Posted on 05/20/2004 7:55:19 PM PDT by Diddle E. Squat
WASHINGTON--While the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal rages, yet another controversy is gathering steam, involving top U.S. accounting firms, powerful K Street lobbying firms and international oil companies widely held by institutional and individual investors.
Senior congressional staffers, policy analysts and lobbyists are all pointing to mounting evidence that "utter chaos is reigning" in Baghdad over investigations into the Iraq oil-for-food program scandal, especially in the wake of today's raid by Iraqi police and U.S. forces on the home of Iraqi Governing Council member Ahmad al-Chalabi.
The purpose of the raid was not disclosed, but Chalabi himself later told reporters that among the items seized were files related to the oil-for-food program, which he and the council have been probing.
During the program established by the United Nations Security Council in 1995, the U.N. reportedly oversaw a flow of funds totaling $15 billion a year. Revenues were held in an escrow account run by BNP Paribas for the U.N. The oil-for-food program became a lucrative source of contracts for Russian and French oil companies, including Lukoil and Total (nyse: TOT - news - people ), according to congressional testimony by Nile Gardiner of the Heritage Foundation. The U.N. itself collected a 2.2% commission on every barrel of Iraqi oil sold, generating more than $1 billion in revenue. The U.S. Congress' General Accounting Office estimates that Saddam Hussein's regime siphoned off $10 billion while the U.N oversaw the program.
The raid on Chalabi's home--characterized by the White House as resulting from an Iraqi-led investigation--may frustrate the ability of private accounting firm KPMG to complete a comprehensive audit into the oil-for-food program, which generated $67 billion in revenues for Iraq between 1997 and 2002, according to the Heritage Foundation. KPMG began investigating in February 2004 on behalf of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil, the Central Bank of Iraq, the Finance and the Trade Ministry and the State Oil Marketing Association.
Over the last several weeks, however, a growing feud has erupted between Chalabi and the rest of the Governing Council, and L. Paul Bremer, Iraq's U.S. civilian administrator, over Bremer's recent selection of Ernst & Young to begin a separate investigation on behalf of Bremer's Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). A key difference between the contracts: The KPMG contract includes the recovery of the assets, while Ernst & Young's contract calls for recommendations on how the monies are to be recovered.
The stunning reversal of fortune for KPMG and Chalabi comes less than a month after Iraqi Governing Council consultant Claude Hanes-Drielsma told a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee the "the CPA said that the process run by the IGC... would indeed stand."
Meanwhile, former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, appointed last month by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to lead yet another inquiry, is pressing forward with his own investigation. Some say Annan must bear ultimate responsibility for the program's massive failings. "I think our investigation is the central, authoritative investigation," Volcker said at a press conference today. "I would like to think it's understood quite generally."
Far from it. Volcker lacks the necessary power to subpoena witnesses in an investigation, according to sources on Capitol Hill, policy experts and lobbyists. And despite today's raid, the Iraqi Governing Council doesn't appear to be giving up its fight for control over the oil-for-food audit. The council's finance committee is working with Patton Boggs, a well-connected Washington, DC law firm, to help it navigate the political system.
The U.S. Congress may want to conduct its own investigation, says the Middle East Media Research Institute and at least one senior congressional aide. Some observers have speculated that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee may already by preparing to organize such an independent query. It is unclear, however, whether any congressional investigation would have the authority to compel testimony from United Nations staffers involved with oversight of the oil-for-food program.
It is possible that separate oil-for-food inquiries by the U.N., the CPA and the IGC could proceed separately. "One would not cancel out another," says a source close to the matter. "However, a coordination of efforts beginning with a conference involving reps from each would avoid a wasteful and redundant and inefficient three-ring circus approach. The recovery of this money is something that has to transcend all this political [nonsense]."
The more I read about how the CPA is undercutting the IGC, the angrier I get. We are supposed to 'stay the course', well that means honoring the commitments we make to the Iraqi friends on the Governing Council to let them investigate these matters.
This is a travesty and a cover up of UN malfeasance.
I still like Algore's "no controlling legal authority" bit better, but, this one rates right up there.
Are you sure? I'm not exactly rushing to embrace the view that all the members of the Iraqi Council are cleaner than Chalabi.
