The United Nations And The Oil-For-Food Program
By Gabrielle Reilly

In one article from the Wall Street Journal, executive director of the “Oil for Food Program,” Benon Sevan, was being investigated as one of the actual recipients of the discounted oil on the list. Here is a statement regarding the allegations by Benon Sevan in the New York Times:

“United Nations overseers say they were unaware of the systematic skimming of oil-for-food revenues. They were focused on running aid programs and assuring food deliveries, they add.
The director of the Office of Iraq Programs, Benon V. Sevan, declined to be interviewed about the oil-for-food program. In written responses to questions sent by e-mail, his office said he learned of the 10 percent kickback scheme from the occupation authority only after the end of major combat operations.”

So Sevan said they only became aware of the kickback program after the war? According to an earlier interview with ABC dating back to May 20, 2003, Sevan made this conflicting statement:

"Everybody knew it, and those who were in a position to do something about it, were not doing anything," said Benon Sevan, the executive director of the Office of Iraq Program. When asked if that included him, he told ABCNEWS, "I have no power."

No power? But he is the executive director of the program! Who put Sevan in as executive director of the Iraq Program yet gave him no power? Kofi Annan.

"Of course it troubled me," said Sevan. "What do you think, I'm what you call a 'dodo,' sitting here what do you call, cold-blooded? Of course it bothers me."

U.N. officials say the program was under intense scrutiny, but the Security Council permitted Iraq, not U.N. administrators, to select which companies were part of the program.
And many had obviously suspect backgrounds, including everyone "from Mafia to terrorists to money launderers to anybody that wanted to make a quick buck," said human rights investigator John Fawcett.

From an article I wrote July 2003 following this story regarding the UN corruption, comes more information on Kofi Annan:

Along with the usual meals and medicine, Oil-for Food last year introduced such items--approved by Annan this past December--as $4 million for air conditioners, phones, and vehicles to support the workings of Saddam's so-called Ministry of Justice. Annan also signed off on $50 million to supply Baghdad's totalitarian Ministry of Information "with television and radio studio systems, mobile broadcasting vehicles, television, and radio transmission equipment"--all for the use of the same Saddam propaganda machine that coalition troops have been risking their lives to knock off the air.

So the money that was supposed to be feeding hungry children and providing medicine was being used to support Saddam’s comforts and propaganda. All this was signed off by Annan. Annan was negotiating personally with Saddam:

“Disputes over inspections of presidential palaces contributed to tensions that developed between UN inspectors and the Iraqi government in the 1990s. Personal negotiations between Mr. Hussein and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan produced an agreement whereby inspectors had to supply notice of such inspections and accept diplomatic escorts.
Mr. Perricos, meeting with reporters Wednesday, noted that the new Security Council resolution overrides such agreements.”

Saddam was a hitman before he rose to power, and he ran his country very simply. He rewarded those who supported him with great riches and killed anyone who opposed him AND their whole family. He even killed his own son-in-law and forty members of his son-in-law’s family.

If the UN had of known about the fraud before the war, then they would have had a desperate conflicting interest to NOT impose sanctions on Saddam and avoid going to war at all costs, for three main reasons:

1. The fraud would have been discovered and they could potentially lose their jobs, go to jail, and ruin their lives. Desperate times.
2. They would no longer be able to reap money from the program.
3. If it was incompetence, not fraud, they would have been completely discredited as an organization after all the controversy around the world.

Any one of these scenarios would have provided a motive for them. Doesn’t it make you wonder why they would not enforce the sanctions when everybody believed Saddam did have WMD?

The general public throughout the globe are only just now coming to learn the corruption in the UN, “Oil-for-Food Program.” Has the world found the real reason why the UN would not enforce the sanctions that should have been enforced on Saddam? So where does this leave the future of the UN? Will high-ranking officials have to step down? Will this cause a massive UN shake-up? The UN started out as a valuable organization and has accomplished many wonderful humanitarian efforts around the world. However, over the past decade it appears to have been infiltrated by the very people the UN are supposed to be protecting the world from dictators, thugs, human rights perpetrators, and those developing weapons of mass destruction. Discovering the extent of corruption and incompetence throughout the UN Iraq Program is about as palatable as hearing about your parents’ sex life... it isn't. The UN "holy cow’s" teats were swollen with oil, not milk, which starved the bellies of the thousands of Iraqi children it was meant to be feeding.

It was common knowledge among the leaders and business people around the world though, that the UN “Oil-for-Food Program” was corrupt and had close ties to France, Germany, and Russia. These were the very groups who were protesting the loudest against the sanctions being enforced and the war on Iraq. In fact, they waged one of the greatest anti-America campaigns the world has ever seen. So let’s think about this. If Saddam is a hitman who has actually used chemical weapons, was still believed by most reasonable people, including President Clinton, to have weapons of mass destruction, then shouldn’t he be stopped after not complying for TWELVE YEARS? If the UN were so corrupt and imbedded with Saddam, probably fearing for their lives at that point, then shouldn’t they both be stopped? This does not even take into consideration many connections that have also been made since the fall of the regime between Saddam and Al Qaeda.

President Bush based his decision to go to war on many of these pertinent facts that the general public was not aware of. Even if you were against the war to start with, this information HAS to give any reasonable person a different perspective of why unilateral war was the only recourse left for the US after the full extent of terrorism and UN corruption was revealed preceding 9/11. Fortunately for the world, President Bush was strong enough to go against popular opinion and do what was needed. Unilateral war was exactly what was needed to help protect America and the global community. President Bush needs to finish the job he started.

End

MISTAKES

The Athenians, alarmed at
the internal decay of their republic
asked Demosthenes what to do.
His reply: "Do not do
what you are doing now."

- Unknown