UN cover-up in progress

[Fairweather]

U.N. Warns Oil-for-Food Companies on Documents

Thursday, May 06, 2004

 

FOX NEWS

 

UNITED NATIONS — The office of the senior U.N. official in charge of the scandal-plagued Iraqi oil-for-food (search) program has sent letters to companies involved in the program telling them they should not hand over any documents or information without first clearing it with the United Nations.

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According to the letters obtained by Fox News, the companies "should retain and safeguard" any documents related to the program and should provide them to U.N. officials upon request. The letters came from the office of Undersecretary-General Benon V. Sevan (search), though aides signed the letters on his behalf.

 

One of the letters was sent to a company called Cotecna Inspection S.A. (search), which for five years had the job of authenticating all goods being shipped into Iraq under the oil-for-food program.

 

It's also the company that once employed the son of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (search). Annan has said his son Kojo stopped working for the company before the Cotecna contract was awarded.

 

The second letter, dated April 27, was provided to Fox News with the company name hidden. The source who provided the letter said it was one of the hundreds of companies authorized to do business with the oil-for-food program.

 

Both letters — as well as a third one made public earlier this week to Saybolt Corp. (search), an inspection agency hired by the United Nations to monitor the loading of Iraqi oil — remind the companies of their contractual confidentiality agreements. For example, the April 2 Cotecna letter says all documents and data "shall be the property of the United Nations, shall be treated as confidential and shall be delivered only to United Nations authorized officials."

 

All three of these letters came from Sevan, who ran the oil-for-food program and who is accused of personally profiting $3.5 million through alleged illegal oil transactions.

 

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill expressed concern about the potential conflict of interest, saying that U.N. officials who are themselves being investigated appear to be trying to control the information investigators can access.

 

"We view our role in many cases as a catalyst. Ultimately, the truth has to be known and the U.N. has to disclose it," said Rep. Christopher Shays (search), R.-Conn. "We can't ignore the serious allegations of malfeasance. The U.N. is under an ominous cloud."

 

Sen. John Ensign (search), R-Nev., said the most scandalous actions may still be to come.

 

"We're afraid there could be a major cover-up that could (dwarf) the original scandal," Ensign told Fox News. "We all know in America the cover-up can be worse than the crime and we certainly don't want this covered up ... The United Nations certainly shouldn't be above the law."

 

U.N. officials said the letters are standard procedure to remind companies of their contractual obligations.

 

But a senior congressional aide involved in the investigation said that the longer the United Nations clings to these confidentiality agreements, the more it will suffer potentially irreparable credibility problems.

 

Sevan ran the program for seven years and is retiring on May 31, but U.N. officials said he would remain available for the investigation.

 

"Benon has stated quite clearly that he is innocent," Annan said last month. "He has indicated he will cooperate, as I expect all other staff members to cooperate."

 

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 (search) 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."

 

Sevan is currently out of the United States and has declined requests to speak to Fox News about his role in the program. He has maintained in the past that he did nothing wrong, and would cooperate fully with the Volcker investigation.

 

The Volcker panel doesn't have subpoena authority and will rely on voluntary cooperation from governments, U.N. staff, members of Saddam's former government and current Iraqi leaders. They claim they have evidence that dozens of people, including top U.N. officials, took kickbacks from the $67 billion oil-for-food program.

 

John Ruggie (search), a former U.N. assistant secretary general, told Fox News on Wednesday that he did not see the letters as a tactic to prevent investigators from getting needed information but rather as a way of conforming to the United Nation's general bureaucracy.

 

"The letter did not state that no documents will be released. The letter stated 'check with us,'" Ruggie said. "They will be turned over to Paul Volker and that's where they belong ... Volker owns every document that's relevant to the oil-for-food program."

 

 

OK. Before you slam the FOX NEWS source, I checked the "world" and "International" sections of ABC, NBC, CNN, and CBS web sites. No mention of this developing cover-up. (Too busy with their agenda these days.)

