosovo and Bosnia. - "Oil for Food Is Just One of Many Scandals at U.N.," newsmax.com, March 30, 2004

1992 - on? : (IRAQI-AMERICAN AL-KHAFAJI HEADS IRAQI-BACKED 'EXPATRIATE CONFERENCES' HELD IN BAGHDAD EVERY YEAR IN WHICH THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAQ PROVIDES SUBSIDIZED TRAVEL FOR IRAQIS LIVING OUTSIDE IRAQ) SALAMA NIMAT, the Jordanian journalist, says it's not just Arab journalists who took money. "The Western media has been playing the game, too, including Americans."
In Dearborn, Michigan, one radio station has for years broadcast a weekly, two-hour pro-Saddam program. According to Iraqi Americans who monitored the broadcasts, each program began with the Baath party anthem. Ismail Mansour, a Pentagon-trained Iraqi American working with coalition forces in Iraq, says the regime's money reached well inside the United States, going to journalists and others. "In America, Saddam friends give money and they make protest," he says. "In the Arab world, it's the same thing. They pay money to do that." One of those "Saddam friends" is Shakir al-Khafaji, an Iraqi-American businessman from Detroit.
Since 1992, al-Khafaji has served as president of the regime-backed Expatriate Conferences, held in Baghdad every other year. The government provided subsidized travel for Iraqis living outside of the country. - "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

OCTOBER 17, 1992 : (IRAQI NEWS AGENCY REPORTS ON EXPATRIATE CONFERENCE) On October 17, 1992, the official Iraqi News Agency reported on the activities of that year's Expatriate Conference session, "Our Roots Remain in Iraq Wherever We Are." Iraqi prime minister Muhammed Hamza al-Zubaydi spoke of the United States and its coalition partners in Operation Desert Storm as Iraq's "enemies" and "referred to the U.S.-led aggression, saying it meant to hamper the country's progress by trying to overthrow the government, destroying Iraq's infrastructure and harming its national and historical unity."
The news report continues, "In their final statement, the participants pledged to exert efforts to lift the embargo imposed on Iraq and to foil the enemies' attempts to divide Iraq and interfere in its internal affairs." The participants sent Saddam Hussein a telegram of support, promising "to do their utmost to defend justice, peace and freedom, especially at this time when the Iraqis are suffering from sanctions. The expatriates said they lived days of love, work and true dialogue to reach means of serving the motherland, and convey its message of civilization sincerely to [their] countries of residence." Al-Khafaji called the gathering "a sincere and faithful response to our motherland." - "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

1993 : (SOUTH AFRICA : AL-KHAFAJI FOUNDS THE FALCON TRADING GROUP- THIS COMPANY WOULD BE INVOLVED IN THE IRAQ OIL-FOR-FOOD BRIBE SCANDAL) The Falcon Trading Group, a company that al-Khafaji founded in 1993 in Johannesburg, South Africa, has done nearly $70 million of business with Saddam's regime. - "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

1996 : (IRAQI-BORN AL-KHAFAJI DONATES THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO DEMOCRAT CANDIDATES - AMONG THEM CLINTON & GORE) An Iraqi-born real estate developer in Michigan with ties to Saddam Hussein has donated several thousand dollars to Democratic candidates since 1996 to gain political support to end sanctions on his homeland. Shakir al-Khafaji, an American citizen who came to the United States in 1976, has contributed to the campaigns of former U.S. Rep. David Bonior, Rep. John Conyers, Sen. Carl Levin — all Michigan Democrats — and the Clinton/Gore 1996 Primary Committee. - "Iraqi-born American has funded Democrats," by Steve Miller, The Washington Times, May 6, 2003

1998 : (UN INSPECTORS, INCLUDING RITTER, VISIT IRAQI CHILDREN'S PRISON) Ritter said that his inspection team had first come across a children’s prison in Baghdad January 1998.- "Ritter: Baghdad 'possesses three nuclear bombs' ," by Christopher Walker, Times of London, 9/10/98 (* My note: I believe this is the source)

JUNE 25, 1998 : (ROME, ITALY : FATHER BENJAMIN'S DOCUMENTARY "IRAQ SOLIDARITY ACTION" WILL BE SCREENED TOMORROW; IRAQI AMBASSADOR TO THE VATICAN AL ZAHAWIE WILL ATTEND THE SCREENING) VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- A new 20-minute documentary film, produced in Iraq by Father Jean-Marie Benjamin, describes the damages brought upon that country's people by the 7-year-old embargo. The film will be screened for the press in Rome tomorrow. Father Benjamin and his film crew traveled extensively across Iraq-- visiting Mosul, Basra, Samra, Baghdad, and Babylon-- to gather footage for their documentary, which is entitled "Iraq solidarity action."
The film denounces the "atrocity of these inhuman sanctions which, each month, cause the death of more than 6,000 children," according to a press release from the producers. Father Benjamin, a French-born priest now serving in the Rome diocese, has previously overseen the production of films on Padre Pio and St. Francis of Assisi. He also accompanied the late Cardinal Agostino Casaroli on many of his diplomatic missions Send reply to: ADC Iraq Task Force adc-itf@leb.net - "DOCUMENTARY FILM RIPS EMBARGO ON IRAQ," 25 June 1998, http://www.iacenter.org/film625.htm
(* My note: Father Benjamin received Iraqi oil kickbacks- and he had also claimed to have been told in advance about 9/11 attacks)

