NEW YORK - Suitcases full of cash, secret bank accounts, covert operatives, corrupt politicians on the take. A report detailing alleged illicit U.N. oil-for-food deals with the former Iraq (news - web sites) government paints a portrait of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) as an international gangster — not a nuclear terrorist. The financial schemes propped up Saddam's regime for more than a decade and involved cloak-and-dagger efforts to hide the alleged graft by dealing in front companies, untraceable accounts, cash sales and smuggling, the report by the top U.S. arms inspector said. The report, delivered Wednesday by Charles...
