Oil-for-Food Scandal Draws Scrutiny to U.N.

The_Neon_Cowboy · Sep 20, 2004, 02:02 AM

Quote:

A new FOX News poll finds that 54 percent of the U.S. public believes the United Nations does not reflect the values of average Americans. Only 29 percent say that U.N. policies reflect said values.
“I believe the U.N., parts of it, have been corrupt for years. But this went to a whole new level,” said Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations.

Shays is leading one of several Oil-for-Food probes by the federal government. The General Accountability Office has already pegged Saddam’s Oil-for-Food take at $10.1 billion. It could end up being a lot more.

Shays says Iraqis aren't the only victims -- Americans are too.

“We're talking about American lives that are being lost in an attempt to bring democracy to Iraq,” Shays said. If France, Russia, China and Germany had told Saddam it was time to back down and honor his commitments, Shays said it’s possible the United Stations may not have needed to go to war against Saddam.

But why did these countries really object to a second U.S.-led war against Iraq?

Some evidence suggests that those countries that said they were opposing the Bush administration on principle were actually making billions from Oil-for-Food.

“I think clearly, American blood is in the hands of a number of European countries, who could have put pressure on Saddam, who could've looked him in the eye and said, ‘the United States is coming in,'" Shays said. “And to me, some of the explanation clearly has to be the Oil-for-Food program.”

Shays added that there is a chance some of the insurgents now operating against the United States and the new Iraqi government are using Oil-for-Food money in their terror campaign.

“I think it's not only possible that insurgents are using Oil-for-Food money -- I think it's very likely,” Shays said.

One casualty was Ihasan Karim the Iraqi official heading an inquiry into the Oil-for-Food program. On July 1, a bomb placed under his car exploded in Baghdad, killing him, and U.S. officials in Iraq told FOX News that they believe Oil-for-Food was the motive in the assassination. That wouldn't surprise Shays.

“I don’t know who murdered him. But I can tell you this: There are a lot of people who don't want this story to come out,” Shays said.

Shays places part of the blame on people inside the United Nations, even though U.N. officials authorized an independent investigation into the scandal.

“They’re doing this investigation, but only after they were outed by an Iraqi free press, and a government leak from the Iraqi governing council,” Shays said.

Shays said the man heading up the probe, former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, has a tough job ahead.

“Paul Volcker is going to succeed or fail based on his power of persuasion and the good will of the U.N., but you're basically asking the member states to sign their own death warrant, and so it's kind of hard for me to imagine he's going to get the cooperation he wants,” Shays said.

Volcker said it will take until at least next spring to finish his report, and in the meantime, he doesn't seem willing to give Congress the cooperation it wants.

"There is a lot of smoke," Volcker told FOX News on June 23, when asked if he thinks the Oil-for-Food program was corrupt. "There are obviously big problems, and we want to see how big they were and why did they happen. Why did all this happen, in some sense, under everybody's noses?"

Shays and Sen. Norm Coleman -- leaders of two of at least five federal Oil-for-Food investigations -- have started firing off subpoenas.

“We have just begun this process,” said Coleman, R-Minn. “But we’re trying to sort out this hornet's nest of corruption, of evil. And it’s going to take a little bit of time [and] patience.”

The problems at the United Nations have led some to question its value. A FOX News poll found that 64 percent of Americans say the United Nations has not been an effective partner in the War on Terror.

Yet Shays and Coleman both said in interviews they believe a role exists for an organization like the United Nations.

“I think we need the U.N. But we need it to be an honest institution,” Shays said. “When there are mistakes made, you have to uncover them and deal with them.”

Shays said that the very least, a major shakeup needs to take place.

“The U.N. is so important, we’ve been willing to look the other way when we see things we don't like. I think the Oil-for-Food program busted that.”

Coleman said he believes the United Nations had redeemable qualities, and he hoped the investigation would lead to greater transparency and more credibility for the world body.

“I’m not willing to kind of cash it in … they’re not the Evil Empire, the United Nations,” Coleman said.

(this is for people other then people like dom who won't belive me unless I have a video or have 100% word for word in print, but as i've said many time before you won't find much of tv in print.)

There was an hour specail on on sunday evening they gave alot more information like amounts, connections to higher ups in the goverments like an offical close to frances cheroc (how ever it's spelled)

the money funneled in to the involved forighn governments and even the UN it self each was rakeing in billions...

basically the people were in co hoots with sadam, saddam would give the contancts to some one for a bid, then they resold the contact for more money and saddam got cut of the profits. Also He order stuff that was worthless like expried food or bad medicane and alot of the money would bomarang back to him though forign accounts in several of the money safe havens such as switzerland. The UN gets like 10% cut the to inforce inspection and prevent abuse. Yet they went inspecing but 5 -7% and even then they wern't even inspecting they would just sign off on the paper work and send the trucks on...

Some this money is belived to be fundings insergents and even has ended up in the hands of Al Quida...

Samdom also mentionsought to by anti aircraft missile systems! and the deal was cut off by the US. Of couse these system would of been used againt the US to down planes enforceing the no fly zone.

There is more but i'm tireing of typeing and it hard to summerize an hour of TV, footage inter views etc into a short post....

ToshiroOC · Sep 20, 2004, 05:02 AM

I wonder if there is any way to get the wording of the question for the poll. Polling numbers can easily be biased very strongly towards one side or another just by the wording of the question; e.g. "Do you believe that flipflopping is a good trait for a president to have? Yes or No" could turn into "94% of the country doesn't want Kerry as president" in an article, though I doubt its anywhere near as blatant in most cases.

The_Neon_Cowboy · Sep 20, 2004, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToshiroOC

I wonder if there is any way to get the wording of the question for the poll. Polling numbers can easily be biased very strongly towards one side or another just by the wording of the question; e.g. "Do you believe that flipflopping is a good trait for a president to have? Yes or No" could turn into "94% of the country doesn't want Kerry as president" in an article, though I doubt its anywhere near as blatant in most cases.

The questions and ansers were linked to have a look
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,132594,00.html

~~BMG_Cya=-~~ · Sep 20, 2004, 01:12 PM

Good clip Neon.

This news is not surprising, and in fact some of it is old news. Much
of the Euro "allies" we had, especially France, had economic ties with
Saddam's regime, which was the REAL reason much of
them opposed upholding the UN resolutions, and progressively the
war against Iraq. It wasn't some higher, spiritual insight.

It was money.

Now that the US has spent BILLIONS fighting the war against Saddam and the Muslim insurgents,...

(which by the way have killed more Iraqi civilians than the US and
all of the coalition combined.)...

...countries like France and Germany want whatever spoils the
war may bring, which so far have not even began to cover the
cost of the war.

But...people will believe what they want to believe.

ToshiroOC · Sep 21, 2004, 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Neon_Cowboy

The questions and ansers were linked to have a look
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,132594,00.html

Very interesting; I missed that. Thank you. The questions seem to be relatively unbiased.

I think its a shame that the greatest effort of the world's nations is being rejected so soundly by the American people; I think its a great irony that both candidates are saying that more international cooperation is needed and a majority of Americans think the UN should play a larger role in Iraq now, and yet a majority of Americans also think the UN is "anti-American".

Dom · Sep 21, 2004, 04:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToshiroOC

I think its a shame that the greatest effort of the world's nations is being rejected so soundly by the American people; I think its a great irony that both candidates are saying that more international cooperation is needed and a majority of Americans think the UN should play a larger role in Iraq now, and yet a majority of Americans also think the UN is "anti-American".

I agree with that.