JUNE 26, 1998 : (IRAQI ENVOY TO THE HOLY SEE, AL ZAHAWIE, ATTENDS SCREENING OF LEFTWING PRIEST BENJAMIN'S DOCUMENTARY; MEANWHILE, THE VATICAN'S ENVOY IN BAGHDAD, ARCHBISHOP LAZZAROTTO, ISSUES A STATEMENT TO BE PLAYED AT THE SCREENING CONDEMNING THE EMBARGO ON IRAQ; THE ARCHBISHOP ENCOURAGES CHRISTIANS TO BREAK THE INTERNATIONAL EMBARGO) -- The Vatican's envoy in Baghdad has once again lashed out against the international embargo on Iraq. In a video message, played at the screening of a new documentary on the effects of that embargo, Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto called upon Christian to show their solidarity with the people of Iraq.
The documentary film, "Iraq Solidarity Action," was produced by Father Jean-Marie Benjamin, a French-born priest serving the diocese of Rome. It was screened today in the presence of the Iraqi ambassador to the Holy See, Wissam Chawket al-Zahawie.
In his video message to the film audience, Archbishop Lazzarotto urged all Christians to "multiple their gestures of solidarity," in order to break through "the isolation created by the embargo." Those who travel to Iraq, he said, would find their a rich culture which deserves understanding and preservation.
The practical effects of the embargo, the papal nuncio continued, have not been changes in government policy, but rather the death of the society's most vulnerable people. As a result, he reported, people are losing their confidence in the future. The best hope for the Iraqi people, he said, would lie in a return to the normal life they enjoyed before the Persian Gulf War. - "Vatican envoy in Iraq denounces embargo again," - CWNews.com - Catholic World News
(* My note: Note hat Zahawie would be involved in the Niger/Wilson/Yellowcake flap)

JULY 1998 : (IRAQ FORMS A COMMITTEE TO IMPROVE ITS PROPAGANDA EFFORT IN THE ARAB WORLD & EUROPE) In July 1998, "a committee was formed to improve Iraqi propaganda in the region. It would establish relationships and provide financial support to Arab journalists . . . as well as other Arab journalists in Europe. The Iraqi Intelligence Service, which sat on the committee, was instructed to increase financial support to journalists controlled by Iraq." (Source: "Baghdad's Propaganda Apparatus," CIA report cited in The Weekly Standard) - "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

AUGUST 26, 1998 : (UNSCOM INSPECTOR SCOTT RITTER RESIGNS)

SEPTEMBER 9, 1998 : (RITTER TESTIMONY BEFORE SENATE) IRAQ is hiding three technologically complete nuclear bombs and is lacking only fissionable materials to make them operational. This is the view of Scott Ritter, the United Nations arms inspector who resigned on August 26, 1998. Mr Ritter made his claim at a recent meeting of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. It was published for the first time yesterday (9/09/98) by Zeev Schiff, military editor of Haaretz, the Tel Avivhe disclosure, and others about biological and chemical weapons held by Baghdad, came as another showdown between Iraq and the UN loomed. According to Mr Schiff's report on the claims by Mr Ritter, the longest-serving American weapons inspector, Unscom knows where the three nearly complete nuclear bombs are hidden. The UN team is also said by Mr Ritter to have information on the method used to conceal the bombs, the units and officers responsible for guarding them, and the types of vehicle employed to transport them in the game of cat and mouse between Saddam and the UN experts. Mr Ritter claimed that, despite the information available, no order was given to the team to conduct a surprise inspection of the site. He claimed that the Security Council and the Clinton Administration had blocked the work of the inspectors just as they were "on the doorstep" of uncovering Iraq's hidden non-conventional weapons of mass destruction. ...- "Ritter: Baghdad 'possesses three nuclear bombs' ," by Christopher Walker, Times of London, 9/10/98

FEBRUARY 1999 : (IRAQI OFFICIAL ZAHAWIE aka ZAHAWI TRAVELS TO NIGER; IAEA WOULD LATER IN 2003 SAY THAT HE WAS ON A "TRADE MISSION" TO AFRICA ) In this column last week [2003] , I reported that IAEA Senior Information Officer Melissa Fleming, in response to written questions from me, did state that Zahawie was the Iraqi official who went to Niger in 1999. He went, she said , as "a part of a trade mission and also he was accredited to Niger as Ambassador." IAEA, she said, had interviewed him in Baghdad in the presence of Iraqi monitors.- "Iraqi Nuke Hawk Went to Niger," by Terence P. Jeffrey, Human Events , 8/1/03

MARCH 2, 1999 : (IRAQI OFFICIALS SAY VITAL OIL EXPORTS MAY BE DISRUPTED FOR WEEKS AFTER US PLANES DESTROYED TWO IMPORTANT STATIONS ON ITS ONLY FUNCTIONING PIPELINE) - "IRAQ CLASHES," Voice of America, 02 March 1999

MARCH 1999 Wednesday : (A SENIOR UNITED NATIONS OFFICIAL SAYS (WEDNESDAY) IRAQ SHOULD BE ABLE TO RESUME PUMPING OIL THROUGH ITS EXPORT PIPELINE TO TURKEY SOON. PIPELINE OPERATIONS WERE HALTED SUNDAY FOLLOWING U-S AIR STRIKES IN THE REGION) - U-N / IRAQ OIL Voice of America 03 March 1999

MARCH 3, 1999 : (US AMBASSADOR SODERBERG SAYS THE US & OTHER MEMBERS OF UNSC WANT TO SEE IRAQI OIL EXPORTS UP AND RUNNING AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE) The United States, along with the other members of the Security Council, wants to see Iraqi oil exports under the "oil-for-food" program "up and running as quickly as possible," US Ambassador Nancy Soderberg said. US ANXIOUS TO SEE IRAQ OIL FLOW RESUME USIA 03 March 1999