 

Looks like the UN isn't going to be as 'cooperative' with the oil-for-food investigation as they professed earlier this week. The UN was against getting rid of Saddam all along...and we'll soon understand why.

 

Fucking UN.

[chelle]

Glad to see you're posting again. Maybe you've been around for awhile, but I haven't had time for spray. Thanks for posting the story. Very interesting.

[Peter_Puget]

There's an article at Commentary.org on this too.

[Martlet]

Is this the same UN Kerry wants to crawl back to on his hands and knees?

[AlpineK]

So how bout them pictures of MPs forcing Iraqi prisoners into homo-erotic poses.

[cracked]

So how bout them pictures of MPs forcing Iraqi prisoners into homo-erotic poses.

Pathetic dodge.

[Fairweather]

AK,

 

I'll bet you'd like to have a homo-erotic experience with Kofi Annan since you grab your ankles at the very mention of his name.

 

No comment regarding your corrupt UN brothers who filled their bank accounts, skimmed and spent oil-for-food money lavishly while Iraqi children starved?? It now seems that only a US invasion was able to pry these little bastards from Saddam's teat.

[AlpineK]

There's no doubt in my mind that the UN is a bureaucracy that's at least a little fucked up. While they may need cleaning up I think it's a lot more important that the invaders of a totalitarian country that say they're bringing freedom and justice to the country behave in an extremely squeeky clean manor.

 

The US has failed to live up to the words that our leaders profess. I think we should let the UN take over; corrupt or not.

 

PS Cracked, as noted in an earlier thread...you're just a boy; grow up and maybe I'll take you seriously.

[j_b]

hm... kickbacks, cronism, nepotism, non-transparency .... why does all of this sound awfully familiar?

[cracked]

PS Cracked, as noted in an earlier thread...you're just a boy; grow up and maybe I'll take you seriously.

Sounds like an easy way to try to ignore the fact that I'm usually right.

 

Here we have a bureaucracy that was obviously under Saddam's thumb, and you think that we should let them take over. Wow. I'd say that while the US hasn't done a perfect job, letting the UN handle it would result in a major fiasco. The UN is supposed to be an unbiased international council. When they cease to be unbiased, it's time to break it apart.

Edited May 7, 2004 by cracked

[AlpineK]

No Cracked you usally are talking out your ass...Like right now...grow some chest hair

[cracked]

What a convincing argument.

[Fairweather]

AK,

 

This might be painful at first, but you'll thank me someday...

 

http://www.jbs.org/

 

[Dru]

You know America's big problem with the UN is it doesn't knuckle under like NATO or the OAS and let USA play boss. The nerve! Those damn French might have something to do with it.

 

And actually having family planing programs that support condom distribution, that's immoral! Tell your congressman to keep voting on those riders to deny the UN the USA's membership dues until they have abstinence-only family planning ONLY.

 

Not that the UN is not a corrupt body... I mean having Sudan on the Human Rights panel is kinda like having Hitler in the synagogue...

[mattp]

I really don't understand your deep hatred of the UN, Mr. Fairweather. So they messed up the food for oil program. (And here, I'll note that they PROBABLY did mess it up way big time, and almost certainly some of them WERE corrupt - but I sure as hell don't believe anything in any FOX News release and I have no idea whether the problems were the "fault" of the U.N., of some individuals within it, or if the organization was coopted or coerced by greedy third parties with economic interests at stake - or all three). The U.N. has messed up a lot of other things, too -- but I still think we're better having it than not. What is the alternative? Might makes right, I guess.

 

 

I'd much rather that we at least paid lip service to the idea that we should cooperate with other nations to make this world a better place and the right wing attack on the U.N. and on pretty much all international treaties of any significance is something I find absolutely horrific.

[chucK]

Maybe there's a reason your story is only on Fox News.

