Kofi Annandersen: Enron-style accounting at the U.N. Oil-for-Food Program.

Opinion Journal (WSJ) ^ | March 10, 2003 | Claudia Rosett

[Cicero]

Who is Saddam Hussein's biggest business partner?

The United Nations. The same U.N. whose secretary-general, Kofi Annan, stands as one of the chief ditherers over removing Saddam. Here are the ingredients of a conflict of interest.

Under the U.N.'s Office of the Iraq Program, which supervises the six-year-old Oil-for-Food Program, the U.N. has had a hand in the sale of more than $55 billion worth of Iraqi oil. Iraq ships oil out to U.N.-approved buyers under the terms of the sanctions agreement. The U.N. vets the inflow of "humanitarian" imports into Iraq.

[kcvl]

The U.N.'s Oil-for-Food Program -- and consequences for Iraq's civilian population


"Originally, the [U.N.] Security Council authorised Iraq to sell $1.32 billion-worth of oil every six months to cover humanitarian imports. Large as the sum sounds, it provided little more than a dollar a month to cover food and medicine for each Iraqi, not to mention repairs to infrastructure. ...

http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache:GWPfabzW8HMC:www.scn.org/ccpi/oilforfood.html+U.N.%27s+Oil-for-Food+Program&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

[Cicero]

Interesting stuff. Saddam says. Annan says. The State Department says. But apparently no one but the people running it are doing any auditing. And they wouldn't talk to the WSJ or release any meaningful figures.

[Cicero]

Yes. Opinion Journal is on-line stuff from the WSJ editorial pages. Here's their logo:

[Mo1]

WHAT THE *** THis is worse then Jesse Jackson

HELLO .. AUDIT THE UN NOW!

[Diddle E. Squat]

bump

[kcvl]

Citing figures from a U.N. report, Von Sponeck pointed out that the oil-for-food program generated $44.4 billion for Iraq's economy, $26.3 billion of which was spent on humanitarian supplies. The remainder has gone to the government of Kuwait and its oil companies as reparation payments. Distributed throughout the 23 million people living in Iraq, this works out to approximately $119.17 for each year the program has been in place.

"I call this the $119.17 scandal," he said. "That is the entire amount that Iraqis have for sanitation, for agriculture, for education, for health and for food." He continues, "we have created a massive society of welfare recipients."

Von Sponeck suggested that the U.N.'s structure must be changed in order to properly address the humanitarian concerns of countries like Iraq. As humanitarian co-ordinator in Iraq, Von Sponeck was reprimanded by the U.N. Security Council for criticising the sanctions in the New York Times. "The U.N. was created as a house of dialogue, not of confrontation."

[Mo1]

I am sure there is a good reason diplomatically for staying in the UN, but from a personal, emotional point of view I am having a hard time seeing it right now

THe theory of a UN is not a bad idea .. the problem is .. the mob is running the show

[swheats]

The best Annan can do for those who are suffering in refugee camps. While they're living large on Security Council.

[cake_crumb]

Posted a little late, but a good article. And VERY true. We all knew the endless inspection charade is about job security. Shame no one in the mainstream media mentions it.

[GrandMoM]

BUMP

[kcvl]

No Blood for Oil?
Lately, the Left-Winged Liberals have been protesting against the Republican lead U.S. Government for its determination to rid the world of Tyrant Saddam Hussein and his regime. They profanely state such phrases as “Bush is the real terrorist” and “not in our name” while projecting the lie that President George W. Bush is anxious to kill “innocent civilians” in order to defeat Saddam and control Iraq’s oil supply.

Unfortunately, their protests are the prime example as to the fact that nation’s public academic institutions do not teach facts but indoctrinate propaganda in the minds of our children. There is no difference between what teachers do in the Los Angeles Unified School District, Harvard University and what Fidel Castro does in Cuba or what China does to its citizens. As a matter of fact, Fidel could literally apply to be Superintendent of schools in just about any U.S. public school district and be a finalist in their selection process. Left-Winged Liberals sound and act as if they were taught in the “Madrasas” of the Middle East.