MARCH 4, 1999 : (IRAQ SAYS IT HAS RESUMED PUMPING OIL THROUGH ITS ONLY OPERATING PIPELINE. THE OIL FLOW HAD BEEN HALTED SINCE SUNDAY, WHEN THE COMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES THAT CONTROL OIL DISTRIBUTION WERE DAMAGED BY U-S AIR STRIKES) - "IRAQ PIPELINE," Voice of America 04 March 1999

MARCH 1999 : (AS DEFENSE SECRETARY WILLIAM COHEN HEADS TO THE MIDDLE EAST TO DISCUSS THE IRAQI SITUATION, CRITICISM OF US AND UK PATROLS OVER SO-CALLED IRAQI NO-FLY ZONES IS ON THE RISE. THE DAMAGE OF OIL PIPELINE FACILITIES EARLIER THIS WEEK BY U-S WARPLANES IN NORTHERN IRAQ HAS BROUGHT SHARP WORDS FROM TURKEY AND NEW COMPLAINTS FROM CHINA AND RUSSIA ABOUT THE PATROLS) - "IRAQ ALLIES," Voice of America 04 March 1999

MARCH 17, 1999 : (IRAQ NEWS COMMENTS ON INCOMING NSC DIRECTOR OF THE NEAR EAST AND SOUTH ASIA DIRECTORATE KEN POLLACK : POLLACK HAS DESCRIBED REMOVING SADDAM HUSSEIN AS A 'FANTASY' - DOES THIS SIGNAL CLINTON ADMINISTRATION CHANGE IN IRAQ POLICY?) THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary March 17, 1999 PRESS BRIEFING BY DEPUTY NATIONAL SECRETARY ADVISOR JIM STEINBERG The Briefing Room, 12:45 P.M. EST [Excerpt]
Q: Jim, can you tell us -- an Iraq related question -- can you tell us what Ken Pollack is going to be doing for the NSC? And given that he's described removing Saddam Hussein as a fantasy, does that signal the administration is no longer committed to a change in regime in Iraq?
STEINBERG: Let me say a couple of things. First, Ken Pollack will be coming as the Director in the -- I guess we call it the Near East and South Asia Directorate -- NESA. Ken is a very distinguished analyst of the region. He's worked the government before, he's worked in the NSC before. We're extremely excited to have him here. He's a powerful intellect and a guy who has tremendous knowledge of the region. I think, first, we very much encourage people, we bring people from both the inside and the outside to work at the NSC. We are not in a position of sort of censoring the writings that they do before or after they come in. The question is whether they have the kind of skills and background to help us do the work. The judgments about policy are the judgments that are ultimately made by the President and his foreign policy team. I also don't agree with your characterization of the particular article. I think the article analyzed some of the difficulties of the various strategies, but let me be perfectly clear that the policy that we have, which is that the only long-term solution to the threat posed by Saddam Hussein is a change of regime, is very much a commitment of this administration. We've been moving forward very aggressively -- the appointment of Frank Ricciardone is just one of the important elements of what we've been doing. We've been working very closely with the groups that are outside of Iraq; we are working closely with the governments in the region and others. And I have absolutely no doubt that Ken will be a terrific asset in helping us pursue that agenda. - Iraq News , by Laurie Mylroie, 17 March 1999, via http://www.fas.org/news/iraq/1999/03/990317_in.htm

MARCH 17, 1999 : (VOA REPORTS THAT CLINTON ADMINSITRATION SAYS IRAQ CAN BE ALLOWED TO SELL MORE OIL THROUGH 'OIL FOR FOOD PRORAM' WITHOUT DEPRESSING OIL PRICES OR HURTING US INTERESTS; CONGRESS OPPOSES THIS) ... THE IDEA HAS ENCOUNTERED SHARP OPPOSITION FROM LAWMAKERS WHO SAY IT ONLY PROPS UP AN OUTLAW STATE. - SENATE-IRAQ OIL Voice of America 17 March 1999

MARCH 17, 1999 : (PICKERING & RICHARDSON TESTIFY THAT THE UN 'OIL FOR FOOD PROGRAM' IS AN ''ESSENTIAL" COMPONENT OF THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION'S IRAQ STRATEGY) Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Pickering and Energy Secretary Bill Richardson testified March 17 that the U.N.'s Oil-For-Food program for Iraq is an essential component of the U.S. Administration's Iraq strategy and is, therefore, key to our national security. - RICHARDSON, PICKERING FAVOR EXPANSION OF OIL-FOR-FOOD PROGRAM By William B. Reinckens USIA 17 March 1999

1999 : (UNSCOM : RITTER INVITED TO IRAQ BY THE IRAQI GOVERNMENT; LATER MEETS AL-KAFIJII) Ritter said he was first invited to Baghdad last year (in 1999) by the Iraqi government after the publication of his book "Endgame," which argued that the continuation of economic sanctions on Iraq was more "evil" than doing business with Saddam Hussein. "They were shocked by my position in the book," Ritter said. Ritter said that several months later, at a hearing on Capitol Hill, he met Iraqi-born American businessman Shakir Alkafajii, who had heard Ritter attack U.S. policy toward Iraq. Alkafajii asked what Ritter could do to end the sanctions and break the impasse in relations between the United States and Iraq. "I said I could do a documentary," Ritter answered. Alkafajii, who is accompanying Ritter as a "translator and cultural adviser," secured the travel visas for the crew and agreed to put up a $400,000 line of credit to finance the documentary. - "Ex-UN Inspector Ritter to Tour Iraq, Make Documentary ," by Colum Lynch, Washington Post via globalpolicy.org, July 27, 2000