If nothing else, taking the records will prevent the media from getting the information first, either from the U.N. or Chalabi & spinning the info any way they d*** well please. "How they please" = any way to make President Bush look bad.
Today it sounded like the U.N. was trying to squelch any news about the oil-for-food program.
We should lay off Chalabi. Many in the IGC are not super clean. Chalabi is the most pro-western IGC member. removing him leaves us with islamic fundies, arab nationalist type (Pachachi), and other variety of arab demagogue types. They all are politicians, but so are folks in US Congress. We've seen worse behavior out of most of the US Congress than out of Chalabi vis a vis Iraq.
But all IGC and all our friends there, they are nuns compared to our real enemies, terrorists and wannabe tyrants like al-sadr.
Why do we keep hurting our friends harder than our enemies - it's mindless and a perfect way to lose influence. after this, Iraqi politicians will learn:
Help the US and you may get killed, and if not, they still can turn on you. as FDR said "he may be an SOB, but he's our SOB"
The obfuscation for food program is now on its way. In Washington there are two or three proven ways to sweep things under the river (deeper than the rug). Establish a commission, which automatically allows both political parties to escape the wrath of the public; hire a politically savvy law or lobby firm to dispense campaign contributions to the leaders of both parties, (by far the easiest and cheapest way) and finally, to get the media to play along. (This comes easiest to left-wing groups and politicians.) The results, however, are all the same. The long suffering public, and bill payers, are eventually seduced, then screwed.
My fear is that bureaucrats in the CPA are colluding in the coverup on behalf of the UN. Some in our state dept have greater allegiance to the UN and fellow diplomats than they have to President Bush.
There is *nothing* in this oil-for-food corruption that could hurt the Bush Administration. France, Russia and Communist parties were on the list, not Republicans.
Dick Cheney disagrees with you.
You do realize that one of the reasons for the raid on Chalabi's offices was to SECURE documents he and the INC had been withholding from the US?
bizarre statement - cheney didnt order that raid and hasnt even commented on the matter.
Do you really want the coverup of the UN oil-for-food program scandal to succeed?
That wouldn't stop the liberal media from making "something" out of "nothing."
OTOH, we may have stumbled onto a gold-mine--U.S. commies named on the list.
the real issue is - do we have more to gain from exposing it, or using the information to blackmail the parties into giving us something that we want - a new UN resolution on iraq, with cooperation, troops, etc. that would help us stabilize the country, securing a vital link in the war on terror. it would also cut Kerry off at the knees.
I'm not buying the idea that Bremer is trying to cover up the OFF scandal. Bush isn't stupid. And it was reported back in Feb. that Cheney had become increasingly concerned about Chalabi's ties to Iran.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1080833/posts
"Many people in the Bush administration championed Chalabi -- people well beyond the neoconservatives in the Defense Department normally cited as his bedrock of support. One of his strongest backers had been Vice President Dick Cheney. U.S. intelligence became increasingly aware of the relationship between Chalabi and the Iranians -- and discovered that he had equally good relations with hard-liners and moderates. U.S. intelligence also was tracking his relationship to the Badr Brigade. According to Newsweek and other press reports, Cheney became extremely uneasy about Chalabi's relationships, particularly after the CIA briefed him on Chalabi's relations in Iran. There was a sense that those relationships might be more substantial than mere opportunism and mediation."
Actually, the media, except for the Wall street journal, is making "nothing" out of "something". This is a far far bigger scandal that Abu Graib was, is our media reporting it appropriately?
OTOH, we may have stumbled onto a gold-mine--U.S. commies named on the list. Scott Ritter's 'pal' that funded his movie about Iraq is on the list.
WE CONSERVATIVES HAVE MORE TO GAIN BY EXPOSING IT AND SPEAKING TRUTH.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1131113/posts
However, the US General Accounting Office (GAO) estimates that, between 1997 and 2002, Saddam Hussein received $10.1 billion in illegal revenue from the program. It is further alleged that not only did the UN turn a blind eye to Hussein 's activities, UN officials may have also profited by them. According to the Republican Policy Committee Report, "On January 25, 2004 , the Iraqi Governing Council released documents suggesting that Saddam Hussein , UN officials (including Oil-for-Food program director Benon Sevan ), well-connected governments (including some UN Security Council members), and private individuals all benefited from the manipulation of the UN-administered program. Those involved with this scandal allegedly utilized illegal oil shipments, financial transactions, kickbacks, and surcharges.The corruption and abuse.may have contributed to the deaths of thousands of innocent Iraqis."
