whottt
10-15-2004, 12:21 AM
United Nations: Oil-for-Food Fiasco? (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6214647/site/newsweek/)
United Nations: Oil-for-Food Fiasco?NewsweekOct. 18 issue - Revelations by U.S. WMD sleuth Charles Duelfer about corruption in the U.N.-run Oil-for-Food Program in Iraq could further complicate Bush-administration foreign policy. Iraqi documents appended to the report Duelfer published last week identify figures in Russia, France and the Vatican as alleged recipients of oil deals personally approved by Saddam Hussein. Duelfer's report documents how Benon Sevan, the top U.N. official who ran the Oil-for-Food Program, purportedly got deals for 7.2 million barrels of Iraqi oil. Sevan has denied any corruption.
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Conservatives seized on Duelfer's findings as evidence to justify regime change in Baghdad. A government source said federal prosecutors in Manhattan were being encouraged by Washington to produce Oil-for-Food indictments quickly—before the November election, if possible. One focus of investigators is Kojo Annan—son of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan—who once worked for a Swiss company hired by the United Nations to inspect Oil-for-Food shipments. Haliburton what motherfuckers? - WhotttKojo Annan left the company before it was retained by the United Nations, but U.N. sources acknowledge he was paid a "non-compete" fee by the company after it began work on the U.N. program. Kojo Annan could not be reached for comment, but U.N. sources predicted that any U.S. criminal charges against Kojo would likely further sour U.S. relations with top U.N. leaders.Ed -- I say fuckem, we ought to kick their asses outta the country and the UN as well, no wonder we got Syria and Libya sitting on the human rights commitee - Whottt
Law-enforcement sources say Americans who participated in alleged oil-for-food scams also may face further investigation. The CIA deleted from Duelfer's report names of Saddam's U.S. oil-for-food favorites. But an uncensored copy of the Duelfer report obtained by NEWSWEEK indicates Houston oil mogul Oscar Wyatt got oil allocations from Saddam which could have earned him and Coastal Corp.—a company he founded and ran until 2000—profits of more than $22 million. Wyatt and wife Lynn are major donors to political causes: since 1989 they have given nearly $700,000 in contributions, of which more than $500,000 went to Democrats. Wyatt told NEWSWEEK that his company did buy oil from Saddam but that he never did so personally, and that his company's dealings all complied with U.N. rules.
—Mark Hosenball and Steve Tuttle
United Nations: Oil-for-Food Fiasco?NewsweekOct. 18 issue - Revelations by U.S. WMD sleuth Charles Duelfer about corruption in the U.N.-run Oil-for-Food Program in Iraq could further complicate Bush-administration foreign policy. Iraqi documents appended to the report Duelfer published last week identify figures in Russia, France and the Vatican as alleged recipients of oil deals personally approved by Saddam Hussein. Duelfer's report documents how Benon Sevan, the top U.N. official who ran the Oil-for-Food Program, purportedly got deals for 7.2 million barrels of Iraqi oil. Sevan has denied any corruption.
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Conservatives seized on Duelfer's findings as evidence to justify regime change in Baghdad. A government source said federal prosecutors in Manhattan were being encouraged by Washington to produce Oil-for-Food indictments quickly—before the November election, if possible. One focus of investigators is Kojo Annan—son of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan—who once worked for a Swiss company hired by the United Nations to inspect Oil-for-Food shipments. Haliburton what motherfuckers? - WhotttKojo Annan left the company before it was retained by the United Nations, but U.N. sources acknowledge he was paid a "non-compete" fee by the company after it began work on the U.N. program. Kojo Annan could not be reached for comment, but U.N. sources predicted that any U.S. criminal charges against Kojo would likely further sour U.S. relations with top U.N. leaders.Ed -- I say fuckem, we ought to kick their asses outta the country and the UN as well, no wonder we got Syria and Libya sitting on the human rights commitee - Whottt
Law-enforcement sources say Americans who participated in alleged oil-for-food scams also may face further investigation. The CIA deleted from Duelfer's report names of Saddam's U.S. oil-for-food favorites. But an uncensored copy of the Duelfer report obtained by NEWSWEEK indicates Houston oil mogul Oscar Wyatt got oil allocations from Saddam which could have earned him and Coastal Corp.—a company he founded and ran until 2000—profits of more than $22 million. Wyatt and wife Lynn are major donors to political causes: since 1989 they have given nearly $700,000 in contributions, of which more than $500,000 went to Democrats. Wyatt told NEWSWEEK that his company did buy oil from Saddam but that he never did so personally, and that his company's dealings all complied with U.N. rules.
—Mark Hosenball and Steve Tuttle