JUNE 1999 : (NIGER : BUSINESSMAN APPROACHES A FORMER NIGERIEN OFFICIAL AND ASKS FOR A MEETING, THE OFFICIAL INTERPRETED IT AS AN ATTEMPT TO DISCUSS URANIUM SALES, ACCORDING TO TENET IN 2003, CITING A REPORT BY AN OUTSIDE INVESTIGATOR THE CIA SENT TO NIGER IN 2002- FORMER AMBASSADOR WILSON WOULD LATER CLAIM TO BE THIS OUTSIDE INVESTIGATOR) An outside investigator whom the CIA sent to Niger [in 2002] reported that a former Niger official he spoke with "said that in June 1999 a businessman approached him and insisted that the former official meet with an Iraqi delegation to discuss 'expanding commercial relations' between Iraq and Niger. The former official interpreted the overture as an attempt to discuss uranium sales." This alleged June overture, trying to set up a subsequent Iraq-Niger "commercial relations" meeting, would have taken place four months after what the IAEA described as Zahawi's February 1999 "trade mission."According to a July 11 statement by CIA Director George Tenet )- "Iraqi Nuke Hawk Went to Niger," by Terence P. Jeffrey, Human Events , 8/1/03
(* My note : Note that this report has absolutely NOTHING to do with forged documents, or any documents, but is an interview of real live witnesses. )

JUNE 1999 : (RITTER INTERVIEW WITH LEADERS OF THE FELLOWSHIP OF RECONCILIATION, A PEACE ORGANIZATION BASED IN NYACK, NEW YORK) "When you ask the question [does] Iraq possess militarily viable biological or chemical weapons? The answer is 'no.' It is a resounding NO! Can Iraq produce today chemical weapons on a meaningful scale? No! Can Iraq produce biological weapons on a meaningful scale? No! Ballistic missiles? No. It is 'no' across the board. So from a qualitative standpoint, Iraq has been disarmed. Iraq today possesses no meaningful weapons of mass destruction capability." - Scott Ritter, June 1999
(* My note: Ritter went on in that same interview to try to tone down that remark, but it is clear something happened between December 1998 and June 1999 that put him over the edge.)

2000 : (IRAQ : TARIQ AZIZ HEADS A SECOND COMMITTEE TO IMPROVE IRAQ'S PROPAGANDA EFFORTS WORLDWIDE BY BRIBING MEDIA OUTLETS & JOURNALISTS AND BRINGING THEM TO BAGHDAD TO MEET WITH OFFICIALS) Two years later [after July 1998], apparently not satisfied with the work of the existing propaganda mechanism, Saddam created another committee under [Tariq] Aziz, to expand and improve media operations worldwide . . . by financing . . . friendly newspapers and other media outlets, giving the owners and workers awards and monthly salaries, and bringing them to Baghdad to coordinate. The Ministry of Culture and Information, IIS, Baath Party and the Iraqi Press Association, which is headed by Uday Husayn, were represented on the committee. - "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

2000 : (IRAQI-AMERICAN AL-KHAFAJI APPEARS WITH IRAQI FOREIGN MINISTER TARIQ AZIZ AT THE 2000 BAGHDAD EXPATRIATE CONFERENCE) At the 2000 Expatriate Conference, according to a report in the Jewish newspaper Forward, Al-Khafaji appeared on stage with Tariq Aziz, who was then foreign minister. The pair railed about economic sanctions, which they said were starving the Iraqi people. The official conference website accuses the United States of "terrorism and genocide" in Iraq. - "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

MARCH 1, 2000 : (BLIX BECOMES CHAIRMAN OF UNMOVIC) Hans Blix assumes post of executive chairman of UNMOVIC. - "Key events in UN weapons inspections in Iraq," By AP September 17 2002

APRIL 4, 2000 - JANUARY 14, 2003 : (UK : GALLOWAY RECEIVED PAYMENTS FROM IRAQ) Galloway received $3 million a year from the Iraqi government during this period, according to documents obtained by the Christian Science Monitor Galloway is a pro-Saddam member of the British Parliament, who founded a charity known as the Mariam Appeal, ostensibly to aid Iraqi children suffering under U.N. sanctions.- "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

JUNE 13, 2000 : (IRAQ OPPOSITION PUBLISHES LETTER WARNING OF IRAQI EXPATRIATE GROUPS BEING FRONTS FOR THE IRAQI REGIME OF SADDAM HUSSEIN) A group of Iraqi opposition figures, alarmed by the rise of the regime-sponsored expatriate organizations, published a letter in London's Al Zaman newspaper on June 13, 2000. They warned that the expatriate groups existed "to throw dust in people's eyes . . . and convince Iraqis abroad that their actions are purely humanitarian and that their only objective is to remove the blockade imposed on our people. In time, however, they revealed themselves to be offshoots of the regime's intelligence services." The opposition warned that "these associations pose a threat to Iraqis abroad and particularly to the dissidents among them, since they spy on their activities and gather information about them which is sent to Iraq and used to threaten their families that are still in the homeland." - "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

