Oil-for-Terror

The Wall Street Journal ^ | Wednesday, April 28, 2004 | CLAUDIA ROSETT

[presidio9]

It's looking more and more as if one of the best reasons to get rid of Saddam Hussein was that it was probably the only way to get rid of Oil-for-Food. The problem wasn't simply that this huge United Nations relief program for Iraq became a gala of graft, theft, fraud, palace-building and global influence-peddling -- though all that was quite bad enough. The picture now emerging is that under U.N. management the Oil-for-Food program, which ran from 1996-2003, served as a cover not only for Saddam's regime to cheat the Iraqi people, but to set up a vast and intricate global network of illicit finance.

And though much debate has focused on the list published this past January in the Iraqi newspaper Al Mada -- cataloguing some 270 individuals and entities world-wide alleged to have received illicit oil vouchers worth millions from Saddam -- the Al Mada list may be the least of it (apart from the last name of the executive director of the Oil-for-Food program himself, Benon Sevan). Dwarfing the Al Mada list for size, scope and menace was the U.N.-piloted mothership, the entire $111 billion U.N. Oil-for-Food program. Supplied by Iraq's oil wells, the sums involved in Oil-for-Food's transactions were so enormous that even the routine rounding errors of a few hundred million here or there easily rivaled, for example, the $300 million or so in family money believed to have given Osama bin Laden his terrorist start.

[Shaun_MD]

But, There are NO weapons like that Iraq. (sarcasm)

[Shaun_MD]

That was suppose to be "In Iraq"

[2banana]

If only we had given the weapons inspectors more time and had let the UN take over military operations right from the start...

[sox_the_cat]

But the sanctions were working and Hussein was contained

[Cobra64]

Could someone post the entire article so I can email it to my liberal friends who just "love" the UN..

[Doug Fiedor]

It's interesting to see in the Wall Street Journal what many of us have known all along: When you follow the terrorist money trail, the bread crumbs lead right to Saddam and the United Nations programs. Worse, some of the people actually distributing the terror funds not only work for the UN, they also hold office right in New York City. Of course, they also hold diplomatic passports, so there is nothing we can do about it. They even use our banks to distribute the funds with impunity.

No matter. The federal government will pass many more new laws to "tighten up" controls on American citizens. Problem is, the people most responsible for suborning terrorism in this country are foreigners who hold diplomatic passports and cannot be touched by any American law. But, to look like they are "cracking down" on funding terrorism, the federal government bothers American citizens who have zero to do with the problem.

All they need do to stop a major amount of the free flow of financing to terrorist organizations is to lock up a few foreign accounts in major New York banks and Wall Street investment houses. But, there is no way our government will ever do that. Wouldn't be politically correct, you see. Might look "discriminatory." So, the feds only monitor the bank accounts of American citizens.

For the past 50 years, American intelligence services have known the United Nations was totally corrupt. For instance, not even one of the so called UN "weapons inspectors" in Iraq ever mentioned a huge man-made structure running from Saddam's oil fields to Syria. One would think that huge thing would be a "clue" to inspectors cause that structure is properly called a "pipe" in English. That huge pipe was used to deliver millions of gallons of oil daily to Syria, where that oil could be sold at market prices -- without accountability to the United Nations or the United States. And therein came a major part of the funding used to fund terrorism around the world.

The UN weapons inspectors never commented on that huge pipe. Many archeologists mentioned it in passing, though. A couple of them even took pictures. Fancy that, eh?

Fact is, officials of the United Nations, by accepting hundreds of millions of dollars in graft from the Saddam government, regularly suborned terrorism -- much of which targeted the people of the United States.

Read this Wall Street Journal article with that in mind. Because, here starts a public disclosure of the proof.

Now: What do we do about it?

[nothingnew]

Some of those with diplomatic immunity should be decaffienated.

FMCDH

[Blaine Fabin]

"For instance, not even one of the so called UN "weapons inspectors" in Iraq ever mentioned a huge man-made structure running from Saddam's oil fields to Syria"


WOW!

Is this documented somewhere, I would love to use this information.

[cwb]

What's disgusting is that many of the same people who said that the sanctions were killing 5,000 Iraqi children a month, were complicit in that act because of this fraud.

[KingKangaroo]

While there is no doubt that that the whole oi-for-food thing was corrupt from the get-go, I don't really find the way Prince Bandar was shown the war plans too agreeable either.

[Allan]

Another great article by Claudia Rossett.

Those of us who are fans of the Batchelor (ex-Alexander) program on WABC
have had the pleasure of listening to her for the past year.

[Allan]

A quotation in the this article may indicate
why the Greeks in Cyprus were so hostile
to letting the Turks share in their little boondoggle:

Why on earth, for instance, did the U.N. authorize Saddam
to sell oil to at least 65 companies in the financial lockbox of Switzerland.
What was the logic behind approving as oil buyers at least 45 firms in Cyprus,
seven in Panama and four in Liechtenstein?

[Doug Fiedor]

Along with politics, I'm interested in the ancient history and archeology of that area. I saw word of that oil pipeline mentioned in a couple articles by archeologists working the area and (I think) also seem to remember something about it in one or two media reports over the years. Apparently the pipeline has been in operation for quite a few years.

However, with age comes CRS . . . so I'll have to look through some things and see if I can find the information. The latest mention I remember, however, in is a just released (May 2004) book by Zecharia Sitchin in which he mentions the pipeline, in passing, as something he noticed while there leading a group of armchair archeologists around the area a couple years ago. They actually had permission from Syria to visit digs right on the border with Iraq.