Those who teach history and/or government should have been telling these “unproven identities” that before they go out and make fools of themselves (as well as waste money and time) that there are governments who currently benefit from the oil that Saddam’s innocent Iraqi civilian blood-shedding” dictatorship produces for them. Impoverished, malnourished, innocent Iraqi civilians are summarily forced into becoming oil production slaves so that the following nations have oil contracts fulfilled:

France, Germany, Russia, Vietnam
Malaysia, China, India, Italy, Algeria

They all have written contracts with the Saddam’s Iraqi regime to develop and expand Iraq's oil industry. If Iraq were not challenged by the United States to disarm, how many innocent Iraqi civilians will have to shed their blood so that these countries can continue their oil consumption? How many Iraqi civilians will have to be routinely threatened, beaten, dismembered, and murdered so that countries like France and Germany can enjoy fueling their Mercedes Benzes and locally transporting Champagne from farms to restaurants. During the most recent protest, no Left-Winged Liberal person or group gives a damn! Only the United States government led by President Bush and conservatives in the United States are asking that question. Only the United States government led by President Bush and conservatives in the United States want that type of slavery to end NOW!!

France for example doesn’t mind oil for blood. The French company Total Fina Elf has negotiated contract rights to develop two very large oil fields in Iraq. The larger of the two is called Majnoon Field. It is located near the Iranian border. Majnoon Field is estimated to have reserves of about 30 billion barrels of oil. Now who do you think the employees will be? My guess is that they will not be the high government guaranteed living-wage Iraqi employees who are union members and have excellent vacation packages, retirement pensions, non-discrimination policies in the workplace such as those that protect homosexuals, women, and minorities her in the so-called evil United States. There will be no workplace safety regulations protecting Iraqi workers, no family medical leave acts (paid or unpaid), no Iraqi’s with Disabilities Act, no endangered species act nor any other Left-Winged Liberal imposition that impugns the success of private businesses managed by free people. Yet France will extract every drop of oil that Majnoon Field while French President Jacque Chirac will turn deaf, dumb and blind to the plight of the Iraqi oil employees.

After the Iran/Iraq war and before the U.S. led Gulf War, Iraq ran up an $8 billion debt with Russia to rebuild from 8 years of fighting. Although Iraq has the second largest known oil reserves in the world (about 112 billion barrels – second only to Saudi Arabia with 238 billion barrels) Iraq like most countries with oil reserves has little expertise and industry to extract the oil. So Russia negotiated with Saddam a $40 billion agreement to help extract the oil. Furthermore, Russian oil dealers would be able exclusive brokers of any oil extracted and sell to any interested party and any negotiated price. Now given that context, that $8 billion debt seem was basically a “Mob” loan. Russia stands to make hundreds of billions of dollars from the extraction and sell of Iraqi oil – despite the shedding of Iraqi blood!

Even the United Nations is privately thankful for the shedding of innocent Iraqi blood for Iraqi oil. Under the guise of the U.N.’s “Oil For Food” program, the U.N. has collected more than $1.2 billion each year in fees by administering the transfer of at least $15 billion a year. These fees alone pay the salaries of more than 4,000 U.N. employees. This same “Oil For Food” program allows the U.N. to collect about a billion or so dollars each year by managing more than $12 billion in escrowed Iraqi funds. So the U.N. is not particularly interested in changing the current state of affairs that drip with innocent Iraqi civilian blood.

If that nasty mouthed Communist Nelson Mandela cared about the people of Iraq, he would not make such stupid statements as he did when he recently said that President is causing these problems with the United Nations because it is being presided over by a black man. In case he forgot, it was this “White Man’s” White father who helped to get his black ass out of jail. How so easy we forget! To date Nelson Mandela and former President Jimmy Carter about why the income from the sale of oil and the food & medicine from the “Oil For Food Program” never seems to get to the people of Iraq. Nelson, Jimmy, and their cohorts could care less. Their only focus seems to be the constant challenging of Republicans and Conservatives.

What they realize is that all of these countries with these “blood-money” agreements with Saddam and the U.N.’s blood-money fees as Iraq’s business manager will all be null and void if the United States destroys this dictatorship. Once again a Republican controlled U.S. government will lead an emancipation crusade – this time in the heart of the Middle East. The Left-Winged Liberals hate that because individual freedom is not consistent with their ideals.