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1120545/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1122739/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1133209/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/898147/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/898433/posts?page=1#1
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/898397/posts
it truly is bizarre to see people justify our own CPA's attempt at coverup and naively confabulate (look that up) reasons for what is simply an act of pettiness and pettifoggery by the CPA.
Folks, READ THE ABOVE QUOTED PART CAREFULLY. THE REASON WE KNOW WHAT WE KNOW IS BECAUSE THE IRAQI GOVERNING COUNCIL RELEASED THE INFORMATION. If that hadnt happened the UN coverup and the media coverup would be proceeding on due course. Some IGC member (*not* Chalabi) leaked it.
So be it. It's good for people to know about the largest scandal in world history.
IGNORANCE IS *NOT* BLISS!
WE CONSERVATIVES HAVE MORE TO GAIN BY EXPOSING IT AND SPEAKING TRUTH.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1131113/posts
However, the US General Accounting Office (GAO) estimates that, between 1997 and 2002, Saddam Hussein received $10.1 billion in illegal revenue from the program. It is further alleged that not only did the UN turn a blind eye to Hussein 's activities, UN officials may have also profited by them. According to the Republican Policy Committee Report, "On January 25, 2004 , the Iraqi Governing Council released documents suggesting that Saddam Hussein , UN officials (including Oil-for-Food program director Benon Sevan ), well-connected governments (including some UN Security Council members), and private individuals all benefited from the manipulation of the UN-administered program. Those involved with this scandal allegedly utilized illegal oil shipments, financial transactions, kickbacks, and surcharges.The corruption and abuse.may have contributed to the deaths of thousands of innocent Iraqis."
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1120545/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1122739/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1133209/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/898147/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/898433/posts?page=1#1
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/898397/posts
it truly is bizarre to see people justify our own CPA's attempt at coverup and naively confabulate (look that up) reasons for what is simply an act of pettiness and pettifoggery by the CPA.
Folks, READ THE ABOVE QUOTED PART CAREFULLY. THE REASON WE KNOW WHAT WE KNOW IS BECAUSE THE IRAQI GOVERNING COUNCIL RELEASED THE INFORMATION. If that hadnt happened the UN coverup and the media coverup would be proceeding on due course. Some IGC member (*not* Chalabi) leaked it.
So be it. It's good for people to know about the largest scandal in world history.
IGNORANCE IS *NOT* BLISS!
CPA/Bremer pettiness or coverup is better explanation; the public record shows that Bremer made a commitment to go with one accounting firm, then backed out. Now he wont pay the firm that IGC has had doing work for many months, and will in effect delay the whole investigation, maybe even kill it. hmmm.
Stratfor is Debka-like speculation, other parts of that article are nonsense, and their own claim you quote was premised with: "According to Newsweek and other press reports,..." so who in Newsweak said this? Weiskoppf? Dont you know already the long knives have been out for Chalabi since *1995*, and CIA has hated him etc., and so are easy sources for bogus info like this? It's lunacy.
More factual reporting - Rumsfeld not even aware of raid:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/688760.cms
The Rumsfeld post-war plan that never was - killed by our very own State Dept., who've preferred anti-western fundie clerics and nasserite types over pro-westerners like Chalabi the whole time:
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/lerner200404300929.asp
Rumsfeld's plan was to train and equip — and then transport to Iraq — some 10,000 Shia and Sunni freedom fighters led by Shia exile leader Ahmed Chalabi and his cohorts in the INC, the multi-ethnic anti-Saddam coalition he created. There, they would have joined with thousands of experienced Kurdish freedom fighters, ably led, politically and militarily, by Jalal Talabani and Massoud Barzani. Working with our special forces, this trio would have sprung into action at the start of the war, striking from the north, helping to drive Baathist thugs from power, and joining Coalition forces in the liberation of Baghdad. That would have put a proud, victorious, multi-ethnic Iraqi face on the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, and it would have given enormous prestige to three stubbornly independent and unashamedly pro-American Iraqi freedom fighters: Chalabi, Talabani, and Barzani.
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