JUNE 14, 2000 : (AL-KHAFAJI TELLS BAGHDAD RADIO THAT HE HOPES TO ARRANGE A US CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO IRAQ - LATER HE WOULD ACCOMPANY REPS MCDERMOTT, JIM THOMPSON & DAVID BONIOR TO IRAQ) Al-Khafaji told Baghdad Radio on June 14, 2000, that he hoped to arrange a delegation so that members of the U.S. Congress could "get acquainted with the Iraqi people's suffering as a result of the unjust embargo clamped on it." He got his wish two years later, when he accompanied [Democrat House] Reps. Jim McDermott, Jim Thompson, and David Bonior to Baghdad last fall. - "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

JUNE 2000 : (RITTER FLIES TO BAGHDAD TO MAKE FILM SPONSORED BY AL-KHAFAJI, AN IRAQI-AMERICAN SUPPORTER OF SADDAM HUSSEIN's REGIME, AND IS APPROVED BY SADDAM HUSSEIN ) Ritter flies to Baghdad to produce a documentary film, "In Shifting Sands," that would chronicle the weapons-inspection process and, he says, "de-demonize" Iraq. The 90-minute film, which he says he is close to selling to a broadcast outlet, was produced with the approval of the Iraqi government and features interviews with numerous high-level Iraqi officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz. He acknowledges, as well, that the U.S. government doesn't like how the film was financed. Shakir al-Khafaji, an Iraqi-American real estate developer living in Michigan, kicked in $400,000. By Ritter's own admission, al-Khafaji is "openly sympathetic with the regime in Baghdad." Al-Khafaji, who accompanied Ritter as he filmed the documentary and facilitated many of the meetings, travels to and from Iraq regularly in his capacity as chairman of "Iraqi expatriate conferences." Those conferences, held in Baghdad every two years, are sponsored and subsidized by Saddam Hussein. -"Saddam Hussein's American Apologist " by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, November 19, 2001 issue: "The strange career of former U.N. arms inspector Scott Ritter." 11/19/2001, Volume 007, Issue 10

JULY 2000 late : (UNSCOM : RITTER WILL RETURN TO IRAQ AT INVITATION OF SADDAM HUSSEIN) Scott Ritter, the former U.N. arms inspector who badgered Iraq with his aggressive pursuit of hidden weapons, said he will return to Baghdad on Saturday at the invitation of President Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi leader has agreed to provide Ritter and a documentary film crew access to weapons facilities throughout the country so that Ritter can judge whether Iraq has rebuilt its arsenal since U.N. inspectors left 19 months ago. Ritter said he is also hoping to get an interview with the Iraqi leader. The trip comes weeks after Ritter published an article in an arms control magazine asserting Iraq has essentially disarmed and challenging speculation by the Clinton administration that Baghdad has the capacity to reconstitute its chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs....The documentary project has aroused the interest of federal law enforcement authorities. Ritter said that FBI agents have followed and questioned him and the film's producer, Tom Osborne, about their contacts with Iraqi officials and warned that Baghdad would seek to manipulate them into joining the Iraqi cause or at least into presenting a more favorable portrait of the regime. U.S. citizens are prohibited from traveling to Iraq under an embargo imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait. Violators face up to 12 years in prison and $1 million in fines, though there is an exemption for journalists, which Ritter maintains he meets. Ritter said he intends to interview Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and Oil Minister Amer Rashid, ... - "Ex-UN Inspector Ritter to Tour Iraq, Make Documentary ," by Colum Lynch, Washington Post via globalpolicy.org , July 27, 2000

SEPTEMBER 18, 2000, Monday : (THE NEW RITTER & HALLIDAY MAKE PUBLIC APPEARANCES AT LEFTWING MEETINGS) Two former United Nations officials who resigned due to economic sanctions against Iraq spoke in Berkeley of the devastating effects of the sanctions they witnessed. Denis Halliday, former assistant secretary general and coordinator of the Oil for Food program in Iraq, and Scott Ritter, former senior weapons inspector, spoke at the Berkeley Friends Church Friday.

NOVEMBER 2000 : (UNMOVIC : IRAQ REFUSES TO COOPERATE) Iraq rejects new weapons inspections proposals. - "Key events in UN weapons inspections in Iraq," By AP September 17 2002

2001 : (FORMER UNSCOM INSPECTOR SCOTT RITTER ARRESTED) His sudden flip--he is now a leading apologist for Saddam's regime--and revelations about Ritter's 2001 arrest for soliciting sex with minors have fueled speculation about the nature of his relationship with al-Khafaji. - "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

2001 : (FORMER UNSCOM INSPECTOR SCOTT RITTER OPENLY ADMITS HIS BENEFACTOR & 'SENIOR EXECUTIVEW PRODUCER' AL KHAFAJI IS OPENLY SYMPATHETIC WITH IRAQI LEADER SADDAM HUSSEIN) Al-Khafaji has long claimed that he cares only about the Iraqi people, an assertion too preposterous even for Ritter, who told THE WEEKLY STANDARD in 2001 that his patron was "openly sympathetic with the regime in Baghdad." That stands to reason. The Falcon Trading Group, a company that al-Khafaji founded in 1993 in Johannesburg, South Africa, has done nearly $70 million of business with Saddam's regime. - "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