At risk of sounding like a broken record, our Republican leadership doesn’t seem willing to develop the requisite courage to beat the Democrats and Left-Winged Liberals, in this country, with these facts. Furthermore conservatives at-large seem to mobilize only when the pro-abortionists are in town. We Republicans and conservatives as a whole must get this information out to any person who is listening. We must expose the “cud’ of hypocrisy constantly chewed and regurgitated by these Democrats and Left-Winged Liberals that is believed by too many unsuspecting minds. Let’s then agree…

No Iraqi Blood For Iraqi Oil!!

M.D. Currington
Black Republican
January 31, 2003

http://216.239.33.100/search?q=cache:On_fT2-4euIC:mdcurrington.tripod.com/mdc/no_blood_for_oil.html+U.N.%27s+Oil-for-Food+Program&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

[p_n_m]

Thank you for the ping.

I am sick over this. I need more time to fully read though.

[kcvl]

If this liar and crook had anything to do with you KNOW there is a huge scandal involved somewhere!



United States Mission to Jordan


Text:
Richardson Senate Testimony on UN
Oil-for-Food Program
(Oil prices will not be affected, says Energy Secretary)

March 17, 1999

Washington -- The U.N.'s oil-for-food program "is a key component of the Administration's Iraq strategy and is, therefore, key to our national security," Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson said March 17.

Secretary Richardson testified at a joint hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Administration proposals to expand the U.N. Oil-for-Food program for Iraq. Also testifying at the hearing was Thomas Pickering, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs.

Richardson said the Oil-for-Food program "helps us in three ways":






http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:Do7OPv_jmiYC:www.usembassy-amman.org.jo/3RichOil.html+U.N.%27s+Oil-for-Food+Program&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

[cake_crumb]

LOL...it IS getting kinda late, isn't it? This has been one of those days to drive news and politics junkies nuts.

[kcvl]

Of the $570 million worth of medicines and medical supplies that had arrived in Iraq under the U.N.’s oil-for-food program in 1998 and 1999, only 48 percent had been distributed to clinics, hospitals and pharmacies

[Psycho_Bunny]

Holy-Crap-Bump to myself.

[swheats]

I'm sure he has. Caused me to go back and read certain portions of his speech again. Keeping the UN to honor their agreement for humanitarian aid of food and medicines. And questioning the UN's honesty in wanting to remove Sadam.

We are determined to confront threats wherever they arise. I will not leave the American people at the mercy of the Iraqi dictator and his weapons.

In the event of conflict, America also accepts our responsibility to protect innocent lives in every way possible. We'll bring food and medicine to the Iraqi people. We'll help that nation to build a just government, after decades of brutal dictatorship. The form and leadership of that government is for the Iraqi people to choose. Anything they choose will be better than the misery and torture and murder they have known under Saddam Hussein.

Across the world and in every part of America, people of goodwill are hoping and praying for peace. Our goal is peace -- for our nation, for our friends and allies, for the people of the Middle East. People of goodwill must also recognize that allowing a dangerous dictator to defy the world and harbor weapons of mass murder and terror is not peace at all; it is pretense. The cause of peace will be advanced only when the terrorists lose a wealthy patron and protector, and when the dictator is fully and finally disarmed.

I have to question who's protecting whom at this point; Sadam the terrorists, or the UN-Sadam.

[cake_crumb]

"Of the $570 million worth of medicines and medical supplies that had arrived in Iraq under the U.N.’s oil-for-food program in 1998 and 1999, only 48 percent had been distributed to clinics, hospitals and pharmacies."

We can guess what happened to the rest. Sickening.

[swheats]

Considering Bush along with other allies froze Mugabe's assets, is that possible for the UN's assets to be frozen in trust for the Iraqi people? Maybe I'm dreaming.

[Dolphy]

...it is not the U.N. but Saddam who decides what is needed, who in Iraq gets what, and which countries he should contract with. He must submit his proposals to the U.N. Security Council, which can turn them down. But the bulk of his requests are approved. The U.N. then disburses the cash from the "Iraq accounts" and monitors the delivery, trying to ensure it follows Saddam's plan.

The UN is trying to ensure it follows Saddam's plan? No wonder this idea of inspections isn't going over well.

The result is that U.N.-approved aid goes to reinforce Saddam's control over what is already a Soviet-league state-run economy. Part of what helped Saddam rise to power in the first place was Iraq's embrace in the 1960s of Soviet-style central planning, which by rationing goods and controlling people's livelihoods serves as a powerful tool for political control.

This sounds like a page from the Dems tax policy playbook.