Oil for food. Rebuttals needed

[Boosterman]

Taking a shelling at work over this stuff. The frenzy over this is incredible. Any good info out there to help a guy out? I googled it but didnt get much that seemed useful.

[Forever Free]

1. Rebuttals in defense of the UN?

It seems pretty clear that at least some corruption infected the organization during this program. Then again, corruption is rampant in any and every bureaucracy from Congress down to the IRS.

[Boosterman]

3. Yeah in defense of the UN

I mean the numbers they are talking about are mind boggling. 23 billion. Thats with a B. W/ kickbacks to France , Germany, and Russia supposedly. (well companies anyway)

The reason I ask is this could be disastrous for us. What will Bush do when he has "proof" the world is against us? i may be overreacting but.....

[JHB]

10. Remind them it wasn't just Europeans: a certain VP's company was involved

I'm sure Dick was in a position to know that "funny stuff" was going on...

----------
Former executives at the subsidiaries said they had never heard objections -- from Cheney or any other Halliburton official -- to trading with Baghdad. "Halliburton and Ingersoll-Rand, as far as I know, had no official policy about that, other than we would be in compliance with applicable U.S. and international laws," said Cleive Dumas, who oversaw Ingersoll Dresser Pump's business in the Middle East, including Iraq.

Halliburton's primary concern, added Ingersoll-Rand's former chairman, James E. Perrella, "was that if we did business with , that it be allowed by the United States government. If it wasn't allowed, we wouldn't do it."

Dumas and Perrella said their companies' commercial links to the Iraqi oil industry began before the U.N. Security Council imposed an oil embargo on Baghdad in the wake of its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

They returned to dealing with Iraq after the council established the "oil-for-food" program in December 1996, permitting Iraq to export oil under U.N. supervision and use the proceeds to buy food, medicine and humanitarian goods. The program was expanded in 1998 to allow Iraq to import spare parts for its oil facilities.

The Halliburton subsidiaries joined dozens of American and foreign oil supply companies that helped Iraq increase its crude exports from $4 billion in 1997 to nearly $18 billion in 2000. Since the program began, Iraq has exported oil worth more than $40 billion.
----more http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/sanction/iraq1/oilforfood/2001/0627chen.htm ---------

[Mistress Quickly]

2. This one pisses me off

I hope that the reason the other Security Council members wanted to vote against the invasion (although they never got the chance) was because it was wrong, not because they were making money on the backs of Iraqis.

What a goddamned screwed up world we live in.

[Forever Free]

5. I agree with your assessment

What the right-wing media is trying to do is portray the anti-war stances of many of the Council members (Russia and France most notably) as being motivated entirely by greed and bribe money, instead of on principle and international law.

Its the same trick used to smear Jews centuries before. They want people to believe that the French have no spine because all they care about is money and lining their own pockets. Despicable.

[rkc3]

4. Check out FAIR - can't remember the exact acronym, but they have

some good info. Might be Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting.

All contracts in the Oil for Food Program were to be vetted by the UN Security Council - of which the US is a key member. Over 70 contracts with irregularities were shown to the council - none were returned.

It would appear the blame lies with them - not the UN and certainly not Kofi Annan.

Hope this helps.

[shoelace414]

6. would you rather

have the Iraqi oil pay for the corruption or the US taxpayers?

[JHB]

7. Both are paying

http://www.unfilteredradio.com/
For weeks, the Republicans have been yammering about Kofi Annan and the UN Oil for Food Program. They're calling for his head, saying that he's responsible for mismanagement of Iraqi funds. (Of course, we all know that the Republicans are picking this issue to go after him on because they want to do all they can to undermine the UN. Full of foreigners, y'know). But it turns out that the Repugs might have picked the wrong issue to use to go after Annan. An NBC investigation last night reported on grave mismanagement of Iraqi oil funds BY THE UNITED STATES. Eight point eight billion dollars are out there in the atmosphere somewhere, there are two sets of books (that don't match) at the Iraqi Finance Ministry, and almost 9 billion bucks missing. What's that they say about glass houses?

[bvar22]

8. As liberals,

we support the exposing and prosecution of corrupt officials.
If Kofi was involved in corruption, then he should pay the consequences.

As a liberal, I oppose the unsubstantiated sliming of anyone. The republican attack dogs need to support their charges. Up till now, it does appear that corruption was occurring at some levels among certain officials at the UN. Find them, name them, and clean house. period.

Of course, in rooting out the corruption, the involvement of certain bush* connected US Corporations also needs to be investigated. These Corporations were named in the Duelfer Report, but censored from the version of the Duelfer report that was released in the US.