DECEMBER 7, 2001 : (FORMER UNSCOM INSPECTOR RITTER DISCUSSES ATTA'S TRIP TO PRAGUE - "RADIO FREE EUROPE" THEORY) Mr. Ritter's arguments lately have deteriorated, from discrepant to disturbing. On Dec. 7, in a speech delivered at the Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine in Washington, Mr. Ritter suggested that Saddam would be justified in working with al Qaeda to blow up a U.S. government building. Here is Mr. Ritter's take on the Prague meetings between an Iraqi spy and Mohamed Atta, as transcribed by the Center: "What it appears transpired was that the Iraqi intelligence officer spoke with Mohamed Atta at length about an attack, but it was an attack on a radio transmission tower of Radio Free Europe in Prague, Czechoslovakia. If you're the Iraqi government and you're looking at the Iraqi National Congress (the prominent opposition group), they are a legitimate enemy. Indeed, you could make the case that the Radio Free Europe transmission tower, under international law, is a legitimate target." - "Ritter of Arabia," By Stephen F. Hayes, The Wall Street Journal, September 18, 2002

JULY 5, 2002 : (UNMOVIC : IRAQ REFUSES TO COOPERATE) In talks with Annan, Iraq rejects weapons inspections proposals. - "Key events in UN weapons inspections in Iraq," By AP September 17 2002

AUGUST 1, 2002 : (UNMOVIC : IRAQ INVITES BLIX TO DISCUSSIONS) In a letter to Annan, Iraq invites Blix to Iraq for technical discussions on remaining disarmament issues. - "Key events in UN weapons inspections in Iraq," By AP September 17 2002

AUGUST 6, 2002 : (UN ASKS IRAQ TO ACCEPT INSPECTIONS) UN's Kofi Annan writes to Iraqis pointing out that what they are proposing is at odds with UN resolutions and asks that Iraq accept inspections. - "Key events in UN weapons inspections in Iraq," By AP September 17 2002

SEPTEMBER 8, 2002 : (RITTER GOES BEFORE IRAQI PARLIAMENT) With inspectors having been barred from Iraq for close to four years, Saddam has faced no constraints on his ability to continue with his nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs. That's arguably the most fundamental thing that's changed since Mr. Ritter quit UNSCOM. How then can Mr. Ritter credibly appear before the Iraqi parliament as he did on Sept. 8 and declare that Iraq "is not a threat to its neighbors," and that Iraq's unaccounted-for weapons materiel "does not constitute a viable weapons capability?" -"The Bizarre Odyssey of Scott Ritter," editorial, The Washington Times, September 18, 2002

2002 fall : (IRAQI -AMERICAN AL-KHAFAJI GIVES $5,000 TO THE LEGAL DEFENSE FUND OF DEMOCRAT CONGRESSMAN JIM MCDERMOTT, A FUND STARTED TO DEFEND MCDERMOTT FROM A LAWSUIT FILED BY REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN BOEHNER WHOSE PRIVATE PHONE CONVERSATION WITH NEWT GINGRICH HAD BEEN ILLEGALLY TAPED BY DEMOCRAT ACTIVISTS) Last fall, Mr. al-Khafaji also donated $5,000 to the legal defense fund of Rep. Jim McDermott, Washington Democrat, to defend Mr. McDermott against a lawsuit filed by Ohio Republican Rep. John Boehner. Mr. Boehner has accused Mr. McDermott of leaking the transcript of a cell-phone conversation between Mr. Boehner and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to the media in 1998.- "Iraqi-born American has funded Democrats," by Steve Miller, The Washington Times, May 6, 2003

SEPTEMBER 12, 2002 : (US DELIVERS ULTIMATUM TO UN) US President George W Bush tells the United Nations it must rid the world of Saddam's biological, chemical and nuclear arsenals, or stand aside as the United States acts. - "Key events in UN weapons inspections in Iraq," By AP September 17 2002

SEPTEMBER 16, 2002 : (UNMOVIC : IRAQ ACCEPTS INSPECTORS "UNCONDITIONALLY") Iraq unconditionally accepts the return of UN weapons inspectors. (Well, actually, it was very conditional, as they still do not cooperate.)- "Key events in UN weapons inspections in Iraq," By AP September 17 2002

SEPTEMBER 25, 2002 : (CONGRESSMEN MCDERMOTT, THOMPSON & BONIOR PRESS RELEASE WARNS ABOUT A UNILATERAL STRIKE BY THE US ON IRAQ, BUT DOESN'T EVEN MENTION INSPECTIONS) Of course, no one can say what the congressmen's motives were for their trip. But judging from a press release the trio issued before they left, on September 25, it's clear it wasn't to secure unfettered inspections. Although the congressmen warned about the "dangerous implications of a unilateral, preemptive strike," they didn't mention inspections once. - "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

SEPTEMBER 29, 2002 : (DEMOCRAT REPRESENTATIVE MCDERMOTT CLAIMS ON ABC THAT PRESIDENT BUSH WILL LIE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE IN ORDER TO GET US INTO WAR WITH IRAQ; SAYS WE HAVE TO TAKE THE IRAQIS AT 'FACE VALUE') McDermott, in particular, caused quite a fuss when in a September 29 appearance on ABC's "This Week" from Baghdad, he claimed, "The president of the United States will lie to the American people in order to get us into this war." Moments later, despite 12 years of evidence that the Iraqi regime had lied about its weapons program, McDermott said, "I think you have to take the Iraqis on their face value."
The same day, Babil ran a brief item in its local news section. "Saddam Hussein received cable of support from Shakir al-Khafaji, president of the 17th Iraqi Expatriate Conference, on behalf of Iraqis who are living abroad." The members of Congress returned to the United States facing intense criticism, and quickly sought to reassure an angry public that the objective of their mission was, in Bonior's words, "to impress upon the Iraqi government and the people of Iraq how important it was for them to allow unconditional, unfettered, unrestricted access to the inspectors." He reiterated the point at an October 2 press conference, telling reporters, "The purpose of our trip was to make it very clear, as I said in my opening statement, to the officials in Iraq how serious we--the United States is about going to war and that they will have war unless these inspections are allowed to go unconditionally and unfettered and open. And that was our point." Of course, no one can say what the congressmen's motives were for their trip. But judging from a press release the trio issued before they left, on September 25, it's clear it wasn't to secure unfettered inspections. Although the congressmen warned about the "dangerous implications of a unilateral, preemptive strike," they didn't mention inspections once. - "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