[Cicero]

Right out in the open is the UN's biggest involvement in Muslim terror. For several generations they have operated what amount to breeding pens and safe havens for Palestinian terrorists under the guise of a refugee relief camps. What kind of refugee relief is it to keep people in pens for 50 or 60 years, allow them out to shoot, bomb, and kill their neighbors, and give them safe haven back in the camps when they return from their bloody missions?

How many Palestinian terrorists were there in 1947, when the "refugee camps" were first opened? How many are there now? What has the UN done to solve this problem? Or what have they done to make it worse, while they raked off their share of the money for their help in breeding new generations of terrorists?

Wouldn't it have been better for all concerned if the Muslims who fled Israel after failing to kill all the Jews had simply been allowed to find their own ways to new homes among their fellow Arabs?

The UN is a coalition of Communists, Muslims, and corrupt western socialists. The lunatics long since took over the asylum.

[a_Turk]

ping

[mewzilla]

FWIW, have you guys run across any references to something called the Paribas Foundation, a philanthropic organization run by Paribas? Just curious.

[Shermy]

What was the logic behind approving as oil buyers at least 45 firms in Cyprus, seven in Panama and four in Liechtenstein?

Cyprus again. Why Cyprus? ATurk the other day mentioned something interesting. The Russians at the UN vetoed some matter on the Cyprus dispute. ATurk said it might be related to Russians using South (Greek) Cyprus as a money laundering hub.

So this info about Iraq and Cyprus front companies is interesting.

ATurk - you have any links from Turkey or elsewhere speculating in any way about Russian connection to South Cyprus???

[Shermy]

Ping.

[Light Speed]

There are many layers to the Onion of the U.N. Sanctions.

The Sanctions where designed and implimented by Geostrategic Imperative.
A read of Zbigniew Brzenzski's[CFR] "The Grand Chessboard" clears the fog..idents why the U.S. is in so many of the *Stans now.
The Geostrategics of the Asia/Eurasia construct..the control and management of resources for the future...highest Ident is oil/gas to the Orient ..the current fiscal synergy of our time.

The U.N. sanctions **Blocked foreign nations from possessing and fiscally scalping Iraqs vast oil reserves.
BP of England has large oilfield concessions in Iraq..especially West Qurna.
BP was weakened by the first Gulf war...Kuwait/Iraq..this enabled Amoco and other U.S. owned firms..satillites of former named Giant **Standard oil to leverage on BP.
BP saw their situation and morphed into Amoco...Amoco/BP.

Removing competiton for the next oil play..enabled a strong collective to now square off on Russia.

Irans pipelines from the Caucuses and trans Iran to the orient are old and volume flow limited.
Turkey was enabled to increase their Caucus oilgas transit...here this links to shipping terminals..and the *Old world/Euro Insurance/Re-Insurance blocks which desire volume and stability.
Turkey wanting desperatly to play in the world and be a somebody..ie..Maintain and increase Euro relationship..draw fiscal return.

American oil firms and Euro money houses have quietly built new trans national pipelines..upgraded and built new terminals.
Russia and Iran are gamed out all ready.
China conceeds..as they are recipent Prime for the geostrategic move.
Russia and other nations with lost oilfield concessions in Iraq have been fiscally compensated..have seen they have neither the logistics nor fiscal base to match the play at hand.

On another level...terror set against oil/gas transfer has been marked...the numbers of thwarted attempts are staggering.
Here..Islamic governments have been quick to act to ensure the important prize continues...**The Spice must flow : )

The new threats to the security of oil supplies are directly affecting oil prices. Maritime insurers, for example, have already begun to sharply raise the premiums charged to cover tankers in risky waters. Premiums insurers charge tankers passing through Yemeni waters tripled since the attack in Yemen. For a typical supertanker carrying about two million barrels of oil, the rate rose to $450,000 a trip from $150,000, adding about 15 cents a barrel to the delivered cost of the oil -- and that is just for the ship; the cargo is insured separately. Terror attacks in other locations will carry premium increases in their wake. The increasing costs of securing pipelines, oil terminals and tankers are all reflected in the price of gasoline.

Democracy is being phased in..but transition will be slow.
Cliche terms are appearing..the new one..**Rule of Law..is what will be thrown out for media run.
Under..*Rule of Law....concession is made
The current set up in the many Stans..where govs,warlords,tribal chiefs are paid to cooperate,...and rewarded.

Henry Kissinger on Charlie Rose 2 weeks ago mentioned in that interview that President Bush had several options in regards to Iraq.
That if the Iraqi Council/government experiment failed..Iraq would be broken up into *3 States..which could be managed.
Henry Kissinger[CFR]..is revealing Leslie Gelb's[CFR]..Geostrategic design for Iraq.

The U.N. is very much like a Parasite feeding on a host.
The world synergy of Corporate imperatives..connects to the money houses of the world which form the IMF/World bank which desires stability after turn over..turnover which see's nations permit Privitization and foriegn ownership.
A windfall for the U.N.

Its sleaze..but pennies compared to the monies *Others are obtaining.
Look the other way..don't mess up..don't get caught.
The admonition of the Big players to the U.N.

Unless some radical leaders appear in Russia and China..this will be the way of things for decades.
IsLam has to choose now.
Play in the Fields of the Lord......or be crushed.

Chokeing it down hard.....they choose the money and their palaces.