Weapons of Mass Discussion

UNSCAM

From the Washington Times:

To the outsider, it is hard to see what could link former French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua, President Megawati Sukarnoputri of Indonesia, Russian nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovksy and Benon Sevan, the U.N. official in charge of the Iraqi oil-for-food program.

According to testimony presented to the House Committee on Government Reform this week, there is at least one link: They appear on a list of 270 individuals and entities named in Iraqi oil ministry files as receiving vouchers allowing them to buy millions of barrels of oil.
...
The list is an extraordinary collection of names, stretching from Paris to Moscow, from the Vatican to the Far East.

In France, those named include friends of President Jacques Chirac, among them Mr. Pasqua and Patrick Maugein, the head of the French oil firm Soco International. Mr. Pasqua has denied illicit oil trading.
...
At the Vatican, the Rev. Jean Marie Benjamin — a French priest who is reported to have arranged a meeting between the pope and Tariq Aziz, the former deputy prime minister of Iraq — is listed as receiving the rights to sell 4.5 million barrels.

The list is dominated by Russian citizens and organizations.

In addition to Mr. Zhirinovsky, the list names the former Soviet Prime Minister Nikolai Ryzhkov, the Russian Orthodox Church, the "office of the Russian president," President Vladimir Putin's Peace and Unity Party, and companies linked to the Communist Party.

In Indonesia, the list is headed by Mrs. Megawati, whose spokesman has said she is "aware of the allegations."

The files purportedly show vouchers being handed to socialist, communist and nationalist political parties in Ukraine, Belarus, the former Yugoslavia, Romania, and Slovakia.

There are also vouchers for the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

A prominent British member of Parliament is listed, along with his Jordanian business partner.

In Syria, there are vouchers listed for Firas Mustafa Tlass, the son of a veteran Syrian defense minister and Ba'ath party elder. Gen. Tlass has said he bought oil only under the program.

Most worrying for the United Nations is the entry for Panama, a Mr. Sevan. Congress was told this week that the reference is to Benon Sevan, the U.N. official in charge of the program.

Matt's Chat

John Kerry wants the UN to manage Iraq. I don't think so...

09:00 UPDATE: Kofi Whines

From the Washington Times (AP):

Secretary-General Kofi Annan accused critics of the U.N. oil-for-food program Thursday of treating allegations of corruption as fact and ignoring the program's role of providing aid to nearly every Iraqi family.

The U.N. chief declared that he was "very keen" for the three-member panel led by former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker to report "as soon as possible." And he promised that any U.N. official found guilty of accepting bribes or kickbacks would be dealt with "very severely."

Kofi says that the UN administrator for the program has declared his innocence. Uh-huh...

He told reporters Thursday it is "unfortunate" that some allegations are "being handled as if they were facts," and that in the process the oil-for-food program's importance to Iraqis had been lost.

"The fact that (there) may have been wrongdoing by a few should not destroy the work that many hardworking U.N. staff did," he said.

The UN is a naive organization as a whole. The reality is that the UN has been used by opportunists who wouldn't play by the rules if they had to...

"If the Iraqi government has smuggled oil and done all sorts of things, I don't think it is fair to lump it all together and blame the U.N. and the Secretariat because there are things that were definitely beyond our control - not only the Secretariat but even the member states," Annan said.

But the UN can blame the key member state, the United States, for all kinds of things. The UN has to realize at some point that if they don't enforce their resolutions, they lose their usefulness on the world stage as an actor. The UN has to be an organization of integrity if it is to be successful. Right now, the UN has no credibility.

Mark's Remarks

Kofi and Co. have ruined the UN. What began as a hope for peace has become a joke. They cannot and will not enforce resolutions, they are corrupt in that they allowed injustices in Rwanda to happen, and then we have this Oil for Food Scandal. The UN has lost all credibility and respectability, and how can ANYONE REMOTELY RATIONAL expect them to be an honest broker in any dispute, especially now that this information is coming out? They didn't come on board with us because of Saddam's blood money! How can we expect them to be fair in governing Iraq? WE cannot. They would prop up their buddies, and the checks and such would start flowing again. We need to hold the UN accountable, and it is good the US is undertaking an investigation, because I do not trust the UN any longer, and neither should anyone else.