OK so why is the U.N's "oil for food " scandal such a big story when the .

[southernleftylady]

leader is said to have only pocketed 1 million.. yeah thats allot of money but how much money was "lost" in Iraq? BY US? why is this "scandal" all over the news??

[whistle]

1. Deflection...

[rfranklin]

2. It serves the purpose of those who hate the UN

If it was a stick of chewing gum, Faux News could keep it going for years.

[DRoseDARs]

3. Why bother with evidence...

Rumor and conjecture is enough for them to go on.

[reallygone]

4. Just one of many

Saddam & kids pocketed billions. They gave kickbacks to the "gatekeepers", but it was the suppliers that made the really big bucks. Then the smugglers (French, Russians, Germans, Koreans, etc.) of tech and military material that got really HUGE amounts. Meanwhile, Saddam was saying that kids were dying of hunger in Iraq.

Let's face it, the UN as a developing world government is an experiment gone bad. Most of the administration comes from countries where graft and kickbacks are a standard way of doing business and they see nothing morally wrong with being an "expiditer".

[WLKjr]

5. Halliburton, Bechtel, Reporters, etc

all get kick backs from this administration, The Bush Administration.

So what is it exactly the difference between Halliburton screwing the Tax payer and the UN oil for food program???

[Donailin]

6. on c-span, the washington times writer

just descibed the institution as being ideological, dismissive of criticism, unable to admit to corruption.. . and I thought, yeah you just described the administration. She was going on about the UN.

[Dr Ron]

7. It's to stop a socialist world government

The right has been paranoid about the UN for years and will use any excuse to bash them.

[Dr Ron]

8. UN fighting back--Peter Daou hired

I talked to Pete Daou over the weekend. He was an internet consultant for the Kerry campaign and now does Daou Report. The UN has hired him to help with these right wing attacks. He started a blog to help with this at:

http://www.undispatch.com/