[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.

[woodyinscc]

This absolutely makes me want to throw up.!

I always said, The U.N. is nothing but a
playgroud for the pseudo-intellectual
left, to give them a platform for their
misguided ideals. Now they are complicit
with a despot!!