OCTOBER 25, 2002 : (MCDERMOTT PAID $5,000 BY IRAQI-AMERICAN AL-KHAFAJI- THE PERSON WHO PAID FORMER UNSCOM INSPECTOR SCOTT RITTER $400,000 TO MAKE A PROPAGANDA FILM FOR IRAQ) On October 25, McDermott received a check for $5,000 from Shakir al-Khafaji. The money, first reported by Amy Keller in Roll Call, had been deposited in an account for the McDermott Legal Expense Trust, a fund the congressman set up to pay legal bills in a lawsuit brought against him by Rep. John Boehner. No one has accused McDermott of being a mouthpiece for Saddam Hussein simply for financial reasons. Indeed, McDermott has been saying stupid things for years with no evidence anyone has paid him to do so. A spokesman for McDermott says he "doesn't know off the top of [his] head" whether McDermott has plans to return the money. - "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

2003 : (IRAQ GIVES LUXURY VILLAS IN JORDAN, TUNISIA & LEBANON TO JOURNALISTS) Before the recent conflict, says Tareq al-Mezrem from the Kuwaiti Information Office, the Iraqi regime gave journalists luxury "villas in Jordan, Tunisia, and even Lebanon." Some of the transactions were straightforward cash payments, often in U.S. dollars, handed out from Iraqi embassies in Arab capitals--luxury cars delivered to top editors, Toyotas for less influential journalists. "This was not secret," says Salama Nimat, a Jordanian journalist who was jailed briefly in 1995 in that nation for highlighting the corruption. "Most of it was done out in the open."
Other transactions were surreptitious or deliberately complex--coveted Iraqi export licenses for family members of politicians, oil kickbacks through third parties, elaborate "scholarship" arrangements. In a region where leaders count their fortunes by the billion and workers by the penny, such payoffs are common. The Saudis, of course, have financed public works throughout the Middle East and Africa. But no one played the game like Saddam Hussein. - "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

JANUARY 14, 2003 : (UK : IRAQI LETTER ACCOMPANYING IRAQ'S FINAL PAYMENT TO GALLOWAY; GALLOWAY RECEIVED PAYMENTS FROM IRAQ, IS PRAISED BY REGIME) A letter accompanying that final payment authorizes the "Manager of the security department, in the name of President Saddam Hussein, to order a gratuity to be issued to Mr. George Galloway of British nationality in the amount of three million dollars only." It praises Galloway for "his courageous and daring stands against the enemies of Iraq, like Blair, the British Prime Minister, and for his opposition in the House of Commons and Lords against all outrageous lies against our patient people." Galloway is a pro-Saddam member of the British Parliament, who founded a charity known as the Mariam Appeal, ostensibly to aid Iraqi children suffering under U.N. sanctions.- "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

JANUARY 18 2003 : (REPORTS SURFACE THAT UNSCOM INSPECTOR HAD BEEN ARRESTED IN 2001, ASSISTANT DA FIRED) ALBANY - Former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter was secretly prosecuted in Albany County in 2001 after he was snared in an Internet sex sting operation, law enforcement sources told the Daily News. Ritter, who lives in the Albany suburb of Delmar, is now a high-profile critic of President Bush's war preparations. He was arrested by Colonie Police in June 2001 on a misdemeanor charge after he allegedly had a sexual discussion on the Internet with an undercover investigator he thought was an underage girl, law enforcement sources disclosed on condition of anonymity. The case was sealed, and Colonie officials declined to release the arrest records, explaining the matter was adjourned in local court in contemplation of dismissal. The Schenectady Daily Gazette reported yesterday that Albany District Attorney Paul Clyne fired veteran Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Preiser last week for failing to inform him of the case against Ritter. Clyne said that as a "sensitive" case, it should have been brought to his attention. Ritter, who has made frequent appearances on network television after speaking to the Iraq National Assembly last year, could not be reached for comment. - "UN's Ritter faced sex rap , " by Joe Mahoney, New York Daily News, 1/19/03

MAY 5, 2003 : (REPORT : MARIAM APPEAL CHARITY FOUNDER & UK PARLIAMENT MEMBER GALLOWAY WAS PAID MORE THAN $10 MILLION TO PROPAGANDIZE ON BEHALF OF THE IRAQI REGIME) The bottom line: George Galloway was paid more than $10 million to propagandize for the Iraqi regime. Galloway denies everything. He says the documents were forged--perhaps by foreign intelligence or by the Daily Telegraph. In a move sure to galvanize his critics, Galloway issued his denials from his vacation home--worth $400,000--on the coast of Portugal. The Galloway revelations surely help explain the ravings of a fringe British politician. But they are more important for what they reveal--or more precisely, remind us--about the Iraqi regime. Galloway is a pro-Saddam member of the British Parliament, who founded a charity known as the Mariam Appeal, ostensibly to aid Iraqi children suffering under U.N. sanctions.- "Saddam's Cash," by Stephen F. Hayes, The Weekly Standard, May 5, 2003

