William Safire: Follow the money

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/04/21/nyt.safire/index.html ^ | April 21, 2003 | William Safire

[Cultural Jihad]

Why do you suppose France and Russia

[happydogdesign]

[Prince Charles]

We should go ahead and sell what we want, when we want. After all, there's no way the Axis of Weasels can pass a Security Council resolution that would declare us in violation of the Iraq sanctions.

[Cultural Jihad]

Declare that the $10 billion owed by Iraq under Saddam to Russia for unused tanks and planes will be repaid on the day Vladimir Putin repays the debt incurred by Russia under the czars.

Ka-boom! All alleged Iraqi international debts need to be collected from the Saddam Hussein household, and not from Iraq.

[Asclepius]

... Then follow the money ...

No. Cherche la femme. Or in this case, la weasel.

[RockBassCreek]

We do not need UN approval to buy Iraqi output ourselves? The downside? We have to tolerate those who will say, "See, I told you it was all about oil."

The upside? We stick it up the UNs nose and let them know that we finance them and not the other way around.

In fact, I'd subtract one dollar of remaining US support to the UN for every dollar of Iraqi reconstruction that we have to buy.

In fact, we don't need UN approval for anything.

[anniegetyourgun]

These nations be accursed for their greed in the face of humanitarian need. Their words and deeds put the lie to all that the U.N. claims to stand for in their lofty founding documents.

These are not leaders, they are small men with small minds, and no hearts and no vision. While they wag their fingers at the U.S. and call us land-pirates, we find they have already held the future of the true landowners (the Iraqi people) hostage to their buried treasure of oil.

[BOBTHENAILER]

What other money trails need to be followed? Few doubt that vast Iraqi assets have been secretly transferred out of the country for years, and especially in the prewar months. This is done through cut-outs, phony foundations, numbered accounts, intelligence proprietaries, leveraged currency speculation through proxies in unregulated hedge funds and a hundred other financial devices. Taken together, Saddam's huge haul is now terrorism's central bank account.

Very nicely tied to Mad Ivan's bribe threads.

[GOPJ]

Specter gets it...

"Sophisticated international blackmail" is what Senator Arlen Specter called it

[Cicero]

A few weeks back I posted an article from last fall's WSJ suggesting that the UN might be holding $10 or $20 billion in oil-for-food money and refused to make an accounting. A few days ago an article suggested that it might be as much as $40 billion.

It's definitely time to take the gloves off and end this corruption.

[Shermy]

Colin Powell apparently believes that Chirac's new fondness for sanctions could tie up Iraqi oil production with litigation for years. His advice to President Bush is to pay the ransom but nibble away at the sanctions with limited resolutions. I think we should confront the extortion scheme head on and let Chirac use his veto to isolate France further.

Powell can't be that dumb, can he? He still wants the medals and acclaim of a tour of France after he leaves office?

The Iraqis should be protesting at the Palestine Hotel, where the media is, every day, demanding that the UN go, return funds its holding, and have a fully disclosed audit of the program. Should claim that France are babykillers, harming hospitals, and acting like colonialists.

[Shermy]

It's definitely time to take the gloves off and end this corruption.

And the UN should disclose the program, and where the money is. It's up to papers like the WSJ to push this. They have business savvy, and the lefties have no interest in exposing the UN.

[MEG33]

I look forward..but with small hope that there will be an accounting.

[cake_crumb]

" Sophisticated international blackmail' is what Senator Arlen Specter called it yesterday."

I happened to hear him say that yesterday. It was an interesting way of putting it.

[MeekOneGOP]

[cake_crumb]

Great op/ed by Safire as usual, BTW.

[Billthedrill]

...you mean THIS ONE? Or THIS ONE?

This should hit the U.S. networks tonight. Some people will begin to sweat bullets. One of these stories contains a link to another story that states that there are boxes labeled "United States," "Security Council," and "France" that are full of papers to be translated. This is going to be fun.

[THX 1138]

Where now are the Europhiles, the apologists for the U.N., the Molly Ivans' of the world, saying "We should listen to France" (she actually wrote an op-ed piece with that title).

Frauds and thieves, all of them!

[Grampa Dave]

Excellent find and post.

Speaking of following the money, please go to this post by Ivan to really follow the money from Soddomite to a MP in the UK.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/897567/posts

George Galloway, the Labour backbencher, received money from Saddam Hussein's regime, taking a slice of oil earnings worth at least £375,000 a year, according to Iraqi intelligence documents found by The Daily Telegraph in Baghdad.

A confidential memorandum sent to Saddam by his spy chief said that Mr Galloway asked an agent of the Mukhabarat secret service for a greater cut of Iraq's exports under the oil for food programme.

He also said that Mr Galloway was profiting from food contracts and sought "exceptional" business deals. Mr Galloway has always denied receiving any financial assistance from Baghdad.

[BOBTHENAILER]

One of these stories contains a link to another story that states that there are boxes labeled "United States," "Security Council," and "France" that are full of papers to be translated. This is going to be fun.

I was talking about the second of your two, hut they're both great. I'm gonna have to check out the one about the boxes with the cute labels.

You are right. THIS SHIITE IS ABOUT TO START HITTING THE FAN!!!!!

And man is it ever gonna be FUN. I don't think I'll ever get tired of saying I TOLD YOU SO.