WEASEL ALERT - UN "OIL-FOR-FOOLS" SCAM - Audits show rampant Bilking

[Czar]

According to the local radio news the report said that some US companies were involved but they were not named because of privacy laws in the US, could include officials as well not sure.

 

[burnedout]

Report links U.N. to Iraq bribes - CNN

 

[JHoNNy1OoO]

Originally posted by: Czar
According to the local radio news the report said that some US companies were involved but they were not named because of privacy laws in the US, could include officials as well not sure.

I heard that as well. It's so freaking stupid that US companies get protection but they out every single other foreign company. WTF!?!

 

[burnedout]

Report: UN program full of corruption - AP via Yahoo

or

What have we been telling you for the past eight months?

 

[RabidMongoose]

It's kind of troubling that this doesn't seem to get more attention.

The secret voucher program was dominated by Russian, French and Chinese recipients, in that order, with Saddam spreading the wealth widely to prominent business men, politicians, foreign government ministries and political parties, the report said.

What a shocker...

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: burnedout
Report: UN program full of corruption - AP via Yahoo

or

What have we been telling you for the past eight months?

Nobody has been denying that the Oil-for-Food program was corrupt.

The only denial is from the Bush-God fanbois that WMDs existed.

 

[CycloWizard]

Originally posted by: conjur
Nobody has been denying that the Oil-for-Food program was corrupt.

The only denial is from the Bush-God fanbois that WMDs existed.

So everyone is corrupt.

 

[burnedout]

Moving right along, an interesting revelation by the AP via the Tri-Valley Herald:

In what the report calls, "an open secret," the Iraqi government demanded illicit surcharges of 25-to-30 cents on all barrels of oil bought, which buyers had to secretly pay before the deals were sealed. They complied because the Iraqis were selling slightly below market prices.

One of the most prolific purchasers of the oil was Swiss-based Glencore run by one-time fugitive American financier Marc Rich, which the report alleges paid over $3.2 million in kickbacks to the Iraqi government. Rich, formerly wanted for tax-evasion was pardoned by President Clinton in his last days in office.

"step heel.... step heel.... step heel.... uh huh....step heel.... step heel.... step heel.... uh huh"

 

[burnedout]

From the Washington Post:

The immense scope of an Iraqi effort in the late 1990s to curry political support for ending an international trade embargo is reflected in a list of more than 1,300 oil "vouchers" that then-President Saddam Hussein gave to more than a hundred corporations, foreign officials and political parties stretching from North America to Asia, according to a report issued on Wednesday by the CIA's Iraq Survey Group. . . .

The report said the recipients made the payments by carrying bags of cash to Iraqi embassies in Amman, Beirut, Moscow, Ankara, Geneva and Hanoi, among other places. The cash was then sent to Baghdad via diplomatic pouches.

"In the late '90s, we understood that lots of shenanigans were going on . . . under-the-table payments and so on, to curry favor and win support for eroding sanctions," said Robert Einhorn, a former assistant secretary of state. "We made various efforts to limit the scope of this," he added. But the report said that U.S. officials were blocked by Russia, China and France in 2000 and 2001 when they tried to clamp down on oil sales outside the oil-for-food program.

 

[GoPackGo]

Originally posted by: conjur

Originally posted by: burnedout
Report: UN program full of corruption - AP via Yahoo

or

What have we been telling you for the past eight months?

Nobody has been denying that the Oil-for-Food program was corrupt.

The only denial is from the Bush-God fanbois that WMDs existed.

I think if it wasn't for oil-for-saddam...that maybe we could have gotten some honest dialogue on Iraq by the french, russians and germans.

There is plenty of blame to go around.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Originally posted by: conjur
Nobody has been denying that the Oil-for-Food program was corrupt.

The only denial is from the Bush-God fanbois that WMDs existed.

Where's the red herring emoticon when you need one?

 

[burnedout]

"Many Helped Iraq Evade U.N. Sanctions on Weapons" - Washington Post via Yahoo

BERLIN, Oct. 7 -- As part of its stealth effort to evade U.N. sanctions and rebuild its military, the Iraqi government under President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) found that it had no shortage of people around the world who were willing to help. Among them: a French arms dealer known only as "Mr. Claude," who made a surreptitious visit to Iraq (news - web sites) four years ago to provide technical expertise and training.