[Peter_Puget]

I really don't understand your deep hatred of the UN, Mr. Fairweather. So they messed up the food for oil program. (And here, I'll note that they PROBABLY did mess it up way big time, and almost certainly some of them WERE corrupt - but I sure as hell don't believe anything in any FOX News release and I have no idea whether the problems were the "fault" of the U.N., of some individuals within it, or if the organization was coopted or coerced by greedy third parties with economic interests at stake - or all three). The U.N. has messed up a lot of other things, too -- but I still think we're better having it than not. What is the alternative? Might makes right, I guess.

 

 

I'd much rather that we at least paid lip service to the idea that we should cooperate with other nations to make this world a better place and the right wing attack on the U.N. and on pretty much all international treaties of any significance is something I find absolutely horrific.

 

 

Mattp - It seems that you are confusing the UN with cooperation between nations. I remind you of the Concert of Europe and the Second World War. Read the article in Commentary.

 

 

 

Thos suggesting that the story appears only in Fox reveal the limited range of the media they are exposed to. This in turn explains why they are not fair judges of media bias.

 

Cheers,

PP

[Martlet]

"Messed up" the oil for food program? The man in charged sat by and got rich, channeled money to his pals, while allowing Saddam to funnel the money into his own accounts while continuing to starve and murder his people.

 

That's who you want to rebuild Iraq? The folks that fought to keep Saddam's murderous regime in place so he and his buddies can make a profit? While your at it, could you let your foxes build me a chicken coop?

[mattp]

That's right, Martlet. I'd much rather have the U.N. in charge than Bush, Rumsfeld, Wolfilwitz, and Cheney. Much rather.

 

I don['t know what actually happened with the oil-for-food program. Information has been remarkably scarce. Apparently, Fairweather and FOX News say there was an evil plot and there is an ongoing coverup perpetrated largely by one evil program administrator and his friends, but I suspect it was a lot more complicated than that. I also believe that our great father in Washington would not have done any better and probably IS not doing any better right now.

 

 

Edited May 7, 2004 by mattp

[AlpineK]

AK,

 

This might be painful at first, but you'll thank me someday...

 

http://www.jbs.org/

 

 

Fairweather, I'll join the John Birch Society if you join this group

[mattp]

PP-

 

A couple of years ago, Wolfilwitz gave a speech wherein he said he thought we should pull out of all significant international agreements and withdraw from the U.N., and that we should seek to maintain military supremacy and that if any other country threatens our preeminence in the world we should do all we can to keep them down. This is called the "Wolfilwitz Doctrine," I believe.

 

Since Bush came into office, he'd done just about everything he can to undermine the U.N., he's refused to sign Kyoto, stalled on even talking about global warming when this has been the top of the agenda for many of our "allies," backed out of arms control treaties in place for 30 years, refused to "submit" to the World Court, called our long time allies "irrelevant," perpetrated a major war against the wishes of every other nation in the world save Britain, Spain and East Bonga Wonga, and he's dangerously close to getting trade wars going. If you call this "cooperation" with other nations, I'd hate to see what it would be like if we decided to be "belligerent."

[scott_harpell]

Gee... mabe that is why the UN didn't want an invasion of Iraq...

[Peter_Puget]

Well it is easy to imagine what we'd be like if we were belligerent - imagine Eastern Europe after WW2. My point was international cooperation is not a product of the UN or some other organization.

[mattp]

PP-

 

Just so we're clear: you are not disputing my suggestion that Bush and Co. have a clear record of being un-cooperative?

[gotterdamerung]

The UN cannot even enforce their own no smoking policy.

 

In 1994, Kofi Annan, then head of the UN's peacekeeping operations, blocked any use of UN troops in Rwanda even though he was told by his representative there that the genocide could be stopped before it started.

 

The United Nations? Where Libya, Syria, and Sudan are on the Human Rights Commission? The UN is crucial for feeding people and trying to deal with such plagues as AIDS; but if you had been in a Hussein torture chamber, would you, even in a state of delirium, hope for rescue from the UN Security Council?