Oil for Food Scandal -benefiter interviewed

[HOZ]

Benon Sevan the UN bigman who took bribes from Saddam to look the other way was interviewed by Claudia Rosett, the reporter that broke the story.


A little more info on the both of them.
http://patterico.com/2006/03/31/4400...urkish-coffee/

And the interview
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editor...l?id=110008172

[RougeUnderoos]

147 grand and he's the "UN bigman"?

That is quite an interview though. Fascinating. Yellow clothespins? That tells you all you need to know about this guy.

[Lanny_MacDonald]

Some people should really research where the information comes from and who writes it.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/wiki.phtm...of_Democracies

Looks like HOZ is going to take anohter **** kicking!

[FlamesAddiction]

Not as bad as the "Oil for Iraqi Lives" scandal that's been going on for the better part of 20 years.

[HOZ]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

147 grand and he's the "UN bigman"?

That is quite an interview though. Fascinating. Yellow clothespins? That tells you all you need to know about this guy.

BENON V. SEVAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF THE IRAQ PROGRAMME
http://www.un.org/Depts/oip/backgrou...t/sevancv.html

So yes he was a BIG man in the UN

147 grand that supposedly came from his Aunt who promptly fell down an elevator shaft.

[HOZ]

Originally Posted by Lanny_MacDonald

Some people should really research where the information comes from and who writes it.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/wiki.phtm...of_Democracies

Looks like HOZ is going to take anohter **** kicking!

Gee thanks Lanny for exposing that FDD is conservative. Boy, got me there

[Lanny_MacDonald]

Originally Posted by HOZ

Gee thanks Lanny for exposing that FDD is conservative. Boy, got me there

No, it seems the only ones giving a steaming coil about the whole thing are the neo-conservative idiots who are trying to create yet ANOTHER distraction from the fact that they illegally invaded another sovereign nation and have destroyed that country since arriving. No one else gives a damn about this and it died months ago. The only thing that keeps this thing alive is neo-conservative noise machine as they attempt to cover up the corruption within the Bush administration by pointing it out elsewhere.

Its really sad to see you continue to beat this dead horse. The only ones that continue to bring it up are the ones propping up the Bush administration. Everyone else stopped caring about it after the UN slapped some wrists. Continuing to dredge this crap up (or should I say Drudge this stuff up) is pathetic! Its over! It was not an excuse for the neo-cons to invade another country and destroy the lives of millions. Move along little girl, before you get hurt again.

[oldschoolcalgary]

I love it...8 billion (BILLION) dollars is unaccounted for from the first months after the fall of Bagdad...the General Accounting Office has no idea where it is...and the oil for food scandal still gets headlines....

besides "oil for FOOD" is different than say "Iran Contra"

[Displaced Flames fan]

I didn't read HOZ' link so don't jump all over me.

But I think that making light of the United Nations taking bribes from Saddam Hussein and increasing the poverty of the Iraqi people in doing so because there are other issues on the other side of the political coin is sad.

You guys can bring any of those issues up in their own threads (and have) anytime you want. Saddam Hussein found takers at the UN to get money for oil while his people starved. That's bad anyway you look at it.

[Lanny_MacDonald]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

I didn't read HOZ' link so don't jump all over me.

But I think that making light of the United Nations taking bribes from Saddam Hussein and increasing the poverty of the Iraqi people in doing so because there are other issues on the other side of the political coin is sad.

You guys can bring any of those issues up in their own threads (and have) anytime you want. Saddam Hussein found takers at the UN to get money for oil while his people starved. That's bad anyway you look at it.

No doubt Dis, a terrible thing. Its also old news that was put to bed months ago. The UN hit the guys that were responsible and punished them with a slap on the wrist. Its old news. Ironically, this old news always seem to reseurface when ever things start really going bad for the Bush administration. If Iraq is going ****ty and the Bush Amin needs another boost in the public eye you can count on one of tweo things being trotted out to take pressure off their corruption and incompetance; Food-for-Oil or an increased terror alert (which we have not had a legitimate terror level escalation in close to a year, and that one never made the press). Its all a game for the neo-cons and they push this stuff out as a smoke screen. Its as predictable as HOZ's outrage when it hits the web site.

[calculoso]

I don't understand why there's a double standard here.

Oil-for-food is old news.

(Supposed) Bush corruption and incompetance is old news.

Yet only one of them is now irrelevant?

[Lanny_MacDonald]

You can't see the difference?

One is old news, one is on-going news. On has been dealt with, one is making news every week. The FFO scandal has been dealt with. Bush and co and in the thick of their problems, and they keep growing each week.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Lanny, you said "whenever things start going badly for the Bush admin.".....when have they gone well since election day?

Not really a serious question there....I just don't see anything positive anywhere from them.

BTW...where the hell is Cowperson? I haven't seen him post in a while.

[White Doors]

Originally Posted by Lanny_MacDonald

You can't see the difference?

One is old news, one is on-going news. On has been dealt with, one is making news every week. The FFO scandal has been dealt with. Bush and co and in the thick of their problems, and they keep growing each week.

