C-Span NOT Covering Biggest News in Washington Today -- U.N. Oil For Food Bombshell

[Stultis]

Henry Hyde's Committee on International Relations has hearings today on the corruption in the Iraq Oil-For-Food program. A former program coordinator well testify that high officials at the U.N. knew about kickbacks and other corruption in the program and did nothing.

C-Span is not carrying this hearing live, NOR HAVE THEY SCHEDULED CAMERAS TO BE PRESENT.

The only hope to change this is to massively flood their phone lines immediately (politely) demanding they cover this. The hearing starts in less than 3 hours!

CAll C-Span at (202) 737-3220

[tm22721]

Let's move on, nothing to see here...

BUMP

[Stultis]

If C-Span doesn't come through, a live webcast (during the event only) will be available at the committee's website. You might also consider calling the committee or Henry Hydes office to see if they can coordinate getting C-Span on this event:

http://wwwc.house.gov/international_relations/

Committee on International Relations
U.S. House of Representatives
Henry J. Hyde, Chairman
CONTACT: Sam Stratman, (202) 226-7875, April 27, 2004

For IMMEDIATE Release

Alleged Abuses & Oil-for-Food Program
Hyde Schedules Wednesday Oversight Hearing on Issues
of Accountability and Transparency in U.N. Program

 

BACKGROUND: In a March report on Iraqi assets stolen by Saddam Hussein’s regime, the General Accounting Office (GAO) doubled to more than $10 billion its estimate of alleged theft and illegal oil smuggling from the U.N. Oil-for-Food Program. At issue are allegations of malfeasance ignored, and even condoned, by U.N. officials responsible for the program. Since its inception in 1996, more than $64 billion of Iraqi oil was sold to finance the purchase of food, medicine, and other humanitarian relief efforts for the Iraqi population. To ensure that the program operated under international standards, inspectors were employed by the U.N. to oversee the program. Throughout its seven-year life, the Oil-for-Food Program underwent frequent changes to cope with methods employed by Saddam Hussein to circumvent these safeguards in order to enrich himself and his cronies, including demands for kickbacks from companies wishing to do business with Iraq. Last week, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan named Paul Volcker, the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, to lead an independent investigation of the program. In Iraq, the finance ministry has begun a separate inquiry, with the help of international auditing firms, in an attempt to locate stolen assets. 

WHAT: Full Committee Oversight Hearing: The United Nations Oil-for-Food Program: Issues of Accountability and Transparency

WHEN: 10:30 a.m., Wednesday April 28

WHERE:  Room 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

WITNESSES: Joseph A. Christoff, Director, International Affairs and Trade, U.S. General Accounting Office; Howar Ziad, U.N. Representative, Kurdistan Regional Government; Michael Soussan, Former Program Coordinator, U.N. Oil-for-Food Program; Danielle Pletka, Vice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute; Claudia Rosett, Senior Fellow, The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies; and John G. Ruggie, Professor, Harvard University.

If C-Span doesn't come through, a live webcast (during the event only) will be available at the committee's website. You might also consider calling the committee or Henry Hydes office to see if they can coordinate getting C-Span on this event:

http://wwwc.house.gov/international_relations/

Committee on International Relations
U.S. House of Representatives
Henry J. Hyde, Chairman
CONTACT: Sam Stratman, (202) 226-7875, April 27, 2004

For IMMEDIATE Release

Alleged Abuses & Oil-for-Food Program
Hyde Schedules Wednesday Oversight Hearing on Issues
of Accountability and Transparency in U.N. Program

 

BACKGROUND: In a March report on Iraqi assets stolen by Saddam Hussein’s regime, the General Accounting Office (GAO) doubled to more than $10 billion its estimate of alleged theft and illegal oil smuggling from the U.N. Oil-for-Food Program. At issue are allegations of malfeasance ignored, and even condoned, by U.N. officials responsible for the program. Since its inception in 1996, more than $64 billion of Iraqi oil was sold to finance the purchase of food, medicine, and other humanitarian relief efforts for the Iraqi population. To ensure that the program operated under international standards, inspectors were employed by the U.N. to oversee the program. Throughout its seven-year life, the Oil-for-Food Program underwent frequent changes to cope with methods employed by Saddam Hussein to circumvent these safeguards in order to enrich himself and his cronies, including demands for kickbacks from companies wishing to do business with Iraq. Last week, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan named Paul Volcker, the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, to lead an independent investigation of the program. In Iraq, the finance ministry has begun a separate inquiry, with the help of international auditing firms, in an attempt to locate stolen assets. 