Mr. Claude worked for Lura, a French company that sold tank carriers to Iraq, according to documents recovered by the top U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq. The mysterious Frenchman may have also helped the Iraqis attempt to acquire military-related radar and microwave technology, despite a U.N. ban on such trade with Iraq since the end of the 1991 Persian Gulf War (news - web sites).

Other French military contractors came to Baghdad with offers to supply the Iraqi government with helicopters, spare parts for fighter aircraft and air defense systems after 1998, when U.N. weapons inspectors withdrew under pressure, according to a report issued this week by Charles A. Duelfer, the chief U.S. weapons inspector. The report cites evidence that contacts between the French suppliers and Hussein's government continued until last year, less than one month before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. . . . . .

Read the whole damning piece.

 

[Gaard]

"He forgot Poland!"

link

The new GOP strategy contained some risks to Bush: Some of the countries possibly implicated in wrongdoing in the program include U.S. allies in Iraq, particularly Poland, as well as Russia ? countries the administration does not want to alienate.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Originally posted by: burnedout
"Many Helped Iraq Evade U.N. Sanctions on Weapons" - Washington Post via Yahoo

BERLIN, Oct. 7 -- As part of its stealth effort to evade U.N. sanctions and rebuild its military, the Iraqi government under President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) found that it had no shortage of people around the world who were willing to help. Among them: a French arms dealer known only as "Mr. Claude," who made a surreptitious visit to Iraq (news - web sites) four years ago to provide technical expertise and training.

Mr. Claude worked for Lura, a French company that sold tank carriers to Iraq, according to documents recovered by the top U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq. The mysterious Frenchman may have also helped the Iraqis attempt to acquire military-related radar and microwave technology, despite a U.N. ban on such trade with Iraq since the end of the 1991 Persian Gulf War (news - web sites).

Other French military contractors came to Baghdad with offers to supply the Iraqi government with helicopters, spare parts for fighter aircraft and air defense systems after 1998, when U.N. weapons inspectors withdrew under pressure, according to a report issued this week by Charles A. Duelfer, the chief U.S. weapons inspector. The report cites evidence that contacts between the French suppliers and Hussein's government continued until last year, less than one month before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. . . . . .

Read the whole damning piece.

1 month before the invasion? Ouch. Damning indeed.

CsG

 

[GrGr]

Originally posted by: Gaard
"He forgot Poland!"

link

The new GOP strategy contained some risks to Bush: Some of the countries possibly implicated in wrongdoing in the program include U.S. allies in Iraq, particularly Poland, as well as Russia ? countries the administration does not want to alienate.

He conveniently forgot about the US individuals and companies as well. Since these are Americans shouldn't he weed out the traitors first, oh wait... I forgot treason is not a major thing with this administration.

 

[Gaard]

I'll have to wait for the transcript of the latest Hardball, but I read that Andrea Mitchell made the comment that some Americans will be named in the oil-for-food scandal. Asked if it'll embarass Dems or Reps she replied "Reps".

Again, MSNBC only has the transcripts up to 10/6 or so posted, so I guess we'll have to wait to be sure.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Originally posted by: Gaard
I'll have to wait for the transcript of the latest Hardball, but I read that Andrea Mitchell made the comment that some Americans will be named in the oil-for-food scandal. Asked if it'll embarass Dems or Reps she replied "Reps".

Again, MSNBC only has the transcripts up to 10/6 or so posted, so I guess we'll have to wait to be sure.

United Nations: Oil-for-Food Fiasco?

Oct. 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.


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. Kojo 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.

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.

I'm sure there are companies here in the states that had dealings with the program - but to say that it'll "embarass" the Reps at this stage is a bit premature. I'd say that ANYONE business involved in the scandal will be(and should be) embarassed.

CsG

 

[burnedout]

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: Gaard
I'll have to wait for the transcript of the latest Hardball, but I read that Andrea Mitchell made the comment that some Americans will be named in the oil-for-food scandal. Asked if it'll embarass Dems or Reps she replied "Reps".

Again, MSNBC only has the transcripts up to 10/6 or so posted, so I guess we'll have to wait to be sure.

United Nations: Oil-for-Food Fiasco?

[...]

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.

