Wednesday, April 21, 2004
UN Oil-For-Food Chief Embezzled Millions
The Oil for Food scandal isn't just the purview of a few conservative cranks at the Wall Street Journal and their cheerleaders in the blogosphere anymore.
ABC goes with the story, and airs out the 'smoking gun,' a 1998 memo from Saddam's oil mullah detailing a transfer $ 3.5 million worth of oil contracts to Benon Sevan, a former UN Undersecretary General, who actually ran the Oil for Food program for six years.
As noted here, earlier documents also implicate a former Interior Minister of France and a British Member of Parliament.
Sure, the Wall Street Journal got it here, first, weeks ago. And according to the Journal's sources, the scale of the fraud committed is actually twice as large as that put forth by ABC.
But ABC is harder for UN apologists to ignore.
The New York Times glosses over the Benon connection here...and buries Benon's name 10 paragraphs deep into the story.
This is a UN Undersecretary we're talking about here, people. He headed the largest humanitarian relief program ever. He headed it. And He stole millions.
His boss, Kofi Annan--who tried to diffuse the scrutiny early on, has a son who may also be implicated, through his role in a Swiss company who also had dealings with the oil-for-food program.
You think Annan is going to be motivated to provide energetic oversight?
Splash, out
Jason
ABC goes with the story, and airs out the 'smoking gun,' a 1998 memo from Saddam's oil mullah detailing a transfer $ 3.5 million worth of oil contracts to Benon Sevan, a former UN Undersecretary General, who actually ran the Oil for Food program for six years.
As noted here, earlier documents also implicate a former Interior Minister of France and a British Member of Parliament.
Sure, the Wall Street Journal got it here, first, weeks ago. And according to the Journal's sources, the scale of the fraud committed is actually twice as large as that put forth by ABC.
But ABC is harder for UN apologists to ignore.
The New York Times glosses over the Benon connection here...and buries Benon's name 10 paragraphs deep into the story.
This is a UN Undersecretary we're talking about here, people. He headed the largest humanitarian relief program ever. He headed it. And He stole millions.
His boss, Kofi Annan--who tried to diffuse the scrutiny early on, has a son who may also be implicated, through his role in a Swiss company who also had dealings with the oil-for-food program.
You think Annan is going to be motivated to provide energetic oversight?
Splash, out
Jason
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