Pointing Fingers on Oil-For-Food

Hoping to use revelations about UN mismanagement and blind-eye monitoring in the oil-for-food program with Saddam, Senate Republicans like Norm Coleman (the Investigations Subcomittee Chair) continue to point to news of the scandal as indications that John Bolton's nomination for ambassador should be approved. Coleman and the GOP have concentrated on the UN failures to control the program in their reporting; the Democrats have their own view of things--and neither surprisingly or without cause, the finger of blame ends up back on GW.

The Guardian's coverage is a little gleeful in the diversion away from the UN and Europe as the sole incompetents/profiteers in the whole messy business. Knight-Ridder covers a broader view of the Subcommittee's findings and prints some angry denials, but doesn't offer some of the starker excerpts from the report itself. The Guardian complies:

In fact, the Senate report found that US oil purchases accounted for 52% of the kickbacks paid to the regime in return for sales of cheap oil - more than the rest of the world put together.

"The United States was not only aware of Iraqi oil sales which violated UN sanctions and provided the bulk of the illicit money Saddam Hussein obtained from circumventing UN sanctions," the report said. "On occasion, the United States actually facilitated the illicit oil sales.

The report is likely to ease pressure from conservative Republicans on Kofi Annan to resign from his post as UN secretary general.

The new findings are also likely to be raised when Mr Galloway appears before the Senate subcommittee on investigations today.

Note that last program reminder, there: Galloway will go almost on trial tomorrow, although without fear of getting hauled off to jail afterwards. This is clearly some pump priming from the Guardian, and includes the hopeful(ly naieve) view that the pressure of conservative Republicans  might--short of being predicated by their removal-- ease.  Nonetheless, that's Senate material they're quoting, and framed by the assuredly fiery "what about your glass house" testimony by Galloway, it is possible that Coleman's quest will be temporarily muted.

Reuters, like many stories from the last day or so,  concentrates on the Russian angle, mentioning the BayOil facilitation only in the very last line. The Russians are surely pissed, and of course the French wouldn't ever miss an opportunity to turn around and point the finger at us--which of course in the grand scheme here is fairly appropriate.

It's doubtful that anyone will come out smelling like roses, although with control of the microphone it's likely that the UN-Russian connection will become the GOP meme, ignoring both Bay Oil and the general US complicity in the whole affair.

And their solution to this mess is John Bolton? The guy who pushed the yellowcake story (pp 6-7)  through his office and into State of the Union infamy? That same Waxman letter to Christopher Shays from March with the Bolton yellowcake findings, also just happens to review the administration's report on oil-for-food profiteers. Strangely, the US companies are redacted, replaced by "US Company." The CIA sought to block the release of the names of those companies. Hmmm...wonder why.

--TJ

Comments

[Zap]

Zhirinovski is the laughing stock of the Duma. His ultra-nationalism is something very dangerous that I have discussed before, intimating Putin may be the best option, because change in Russia will be change for the worse.

But Zhirinovsky is such a kook, even his ultra nationalist brethren in the Duma would like to see him go down. So, the Russian forums I read believe he's their patsy, and they get a big belly laugh out of the idea that he is the Russian bad guy in the Oil for Food scandal.

When I say he's a kook, well, back when I was researching anti-Semitism in Russia, I ran across a video of him campaigning, with a pop band, think Abba. He was on stage singing his political agenda: Pro-Zion because it will get rid of the Jews. It even rhymed.

To the US company redactions. I think I got your redactions right here:

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0410/S00132.htm

[activist kaza]

Galloway gave Coleman hell today (as well he should). The Minnesota is becoming a shameless shill for the WH, and is fast becoming the Gopher State's worst senator since a certain McCarthy in the '50s (no, not clean Gene).