AUGUST 2003 : (IRAQ : UN OPERATIONS CENTER ATTACKED; AT LEAST 23 DEAD, 150 WOUNDED)...attack on the U.N.'s operations center in Baghdad last August [2003] - "Oil for Food Is Just One of Many Scandals at U.N.," newsmax.com, March 30, 2004

OCTOBER 2003 : (FIRST OF TWO UN INVESTIGATIONS IN THE WAKE OF THE UN OP CENTER BOMBING IN BAGHDAD IS COMPLETED; UN SECURITY IS CALLED 'DYSFUNCTIONAL,' POINTS FINGER AT DEPUTY SEC GEN FRECHETTE OF CANADA) Since the attack on the U.N.'s operations center in Baghdad last August [2003] (23 killed and 150 wounded), Kofi Annan has launched not one but two investigations. The first, completed last October [2003], called U.N. security "dysfunctional" and questioned the competence of several key U.N. officials, including Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette of Canada. - "Oil for Food Is Just One of Many Scandals at U.N.," newsmax.com, March 30, 2004

MARCH 1, 2004 : (SECOND OF TWO UN INVESTIGATIONS IN THE WAKE OF THE UN OP CENTER BOMBING IN BAGHDAD IS COMPLETED 6 WEEKS LATE) The first investigation prompted Annan to launch a second, more involved inquiry. The so-called "accountability panel" turned in its findings March 1, six weeks late.

MARCH 29, 2004 : (SOME FINDINGS OF SECOND UN INVESTIGATIONS IN THE WAKE OF THE UN OP CENTER BOMBING IN BAGHDAD ARE FINALLY RELEASED) Annan had refused to released any details of the panel's findings until yesterday [March 29, 2004], when he fired one top official and demoted another for "profound lack of responsibility and ineptitude" in refusing to install blast-resistant protective window film, which could have prevented most of the casualties. Until yesterday, the only action taken by the U.N. chief had been to suspend (with pay) the two security officials. This coming after what the United Nations had called the worst attack on its personnel in history. Annan had refused repeated requests for a disclosure of the panel's findings by the U.N.'s staff union. The secretary-general had cited "security concerns" for his insistence on non-disclosure. - "Oil for Food Is Just One of Many Scandals at U.N.," newsmax.com, March 30, 2004

MARCH 30, 2004 : (UN OIL FOR FOOD SCANDAL : PANEL OF INQUIRY FORMED; WILL KOFI AND SON BE INVESTIGATED?)Now come charges of embezzlement in the oil-for-food program, which the General Accounting Office of the U.S. Congress estimates could exceed $10 billion. Annan responded by forming yet another "panel" of inquiry. In a letter to the Security Council on Friday, the secretary-general outlined the form the panel will take. Though he proclaims the panel will be independent, Annan reserved the right as to which U.N. official would be available to testify and what punishment (if any) might be issued. It Runs in the Family : One person who might be a target of the investigation is Annan's son Kojo, an employee of a U.N. contractor in the OIF program. Shortly after the contract was awarded, Annan left the organization. In another instance of "unusual" U.N. finances, Kofi Annan, whose estsimated annual salary of $225,000 is the highest among U.N. employees, has an unusual rider. Many U.N. employees who transfer to headquarters in New York City from overseas often receive what the organization calls a "cost-of-living multiplier." The multiplier, a percentage of the base salary, is added to the employee's base pay, and is not usually taxed. Though the multiplier is intended to offset New York's high cost of living, it has also allowed some U.N. officials to pad their incomes. Primary Parasite : In Annan's case, his official home and most of his living expenses are automatically picked up by the United Nations (in reality, by taxpayers). An investigation by NewsMax.com revealed that Annan received a cost-of-living multiplier that, according to U.N. documents, amounted to 51 percent of his gross annual salary. That means that the U.N. chief made more than $100,000 extra for personal living expenses, none of which the U.N. could detail. This comes as the United Nations finds itself under additional pressures to cut its staff and search for financing to renovate its aging headquarters. The so-called "capital renovation" plan is expected to cost more than $2 billion over the next five years. It is unclear how the United Nations intends to raise the cash.- "Oil for Food Is Just One of Many Scandals at U.N.," newsmax.com, March 30, 2004

MARCH 2004 : (HOUSE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES IT WILL LOOK INTO UN OIL FOR FOOD SCANDAL) ...after some badgering in this space and elsewhere, the House International Relations Committee announced it would look into the $5 billion kickback scandal in the United Nations' six-year Iraqi oil-for-food program, the largest humanitarian aid effort ever undertaken. - "Scandal With No Friends (Iraq Oil for Food Program)," by WILLIAM SAFIRE, NY Times, April 19, 2004

APRIL 2004 mid [before the 16th]: (AL-KHAFAJI ADMITS HE RECEIVED OIL-FOR-FOOD 'ALLOCATIONS') Detroit businessman Shakir al-Khafaji admitted to the Financial Times that he received Oil for Food allocations. Mr. al-Khafaji had earlier denied receiving such allocations in an interview with our Robert Pollock, who recently reported that Mr. al-Khafaji had helped to finance a pro-Saddam documentary by former weapons inspector Scott Ritter and had donated to antiwar Congressional Democrats. - "Volcker's U.N. Cleanup : The Russians are blocking a proper Oil for Food probe.," WSJ Opinion Journal, Monday, April 19, 2004 12:01 a.m. EDT, http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110004976

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