WHAT: Full Committee Oversight Hearing: The United Nations Oil-for-Food Program: Issues of Accountability and Transparency

WHEN: 10:30 a.m., Wednesday April 28

WHERE:  Room 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

WITNESSES: Joseph A. Christoff, Director, International Affairs and Trade, U.S. General Accounting Office; Howar Ziad, U.N. Representative, Kurdistan Regional Government; Michael Soussan, Former Program Coordinator, U.N. Oil-for-Food Program; Danielle Pletka, Vice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute; Claudia Rosett, Senior Fellow, The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies; and John G. Ruggie, Professor, Harvard University.

[hellinahandcart]

bu,p

[hellinahandcart]

I mean bump 8^)

[KC Burke]

The corruption of the UN is so apparent but so un-PC. It won't be covered.

The reason is that the corruption of the media, their lack of honest principle, exceeds even that shown by paid off UN functionaries and EU criminals.

[Broker]

Just got off line with C-Span... He was vague. Told the fellow of my interest in the subject.

[TheSilverHair]

The UN is useless. Europe hates America- and they just use the UN to degrade and humiliate us. But every time they have to go on peacekeeping missions, who gets sent? America. The never send their own soldiers in the numbers that American soldiers get sent. Why doesn't the media pick up on this?
Our media is so corrupt. They have some strange, nonsense agenda (you can't describe it as liberal, though that's a big part of it) that seeks to make America conform to the world. The media doesn't judge the news; they just report it. All of our major media, C-Span included, should remember that.
We need to make a Free Republic News Channel....
Maybe we could get funding from Fox for a one hour show?

[OXENinFLA]

http://wwwc.house.gov/international_relations/

U.S. House of Representatives Committee on International Relations Live webcast of meeting (Only available during event. Check Committee schedule.)

[Mikey]

One has to remember, who's guarding the henhouse?

"Since the U.N. had democratic forms, since it was couched in terms of certain kinds of democratic principles, our language was, in a way, a funny kind of way, the language of the United Nations. But as time went on, what you discovered was the words were like vessels. And our enemies were coming up, drilling holes in it, draining out our meaning, and pouring in their own."

"On the United Nations"
Alan Keyes,March 9, 1989

Take all the corruption in the world and set it up as one orgainization and call it;

The UNITED NATIONS

[Blood of Tyrants]

John Kerry must be giving another of his rousing speec.... Zzzzzzzz!

[Mikey]

"We need to make a Free Republic News Channel....
Maybe we could get funding from Fox for a one hour show?"

I agree, FreeRepublic should expand to a news channel. Call it Freep-News, Freeper-News, Republic News, FR News, etc?

I believe you hit upon a really good idea. What say you Freepers?

[AIC]

I think that the major media is not owned by Americans but by Europe and the meddle east. The same with a lot of the stocks on the stock market.Why do you think that every time that something happens in Europe or the middle east that they don't like and is in America's earnest that the stock market goes down and causes a lot of concern and talk to back off. The same with a lot of our politicians who are owned by lobbyist with middle east, European, or other special interest groups.

[boomop1]

Maybe Brian Lamb got some kickbacks, (it's a joke Brian).

[HenryLeeII]

Look, felony perjury is not impeachable, oral sex is not sex, advocating the cessation of infanticide is 'violence against women', and taking pay-offs from a murderous dictator to ignore his activities is not corruption! When are you people going to get with the pogrom?!?!

[leadpenny]

He should have told you what the first obligation of C-SPAN is. The House and Senate are both in session at 10:00. It'll be shown later. You're trying to shoot the messenger.

[leadpenny]

How do you know they do not have cameras scheduled for the Hearing?

[Broker]

You're trying to shoot the messenger
>>>> Leadpenny: I spoke with the Dude! It is called communication.

[The Bandit]

This is a UN issue; CSPAN mission is coverage of US political process.....

[leadpenny]

It's on the live Committee webcam now. Don't know how these things work but my guess is that C-SPAN can pick it up later and show it on the network. They only have so many cameras.

I didn't mean you in paticular. Imo, too many take C-SPAN for granted and don't realize what it would be like without it. I appreciate you making the call.