Kerry and the Global Con Artists

American Spectator ^ | 10/18/2004 12:05:34 AM | Ralph R. Reiland

[dannyboy72]

The big news is that the U.N. has flunked "the global test." And as big as it is, it's a story that isn't likely to find its way into the newspaper that trumpets "All the news that's fit to print" in the upper left corner of its front page every day. To find that "the global community" is made up of a bunch of crooks, that "the global test" is a racket, and that John Kerry is either utterly naïve or in cahoots with these global con artists is something that's just too unfit to think about, let alone broadcast to the masses, especially right before election day.

The whole shady story is in the Duelfer report. And while the Old Gray Lady in Manhattan tried valiantly to blur the real news under the headline "U.S. Report Finds Iraqis Eliminated Illicit Arms in 90's," what the report from the CIA's Iraq Survey Group shows is that Saddam Hussein played the United Nations like a fiddle.

Highlighted in the first line of its "Key Findings," the Duelfer report states that Saddam "wanted to end sanctions while preserving the capability to reconstitute his weapons of mass destruction when sanctions were lifted." To get there, Saddam set up an epic bribery scheme that put three of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council in his pocket.

"It's pretty clear that the Iraqi strategy and tactics of dividing the Security Council were having a fair amount of success," said Charles Duelfer, the chief of the Iraq Survey Group, in public testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. "Iraq was within striking distance of a de facto end to the sanctions regime."

Saddam got within striking distance by corrupting the Oil-for-Food Program. With the U.N. in the role of overseer, Saddam was given a green light to sell oil in order to get funds to import "humanitarian goods." Instead, as Duelfer told Congress, Saddam exploited the program to pile up billions in illicit money, import military items expressly banned by U.N. sanctions, and develop a massive kickback scheme to buy the votes and influence of strategic individuals and countries.

Especially targeted by Saddam were three veto-wielding members of the Security Council -- Russia, France, and China. The bait was cut-rate oil vouchers which could be offloaded on the world markets at the going rate or surreptitiously swapped for cash. The alleged beneficiaries identified by the Survey Group included individuals with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and French President Jacques Chirac, i.e., Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, retired UN Oil-for-Food director Benon Sevan, and former French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua.

In a shrewd tactic to rake in millions for himself, Saddam ordered voucher recipients to pay kickbacks. Duelfer reports that recipients made the payments by carrying bags of cash to Iraqi embassies in Moscow, Geneva, Ankara, Amman, Beirut and Hanoi, among other places.

By the time it was over, 45 percent of Saddam's cut-rate vouchers had found their way into pockets in France and Russia, with Russia and France subsequently becoming the two most vociferous opponents of military action against Iraq. France went further, assuring Saddam that it would use its veto in the Security Council to prevent any invasion.

Having successfully corrupted and divided the international community, Saddam was a step away from celebrating the end of sanctions and reconstituting his WMD programs. As described by New York Times columnist David Brooks: "With sanctions weakening and money flowing, Saddam rebuilt his strength. He contacted WMD scientists in Russia, Belarus, Bulgaria and elsewhere to enhance his technical knowledge base. He increased the funds for his nuclear scientists. He increased his military-industrial-complex's budget 40-fold between 1996 and 2002. He increased the number of technical research projects to 3,200 from 40."

Iraqi nuclear scientist Mahdi Obeidi, writing in the New York Times on September 26, stated that "our nuclear program could have been reinstituted at the snap of Saddam Hussein's fingers. Iraqi scientists had the knowledge and the designs needed to jumpstart the program if necessary." Additionally, Duelfer reports that Saddam "clearly intended to reconstitute long-range delivery systems" for missiles with strike capacities in excess of 600 miles.

The problem for John Kerry? It seems increasingly far-fetched to say that Saddam wasn't a threat, or that we're the ones running a "coalition of the bribed," or that U.S. moves should pass a "global test."

Ralph R. Reiland (rrreiland@aol.com) is the B. Kenneth Simon professor of free enterprise at Robert Morris University and a columnist at the MPittsburgh Tribune-Review.

[dannyboy72]

If the MSM actually covered this story, the American public would realize that going into Iraq was a necessity in cleaning up the "global" terrorists AND the "global" bad guys. Reporting this would win them a Pulitzer, but cost them another four years of Bush. It's a sad day when the MSM will put their election year biases ahead of their job and the American People.

