Volker is one of THEM.
Posted on 03/21/2005 7:34:50 PM PST by NormsRevenge
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker will release a report March 29 on whether the U.N. chief and his son were involved in wrongdoing over the Iraqi oil-for-food program, officials said Monday.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Monday that he had no expectations about the report from Volcker, who is heading an investigation into the troubled program. "I will wait to see the report, which I understand will come out by the end of this month," Annan told reporters.
Kojo Annan was employed in Africa by the Swiss company, Cotecna Inspection SA, which had a U.N. contract to certify the import of goods under the oil-for-food program for Iraq. The secretary-general was in charge of the United Nations at the time the contract was awarded in 1998, and during most of the seven years that the program was in operation.
Kojo Annan has denied any involvement in securing the U.N. contract for Cotecna or in the company's work in Iraq.
Volcker will release the interim report on the Annans at a press conference on March 29, a spokesperson for his Independent Inquiry Committee said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Volcker has said he intends to issue a definitive report in midsummer on the entire management and oversight of the program.
Last month, Volcker said his investigators were scrutinizing thousands of pages of Annan's documents, including e-mail and phone records, to determine whether he exerted influence in securing the Cotecna contract.
The oil-for-food program was the U.N.'s largest humanitarian aid operation and ran from 1996 to 2003.
It was designed to allow the former Iraqi government to sell limited - and then unlimited - amounts of oil in exchange for humanitarian goods as an exemption from UN. sanctions imposed after Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The program quickly became a lifeline for 90 percent of the 26 million population.
Under the program, Saddam's government decided on the goods it wanted, who should provide them and who could buy Iraqi oil. But the U.N. Security Council committee overseeing sanctions monitored the contracts.
In a bid to curry favor and end sanctions, Saddam allegedly gave former government officials, activists, journalists and U.N. officials vouchers for Iraqi oil that could then be resold at a profit.
Annan told reporters Monday he supported Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette's hope that the United Nations will never again have to run a program as large as the oil-for-food program.
"It is not a program that the U.N. was set up to run, and it was seen as part of the sanctions regime to get Iraq to comply," Annan said. "So in saying that she hoped that we never have to run that kind of program again, I think she's quite right."
That last bit from Kofi... making excuses already. Pathetic.
I expect whitewash.
Sure, his report will hurt Cujo and give Kofi a black eye, but it won't tell the truth. It won't reveal all the crime, corruption and dishonesty that a decent investigator would uncover; that wasn't Volker's job. Volker was assigned to put the minimum amount of blame on Kofi et fil that he could get away with and that's what he'll do.
After the report, Annan will make some minor but flashy changes, admit no "personal guilt," and try to move on to "important issues."1 He needs a couple more years of thievery so he won't resign. Cujo already has other employment, probably with an organization whose future demends on his father's continued good will.
And a glowing report it will be.
Volker is one of THEM.
And Volker was complaining that he was being stonewalled, and having problems regarding interviews with people, paperwork, he even emphasised his own lack of power.
I think he wanted to (at the time) give a tip off to some senators, this report, regardless of what it says (and I honestly thought it would be a total vindication for Kofi) could be used as the matches for a senate inquiry, they can take this and whatever didn't make the report, and use them for bullets.
Senator Coleman has a career and a name to make, and this is going to be the perfect way to do it. Senator Coleman is already probing the UN, and it seems they are just waiting for this to go first, this will get the iron hot, and since the committee is set, they'll be able to strike.
Steaming pile is what I kind of imagine.
"Senator Coleman has a career and a name to make"
I hope Senator Coleman continues to dig. The list found in the Iraqi oil ministry with 270 names of individuals and organizations that took oil vouchers from Saddam Hussein have not, to my knowledge, been addressed fully. The Russians and French were up to their eyeballs in the scam and should go down with Kofi and his henchmen at the UN.
I expect whitewash too, Volker is not neutral.
Yep. Volcker is to the UN report, what Thornburgh was to the CBS report.
bttt
I'm sure he is, Vockers report is going to create controversey no matter what, and once he is off the payroll, nothing is to stop from possibly being called to testify. This just gives Coleman more ammo.
It also might get him some fresh air after alot of conservatives wanted to gut him for crossing over on ANWR (I still can't figure that out).
Volker is one of THEM.
took the words right out of my mouth.
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