UN purges Iraq documents with $15-bn in question

Mineweb ^ | April 28, 2003 | Tim Wood

[george wythe]

Several writers, notably Claudia Rosett and William Safire in the NY Times, have already documented the lack of transparency, secret audits and penchant for non-humanitarian spending that characterizes the programme. Now, as scrutiny mounts, every effort is being made to ensure the truth is never revealed.

Well placed sources tell Mineweb that sensitive records and correspondence related to the oil-for-food programme have been purged from the computer system at UN headquarters in New York. For detail of the sums involved, see the table at the end of this article

Unron all over again.

[prairiebreeze]

Only if it hasn't been burned, bombed or looted.

Prairie

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

I hope that all the UN officials that were complicit in this scam are caught red handed and deported. It is my further wish that the UN, by association gets its collective tit caught in the wringer and is disbanded or shipped wholesale to Sweden. They'd love 'em over there.

[Cicero]

Claudia Rosett wrote the recent NY Times article, which was pretty damning, and one last fall for the Wall Street Journal, which was also damning. I posted the latter here a few weeks ago, although it seems to have been removed recently. It's title, I think, was "Kofi Annandersen."

[vollmond]

It's all our fault, of course. The UN had to skim money to make up for the US shortfall in funding. We were illegally holding payments back, and there's the additional amount we should have been paying based on our impact on the environment and consumption of resources. It adds up to just about the amount missing from the program.

[Cicero]

I know you're kidding. But in point of fact, the amount of money ripped off from the UN Oil for Food Program dwarfs the entire UN budget. It makes our arrears look like pocket change.

[tuna_battle_slight_return]

I sent this to O'Reilly. Who knows if he'll ever see it, though:

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The UN has probably ripped off more than forty billion dollars

What a find!

The UN needs to be abolished!

Bush Doctrine Unfolds :

To find all articles tagged or indexed using Bush Doctrine Unfold , click below:
	click here >>>	Bush Doctrine Unfold	<<< click here
(To view all FR Bump Lists, click here)

[Calpublican]

Would love to see the look on Ted Turner's face when he learns about this, assuming he has the sense to be appalled and to feel ripped off. Couldn't happen to a better guy.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Indexing!

[Cicero]

I should say that that's my estimate. I've also heard the figure $20 billion, although these numbers seem to indicate more. In any case, it's a huge amount, the exact figures unknown since the UN refuses to talk about any of the details. They say the Security Council knows. Well, maybe they do, and maybe they don't. I think Chirac knows, and maybe the others have some good guesses.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I added "IRAQcornucopia" to your keywords also!

[xJones]

We've got to make sure that the gradually arising new Iraqi government knows how badly Iraqis have been had and roughly how much money is missing. A newly recognized, democratically-elected Iraqi government could raise hell in the U.N., demanding their money and a lifting of all sanctions immediately.

[Cicero]

I agree. This is far too serious and far too much money is involved to let sleeping dogs lie.

There was a thread posted just a while ago on what to do about the huge debts that Saddam ran up, many of them illegal or wrongful. Probably many of these debts are owed to the same people who are implicit in ripping off this oil money, which properly belongs to the Iraqi people.

Even the Oil for Food money that was spent in Iraq was largely ripped off. Much of it was used to buy illegal arms from France, Russia, Germany et al., so it was effectively misappropriated too, and went right back out of the country into the pockets of the usual suspects. Kofi Annan has admitted that Saddam decided where the money was sent, and he merely signed off on it.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Ping !

[farmfriend]

OK, it's not property rights but it is just another prime example of why we need to get rid of the UN, not just get out but get rid of it.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!

[evad]

..who pocketed the funds..

We know who..it's just a matter of discovering the paper trail.

The oil for food program is the most corrupt case of fraud and embezzlement going today. Look at lafrance', la Kofi and laKraut.

[Shermy]

Interesting.

American-Iraqis should be protesting at the UN in New York. Iraqis should be protesting in Iraq in front of the Palestine hotel. The press understands video.

Demand full accounting, past and present.

Full transparency.

Reveal where the money is now.

[backhoe]

I just picked up this link, and I think it's important enough to send as a standalone... this is too damn big to be ignored by our laughingly-misnamed watchdog press...