Very sad...

[prairiebreeze]

and that John Kerry is either utterly naïve or in cahoots with these global con artists

You know, I was just speculating to another freeper.......

[wvobiwan]

Yeah, I think it's safe to say that Hanoi John appreciates that folks like Rather, Koppel, Halperin, Jennings, Blitzer, and the rest sacrifice what little credibility they had left for his greater glory.

All Hail Komrad Kerry!

[UCANSEE2]

It is so amazing to me that the MSM can qoute an official, with his words proving that something is true, then turn around and deny it is true, and the DEM public believes it.

import military items expressly banned by U.N. sanctions,

And, just exactly what items were banned? If Saddam didn't have any WMD's or banned weapons, then why did this guy say he bought them will oilforfood MONEY?

Where are they now?

[Gabz]

Fox had a UN mouthpiece on earlier today regarding this report and the Fox report aired last night.................the guy just dripped sleaze and cover-up IMHO.

He refused to speak directly to the accusations raised in the report.

Thanks, but no thanks is my attitude about the UN and kerry and his "global test." As President Bush stated this afternoon, Kerry opposed going after Iraq when they invaded Kuwait in the 1st Gulf War.........and we had the full backing of the UN then. If that is not good enough for Mr. kerry - what test ever would be?

[prairiebreeze]

Duelfer reports that recipients made the payments by carrying bags of cash to Iraqi embassies in Moscow, Geneva, Ankara, Amman, Beirut and Hanoi, among other places.

That just struck me again too. I don't recall reading about Hanoi involvement in any other source. Some of sKerry's old friends?

Prairie

[prairiebreeze]

Actually Vietnam does show up on a list of countries involved that was posted on the healingiraq blog some days ago. Here is what lists there for Vietnam:

Vietnam:
1-VienabCo/1.2 million
2-Derlink med/3 million
3-VienaVod/6 million
4-OSC/2 tons

[Grampa Dave]

Last night on Fox News, they had a one hour special on this in their Breakpoing Progam. Below is a link to what was covered in that program.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1248691/posts

Oil-for-Food Scandal Key to CIA Report
Fox News ^ | 18 October 2004 | Fox News Staff


Posted on 10/18/2004 7:52:45 AM PDT by Grampa Dave


Oil-for-Food Scandal Key to CIA Report Monday

The U.N. Oil-for-Food program — already the subject of federal, congressional and United Nations financial abuse probes — took a fresh hit with an explosive new report that said Saddam Hussein was using the program to fund his ambitions.

The report looking into whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction — found that Saddam was able to "subvert" the $60 billion U.N. program to generate an estimated $1.7 billion in revenue outside U.N. control from 1997-2003.

In light of the report, FOX News presents another hour-long special investigating the biggest financial scam in modern history. Learn more about the Duelfer report by reading it for yourself through the links in the actual link.

The roots of the Oil-for-Food scandal date back to 1991, when a U.N.-backed and U.S.-led coalition expelled Saddam from Kuwait following his hostile takeover of the neighboring country.

Although Saddam lost the war, he walked away with important victories — he got to stay in power in Iraq and he ultimately got to pocket millions, if not billions, of dollars. Read more here.

Did Terrorists Benefit From Oil-for-Food? U.S. Treasury officials have already identified 11 front companies and nearly 200 Iraqi-controlled firms that they suspect were part of Saddam's secret and illegal network. They say that's only the tip of the iceberg. Read more here. Iraqi People Suffered Under Oil-for-Food In the Saddam era, Baghdad's Al Rashid Hotel was the main stop on the Oil-for-Food tour. Regime-friendly types would stay there when visiting Baghdad. They'd stop and say hello to Saddam or a crony, snag a voucher good for a load of Iraqi crude and, conveniently enough, there were oil traders in the lobby of that hotel who could turn those vouchers into cash.


(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...

[Edgerunner]

One thing MSM CAN'T admit...
The US and the Brits were right again!
MSM is goin' down...

[Ed_in_NJ]

Tired Old Media has been corrupt for years.

[dannyboy72]

Bump

[Ed_in_NJ]

ditto