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National NewsConservative News
Oil For Food Foolery
By Willaim Fielder
Posted on: February 10, 2005
Senate hearings in mid-November 2004 revealed that Iraq‘s Saddam Hussein skimmed over $21 billion from the UN “oil-for-food” program that was supposed to feed and provide medicine for the Iraqi people--and used the money to bribe UN and European officials. Oil-for-Food was authorized in 1995, for “equitable distribution of humanitarian relief” for Iraq which was under trade sanctions. Saddam was permitted to sell oil to earn funds for food, medicine, and social services. Instead, the money went to pay off politicians to get UN sanctions lifted, to buy unauthorized weapons, and to pay off journalists for favorable propaganda. France was a primary client. The OIl-for-Food debacle was administered by a French bank. Iraq historically received extensive French support for nuclear projects. France’s president, Jacques Chirac, oversaw Iraq’s original nuclear plant contract. France also provided Iran with 27.5 pounds of 93% weapons-grade uranium according to columnist Arnaud de Borchgrave. Saddam’s weapons debt to France was $8 billion. Much of this armaments support was in direct contravention of the UN embargo, according to investigative reporter Bill Gertz in his new book, appropriately titled “Treachery.” The publication Human Events has reported that Russia, which had military advisers in Iraq up to the time the US liberation was launched, is the largest of Saddam’s debtors, holding $9 billion in IOUs. France and Russia worked to block UN action against Saddam, and would have eventually received extensive Iraqi contracts. But it was France which would benefit most from Saddam’s perfidy, and it was France that threatened a veto against anti-Saddam action in the UN. As described in Kenneth Timmerman’s book “How the French Betrayed the US,” France had promised to join the US against Iraq, but reneged at the last minute after Saddam offered France proprietary development of Iraqi oil resources--a bribe worth billions. Up to that time, the Europeans were lobbying to get the UN sanctions on Iraq lifted, and were receiving significant payoffs from the Oil-for-food money, according to documents now in the hands of the new Iraqi government. After the lifting of sanctions, Saddam planned to activate his chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs, and would have soon had intercontinental missiles as launch vehicles, as reported to Congress by Charles Duelfer last October. With the Europeans in charge of Saddam’s oil production, and Iraq spending billions for their weapons--who, among the bribed and compromised, would have rallied to stop Saddam’s next attempt to control all Middle Eastern oil? Our “allies” treachery made the Anglo-US liberation of Iraq a necessity.
The “mainstream” media downplays or disregards this scandal. The exceptions are Claudia Rosett of the Wall Street Journal, and the Fox News Channel, which leads the broadcast/cable media in relevant reports. Former treasury secretary Paul Volcker heads the official UN investigation. Volcker, however, has business and institutional connections that seriously question his ability to function independently, according to a February lst Washington Times editorial. Congressional hearings are taking place due to the US taxpayers contributing 22% of the inept world organization’s operating funds. Now implicated are about 270 officials and “journalists” worldwide, many (interestingly) in the forefront of opposing the US liberation, according to the May 3, 2004 Washington Times. Congressional investigators believe that UN officials skimmed over $10 billion from these funds. UN chief Kofi Annan’s son is involved, as a consultant for a Swiss-based corporation that won food inspection contracts. The food was often inedible, and Iraqi children went unattended in hospitals and others starved. Saddam’s European clients may have also bought $10 billion in black market Iraqi oil. Marc Rich, the international trader who received a last minute pardon from Bill Clinton, and, subsequently, is believed to have indirectly contributed thousands to the Clinton library, may be linked to these illegal oil sales. Write or call congress and demand support for further investigations of the UN/European thievery.
William Fielder is a retired Army officer with 40 years experience in US intelligence.
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