I'm sure there are companies here in the states that had dealings with the program - but to say that it'll "embarass" the Reps at this stage is a bit premature. I'd say that ANYONE business involved in the scandal will be(and should be) embarassed.

CsG

If more "cronies" are on the list other than Clinton pardonee Marc Rich and Democrat hack Oscar Wyatt, we'll find out soon enough.

 

[Gaard]

Yeah, I'm not sure what she meant by that, or why Matthews asked it, to be honest. I'm still waiting for the transcript to become available...(it'd be nice to first be sure she made the claim, like I said , it's just hearsay to me at the moment)

Perhaps it has something to do with ties. Or maybe it's an American arms dealer, which means it would've been brought to our attention by either bo or yourself.

 

[burnedout]

More on Oscar Wyatt from the Houston Chronicle

[...]

Wyatt, who did not respond to messages seeking comment, was by far the largest recipient of oil allocations.

Wyatt has had a long relationship with Saddam, dating back to before the Gulf War when his company Coastal Corp. was a major buyer of Iraqi oil. He won fame in 1991 by taking his company's plane to Iraq to pick up American citizens being held hostage during the run up to the war.

He also did business with the Libyan leader, Col. Moammar Gadhafi. In 2000, Coastal Corp. merged with El Paso Corp. Wyatt is still a large shareholder in El Paso, but he is not an executive with the company, which last month received the subpoena related to the Iraqi oil deals.

Wyatt Announced in March 1997 that he would retire and begin lobbying in Washington to lift sanctions against Iraq and Libya.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Namibia Denies Using Secret Oil Vouchers From Saddam

THE Namibian Government has dismissed a report that last week claimed that it bought about seven million barrels of crude oil from Iraq, violating United Nations sanctions against that country at the time.

A report released by the Iraq Survey Group on Wednesday named Namibia, Russia, France, China, Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Egypt as countries to which former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein issued secret vouchers for the purchase of oil.

In addition, five Namibian companies bought about seven million barrels of oil from Iraq, according to the report.

The introduction of the UN's Oil-for-Food programme in late 1996 was a turning point for the Hussein regime.

It allowed limited oil sales to pay for humanitarian goods and rescued the Iraqi economy from a terminal decline created by sanctions.

Acting Mines and Energy Permanent Secretary Hannu Shipena said on Friday that he was not familiar with the report.

But he said the Namibian Government did not import oil as a single entity.

Only local petroleum companies imported oil.

"I am not aware of any violations by Namibian companies [in importing oil]," he said.

Shipena said at least 90 per cent of Namibia's refined oil imports came from South Africa, while private petroleum companies were permitted to buy oil from any country from which they obtained legal permission to do so.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Nangolo Mbumba was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that Government had never received vouchers from Hussein, nor purchased any oil from him.

"We never had any connection to Saddam Hussein. My President has condemned Saddam Hussein," he told AP.

According to the report, compiled by the head of the Iraq Survey Group, Charles Duelfer, the Hussein regime recognised that the Oil-for-Food programme could be corrupted to acquire foreign exchange with massive kickbacks to the Iraqi government.

The report estimates that Saddam generated US$10,9 billion in hard currency through illicit means between 1990 and 2003.

The Ministry of Oil controlled the oil voucher distribution programme that used oil to influence UN members to support 's goals of acquiring goods prohibited by sanctions.

"Saddam personally approved and removed all names of voucher recipients. He made all modifications to the list, adding or deleting names at will," the report reads in part.

Other senior Iraqi leaders could nominate or recommend that an individual or organisation be added or subtracted from the voucher list, and ad hoc allocation committees met to review and update the allocations.

CsG

 

[CycloWizard]

:beer: to CAD for keeping this updated.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Originally posted by: CycloWizard
:beer: to CAD for keeping this updated.

burnedout as well :beer:

CsG

 

[her209]

U.S. Names Under Scrutiny in Iraq Oil for Food Inquiry

 

[her209]

Originally posted by: Gaard
I'll have to wait for the transcript of the latest Hardball, but I read that Andrea Mitchell made the comment that some Americans will be named in the oil-for-food scandal. Asked if it'll embarass Dems or Reps she replied "Reps".

Again, MSNBC only has the transcripts up to 10/6 or so posted, so I guess we'll have to wait to be sure.

Gaard ^^^^