The first comes from the New York Post:
The son of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been targeted by a federal criminal probe into corruption of the scandal-scarred Iraq oil-for-food program, sources said.I'm a firm believer in innocent until proven guilty; but where this scandal is concerned, where there is smoke, there is usually fire.
Top U.N. officials said 30-year-old Kojo Annan is among a handful of individuals and companies whose business dealings with the gigantic U.N. humanitarian aid program are now facing the white-hot scrutiny of a federal grand jury in Manhattan.
It was not clear exactly why Kojo Annan is being eyed in the probe, which involves an $11 billion scheme involving alleged kickbacks and illegal oil smuggling orchestrated by deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
But the sources told The Post that Annan's business activities also are being probed by an independent commission headed by former Federal Reserve Board chief Paul Volcker.
The second story comes from the Washington Post:
The United Nations has failed to fully staff its operation in Iraq, imperiling the timing and quality of the elections there and forcing inexperienced Iraqis to take the lead in preparing for the country's first democratic balloting, due in January, U.S. officials and election experts said.The UN is worthless. They want in...they get in...they fail to support the project...they want out...
Of the 35 U.N. officials in Iraq, only four or five are election experts, U.N. officials said. In Afghanistan, which has a similar-size population, the U.N. had 600 international staff, including 266 election experts, for the first democratic poll this month. A major increase in Iraq is unlikely soon because of deteriorating security and the U.S. failure to quickly mobilize Georgian and Fijian troops for a protection force or provide an acceptable alternative, U.S. and U.N. officials said.
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan is trying to lower expectations that the United Nations will play a central role in the voting, telling reporters in Ireland on Friday that the world body "is not going to Iraq to monitor the elections in January."
"Our role is to support and advise the Iraqi authorities as they organize the elections," he said. "They are responsible for the elections, and they have ownership of those elections."
Just remember, folks, this is who John Kerry wants to have control over our military. The UN: with their scandals and poor peacekeeping track record.