Wasn't Kofi Annan implicated in the scandal? Is there not still on going investigations to do with this? Old news when you are afraid of the outcome perhaps?

[Lanny_MacDonald]

Originally Posted by White Doors

Wasn't Kofi Annan implicated in the scandal? Is there not still on going investigations to do with this? Old news when you are afraid of the outcome perhaps?

I do believe that all "investigations" are complete and all "sanctions" have been metted out. And what is to be afraid of? Nothing that took place with that scandal has any bearing on my life. Nothing that took place with that scandal had any bearing on anything from an American perspective (don't forget, American companies got the majority of the contracts that were sold under the table, so that means the government turned a blind eye to this). Its all nothing but a smoke and mirror show attempting to show that other governments are as corrupt as the Bush administration.

Until another government lies to its people to start a war, illegally invades another country, awards BILLIONS of dollars of no bid contracts to the company that the Vice President ran, outs an operative in their intelligence service (that is treason btw, especially at a time of war), runs torture camps in multiple foreign countries, runs a covert domestic spying program that is illegal and against the constiutional rights of the citizens, and has enough endictments handed down against their staff and party to choke a small horse, I would say that nothing compares to the Bush administration.

[oldschoolcalgary]

Funny, I don't think the so-called left cares whether or not Anan participated in the skimming (to this point, there is no evidence of such)...the opposition to the Iraq invasion is not predicated on a vote for Kofi Anan per se

...If the "oil for food" scandal ends up revealing and punishing those who are involved, that's a great thing...

funny thing is, the US is part of the UN Security Council, and thus had oversight ability on the entire programme if they so chose...

now, the idea of "oil for food" is a simplified version of this complex programme...so, in a nutshell

1) the UN sanctioned the programme as a way of providing Humanitarian aid in light of the crippling sanctions done post Gulf War One.

2) The integrity of the programme rested in part on the performance of the inspection companies that were selected by the UN to monitor the export of Iraqi oil and the import of humanitarian goods. Three companies played roles; a Dutch firm (Saybolt Eastern Hemisphere BV), an English firm (LLoyd's Register Inspection Ltd.) which was later replaced by Swiss firm (Cotenca Inspection S.A.) - the English firm dropped out due to time issues.

3) the Iraq programme was supervised by Humanitarian coordinators stationed in Iraq, who reported directly to the Executive Director of the Office of the Iraq Programme.

Now, from what I can assertain, companies paid kickbacks to the Iraq government in exchange for "preferential" treatment...additionally, Iraq chose to sell its oil to countries who were "friendly" to Iraq in order to potentially influence them.

Bribes were offered, and they were taken...BUT I have seen no evidence of Kofi Anan being aware of nor participating in any wrong doing...and the report says as much.

For those interested, you can find a brief overview of the report here http://www.ccil-ccdi.ca/index.php?op...=116&Itemid=64

The actual 630 page report is here...read pages 12-15 of the pdf for a summarized version of the results
http://www.iic-offp.org/documents/II...027Oct2005.pdf

statement from Kofi Anan on the fifth and final report:

New York, 27 October 2005 - Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on the Final Report of the Independent Inquiry Committee on oil-for-food
The Secretary-General takes note of the findings contained in the fifth and final report of the Independent Inquiry Committee into the Oil-for-Food Programme.
He notes that a vast network of kickbacks and surcharges has been exposed, involving companies registered in a wide range of member states, and certified by them as competent to conduct business under the Programme. He hopes that national authorities will take steps to prevent the recurrence of such practices in the future, and that they will take action, where appropriate, against companies falling within their jurisdiction.
He recalls that, in his speech to the Security Council responding to the Committee's previous report, he already accepted responsibility for management failures in the Secretariat. He also notes that the latest report confirms the Committee's earlier finding that the respective roles and responsibilities of the Secretariat, the Security Council and the 661 Committee – which approved all of the contracts, including the prices – were never clearly enough defined.
Most importantly, the Secretary-General believes that thorough reform of the management structures and practices of the United Nations, especially those that relate to oversight, transparency and accountability, is vital. He has already instituted extensive reforms – including broader and more rigorous financial disclosure requirements, a stronger policy to protect whistleblowers, and a review of all oversight and audit arrangements. He intends to pursue these and other reforms with even greater vigour in the weeks and months ahead, and looks to member states for their support.
Finally, he wishes to thank the members of the Committee – Mr. Paul Volcker, Justice Richard Goldstone and Professor Mark Pieth – and their whole team for the extremely thorough investigation they have conducted. Such an investigation is exactly what the Secretary-General hoped for when he set up the Inquiry 18 months ago. He notes, as Mr. Volcker himself has done, that few other organizations would voluntarily expose themselves and their activities to such detailed scrutiny.

http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=1760

note, the committee was headed by former US Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker...

judge for yourselves...

[HOZ]

Well I put the articles up because I thought the interview was really interesting. A guy that was basically at the centre of the UN food for oil scandal and the woman that broke the story catching up with him.


But I guess it all boils down to Hallburton-Oil-Bush and my great attempt to hide my attempt to "take over the world" with Pinki.

Sheesh, some people's children.