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I still can't get over the rhedoric from libs on how Bush's war is illegal because we didn't get the UN involved. It's a fact that they've proven themselves worthless and a total piece of crap:
Report links U.N. to Iraq bribes
NEW YORK (AP) -- The top U.S. arms inspector has accused the former head of the $60 billion U.N. oil-for-food program of accepting bribes in the form of vouchers for Iraqi oil sales from Saddam Hussein's government.
The report by Charles Duelfer, head of the Iraq Survey Group, alleges the Iraqi government manipulated the U.N. program from 1996 to 2003 in order to acquire billions of dollars in illicit gains and to import illegal goods, including acquiring parts for missile systems.
The alleged schemes included an Iraqi system for allocating lucrative oil vouchers, which permitted recipients to purchase certain amounts of oil at a profit.
Benon Sevan, the former chief of the U.N. program, is among dozens of people who allegedly received the vouchers, according to the report, which said Saddam personally approved the list.
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.
The report names former French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua, Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri, and the Russian radical political figure Vladimir Zhirinovsky as voucher recipients, for example, and other foreign governments range from Yemen to Namibia.
The governments of Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Egypt did a brisk illicit oil trade with Iraq as well -- more than $8 billion from 1991 until 2003, the report said.
"These governments were full parties to all aspects of Iraq's unauthorized oil exports and imports," it said.
The officials whose names have emerged in the face of multiple ongoing investigations of corruption in the U.N. oil-for-food program have previously denied wrongdoing. The program was designed to allow limited oil sales to pay for humanitarian goods.
Asked about the fresh allegations against Sevan, U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said the organization wouldn't talk about specifics and noted Paul Volcker, the former chief of the U.S. Federal Reserve, was conducting an independent investigation at the U.N.'s request.
"We are not going to comment on any specific allegation against Mr. Sevan or anyone else," Eckhard said.
"This is in the hands of Paul Volcker. We are cooperating with him fully. Benon Sevan is cooperating with him fully, and we will wait for Volcker's judgment. Benon, meanwhile, stands by his statement that he's done nothing wrong."
According to the Duelfer report, which got its information from the former Iraqi oil ministry, Sevan allegedly received vouchers for 7.3 million barrels of oil through various companies and representatives recommended to Iraqi ministries by Sevan. The financial take would have been in the range of $700,000 to $2 million, depending on oil prices.
Critics of the oil-for-food program and U.S. congressional investigators have long alleged that administration of the program was rife with corruption and failed to prevent illicit business deals and massive kickbacks to the Iraqi government.
The report said, "Saddam was able to subvert the UN OFF (oil-for-food) program to generate an estimated $1.7 billion in revenue outside U.N. control from 1997-2003."
And it said the voucher program, "provided Saddam with a useful method of rewarding countries, organizations and individuals willing to cooperate with Iraq to subvert U.N. sanctions."
"Once the oil for food program began, it provided all kind of levers for him (Saddam) to manipulate his way out of sanctions," Duelfer told Congress on Wednesday.
Congressional investigators praised Duelfer's report.
"Mr. Duelfer's conclusions show the full breadth of Saddam Hussein's corruption and manipulation of the U.N. Oil for Food program," said Henry Hyde, R-Ill., who chairs the House International Relations Committee.
Reports that Sevan had received oil vouchers first emerged in January when the Iraqi daily Al-Mada newspaper published a list of alleged recipients. But Duelfer's report provides new details and a new degree of credibility.
In April, the United Nations appointed Volcker to head the independent investigation of the growing scandal.
Four congressional panels have also been investigating the corruption and accusations that Saddam used leverage from the program to influence foreign governments and particularly members of the Security Council, who would vote whether to maintain sanctions.
I still can't get over the rhedoric from libs on how Bush's war is illegal because we didn't get the UN involved. It's a fact that they've proven themselves worthless and a total piece of crap:
Report links U.N. to Iraq bribes
NEW YORK (AP) -- The top U.S. arms inspector has accused the former head of the $60 billion U.N. oil-for-food program of accepting bribes in the form of vouchers for Iraqi oil sales from Saddam Hussein's government.
The report by Charles Duelfer, head of the Iraq Survey Group, alleges the Iraqi government manipulated the U.N. program from 1996 to 2003 in order to acquire billions of dollars in illicit gains and to import illegal goods, including acquiring parts for missile systems.
The alleged schemes included an Iraqi system for allocating lucrative oil vouchers, which permitted recipients to purchase certain amounts of oil at a profit.
Benon Sevan, the former chief of the U.N. program, is among dozens of people who allegedly received the vouchers, according to the report, which said Saddam personally approved the list.
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.
The report names former French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua, Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri, and the Russian radical political figure Vladimir Zhirinovsky as voucher recipients, for example, and other foreign governments range from Yemen to Namibia.
The governments of Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Egypt did a brisk illicit oil trade with Iraq as well -- more than $8 billion from 1991 until 2003, the report said.
"These governments were full parties to all aspects of Iraq's unauthorized oil exports and imports," it said.
The officials whose names have emerged in the face of multiple ongoing investigations of corruption in the U.N. oil-for-food program have previously denied wrongdoing. The program was designed to allow limited oil sales to pay for humanitarian goods.
Asked about the fresh allegations against Sevan, U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said the organization wouldn't talk about specifics and noted Paul Volcker, the former chief of the U.S. Federal Reserve, was conducting an independent investigation at the U.N.'s request.
"We are not going to comment on any specific allegation against Mr. Sevan or anyone else," Eckhard said.
"This is in the hands of Paul Volcker. We are cooperating with him fully. Benon Sevan is cooperating with him fully, and we will wait for Volcker's judgment. Benon, meanwhile, stands by his statement that he's done nothing wrong."
According to the Duelfer report, which got its information from the former Iraqi oil ministry, Sevan allegedly received vouchers for 7.3 million barrels of oil through various companies and representatives recommended to Iraqi ministries by Sevan. The financial take would have been in the range of $700,000 to $2 million, depending on oil prices.
Critics of the oil-for-food program and U.S. congressional investigators have long alleged that administration of the program was rife with corruption and failed to prevent illicit business deals and massive kickbacks to the Iraqi government.
The report said, "Saddam was able to subvert the UN OFF (oil-for-food) program to generate an estimated $1.7 billion in revenue outside U.N. control from 1997-2003."
And it said the voucher program, "provided Saddam with a useful method of rewarding countries, organizations and individuals willing to cooperate with Iraq to subvert U.N. sanctions."
"Once the oil for food program began, it provided all kind of levers for him (Saddam) to manipulate his way out of sanctions," Duelfer told Congress on Wednesday.
Congressional investigators praised Duelfer's report.
"Mr. Duelfer's conclusions show the full breadth of Saddam Hussein's corruption and manipulation of the U.N. Oil for Food program," said Henry Hyde, R-Ill., who chairs the House International Relations Committee.
Reports that Sevan had received oil vouchers first emerged in January when the Iraqi daily Al-Mada newspaper published a list of alleged recipients. But Duelfer's report provides new details and a new degree of credibility.
In April, the United Nations appointed Volcker to head the independent investigation of the growing scandal.
Four congressional panels have also been investigating the corruption and accusations that Saddam used leverage from the program to influence foreign governments and particularly members of the Security Council, who would vote whether to maintain sanctions.
