Oil-food benefited Russian leaders

Looks like there was another reason that some Russians were so vehemnetly opposed to the invasion of Iraq. Saddam had bribed them. I have to wonder how much, if any, of this type of activity will be found in the final Volker investigation report. Perhaps this is why the UN people are so upset over the Senate's probe of the Oil-for-Food scandal. The Senate is naming names. David R. Sands has more in his article.

"Sen. Norm Coleman, the Minnesota Republican spearheading the Senate probe, said the payoffs to former Russian Presidential Council head Alexander Voloshin and Liberal Democratic Party head Vladimir Zhirinovsky fit the pattern that Saddam used to undermine the U.N. sanctions by bribing high officials in key Security Council countries.

"This is the way Saddam Hussein used the oil-for-food program to line his own pockets and to curry favor abroad," Mr. Coleman said. "That's what the evidence clearly shows."

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee on investigations, which Mr. Coleman chairs, will air the charges of influence peddling at a hearing tomorrow."

I am sure we will here all the wailling of denial by these two and the Russians in general. Tomorrow's hearing should be quite interesting. I will try and find a transcript to link to from here.

"Tariq Aziz, Saddam's former deputy prime minister, told the subcommittee how the influence-buying scheme worked in one instance.

In summer 2002, Mr. Aziz said, the threat of a Russian veto in the Security Council blocked a U.S. proposal to tighten border controls to strengthen the oil-for-food sanctions. Saddam told his oil ministry to "show gratitude" by increasing oil allocations to Russian interests and giving Russian companies contracts to sell food and humanitarian goods under the U.N. program.

In all, about 30 percent of Saddam's oil deals during the oil-for-food period went to Russian applicants, even though Russia is the world's second largest exporter of oil after Saudi Arabia."

If anyone would know where the bodies are buried, it would Aziz. This scandal seems to get wider and deeper evvery day. You have to wonder why the dem/leftists, led by the ever whining Barbara Boxer, are so adamently opposed to John Bolton. Considering the sorry state of the UN, as eveidenced by this and other scandals, it is time that some one be sent to the UN who will brook no nonsense from this organization that is so rife with scandal. - Sailor