"The U.S. companies -- including Exxon Mobil Corp., ChevronTexaco Corp. and El Paso Corp. or their predecessors -- and individuals were identified in the Central Intelligence Agency's 1,000-page report on the Hussein regime's campaign, though their names were redacted from the publicly released version. While confirming that sanctions had prevented Iraq from obtaining weapons of mass destruction, the report by arms inspector Charles Duelfer, released last week, described efforts by the Hussein regime to manipulate the Oil-for-Food program in its favor, circumventing U.N. mandates, and possibly U.S. law." (my bold)

http://www.corpwatch.org/print_article.php?&id=11569

I wonder why the names of the US Corporations were "redacted" from the report given to the USMedia????

This is just dishonest PR bluster from the Republicans. They don't want this to go anywhere besides the US CorpoMedia to help slander the UN and divert attention from more important issues in Iraq. The total for the Oil for Food Scandal is about $20Billion. That's chump change for the corporate looting and pillaging in Iraq.
$20Billion disappeared the night Viceroy Bremmer left Iraq.

It is interesting that The El Paso Corp. was involved in this mess. You may remember this Corporation as being one of the Enron front companies that helped rig the California Energy Shortage of 2001.
"El Paso Corporation, the Texas energy company, withheld supplies of natural gas into California during the 2001-2002 power crisis, driving prices to record levels, a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission judge said."


http://www.srimedia.com/artman/publish/article_160.shtm...

So the talking points:

1) Oppose ALL corruption...some appears to have occurred at the UN. Find out who. Not a reason to condemn the ENTIRE UN because,

2) The UN Inspections and Sanctions were SUCCESSFUL. Saddam was UNABLE to obtain ANY WMD, or reconstitute ANY program to obtain any. The Inspections were 100% successful, an invasion was unnecessary!
This is in bold because the NeoCons are trying to use the corruption to slime the Entire concept of the UN.

3) I agree...root out the corruption, but isn't it terrible that so many bush* and Enron connected Corporations were involved. Looks like Cheney and Halliburton were also involved in circumventing the embargo. (cite the Duelfer Report, the uncensored version)

4) $23Billion is alot of money, but it in beans compared to the corruption of the bush* installed programs in Iraq. $20Billion disappeared (vanished) overnight when Bremmer left and the IRC was disbanded. That was YOUR TAX Money, and something needs to be done about THAT corruption.
(need links for the last one)

[bvar22]

11. addendum to above post:

Talking Points

5)The corruption was initiated and propagated by CORRUPT CORPORATIONS
on an International Scale. This scandal at the UN merely highlights the
absolute NEED for tighter regulation and oversight of Corporations, especially those involved in International Trade.
Without the corrupt corporations there would be no scandal at the UN!!

[Boosterman]

15. Excellent point.

I liked all your talking points. Hope you dont mind if I shamelessly steal them. :)

[theboss]

9. Good luck....

The whole spectacle appears to be covered in sleaze.

Just remember: the thing that makes us different from the Right-Wing is that we call our people on their bullshit (see McGreevey).

[AllegroRondo]

12. A minor point

remember that all oil for food contracts had to go through an international panel that included representatives from the US.

[Peter Frank]

13. Check out U.S. Companies' Involvement...

...I don't have time to source this for you, but check out that at least a couple U.S. oil companies have dirty hands in this. Mobil for one...

[Boosterman]

14. Good points everyone

I just want to add that I agree that any corrupt officials should go to jail. There needs to be a full investigation. I got a little info off FAIR. Just concerned over how Bush might use this is all.

[tandot]

16. I watched CNN this morning - interview with Senator Levin (D)

He said that the US was aware that Iraq sold oil to Syria, Libya, and Turkey. He said that because of this violation, the US should have withheld aid to these countries. Both President Clinton and President Bush were aware of the whole thing and decided not to withhold aid.

There is much blame to go around. The US turned a blind eye to the whole situation under President Clinton and under President Bush. So, for some right-wing Republicans like Coleman to argue that Annan should resign is clearly payback because the UN didn't go along with the war against Iraq.

This scandal needs to be investigated and people responsible for that mess should be punished. However, to lay the blame for that scandal solely on Annan is nothing but a right-wing ploy. Coleman accused Annan this morning on CNN of being responsible for financing insurgents who kill American soldiers.

We all have heard it before: "You are either with us or you are with the terrorists". I am tired of hearing that utter BS. This arrogance will come back to haunt us.

[K-W]

17. The US is as responsible as anyone else for what went on.

This isnt a partisan issue for anybody. Lets get the facts and fix the problem.

In the meantime, ask your coworkers what happened to the Iraqi oil money after the US took control of it.