This is an ongoing story that was mentioned below, but bears repeating because of the constant whining about getting the UN involved in the Iraqi situation. It would appear that the UN was well ahead of us in terms of "involvement" in Iraq:
- At least three senior United Nations officials are suspected of taking multimillion-dollar bribes from the Saddam Hussein regime, U.S. and European intelligence sources tell ABCNEWS.
One year after his fall, U.S. officials say they have evidence, some in cash, that Saddam diverted to his personal bank accounts approximately $5 billion from the United Nations Oil-for-Food program.
In what has been described as the largest humanitarian aid effort ever undertaken, the U.N. Oil-for-Food program began in 1996 to help Iraqis who were suffering under sanctions imposed following the first Gulf War.
The program allowed Iraq to sell limited amounts of oil, under supposedly tight U.N. supervision, to finance the purchase of much-needed humanitarian goods.
Most prominent among those accused in the scandal is Benon Sevan, the Cyprus-born U.N. undersecretary general who ran the program for six years.
What's maddening about the story is that even in the face of the "Oil for Food" program having been proven to be nothing more than Saddam slush fund used to buy off the "community of nations", they still refer to it as "the largest humanitarian aid effort ever undertaken, the U.N. Oil-for-Food program began in 1996 to help Iraqis who were suffering under sanctions imposed following the first Gulf War." Even in the face of a milti-billion dollar UN scandal that literally took food from the mouths of starving Iraqis, the US is not-so-subtly cast as the villain.
And you remember the "community of nations" don't you? They are the ones before whom we are to prostrate ourselves before taking any military action.
By the way, many of those who were on the take in this scam are the same people that not only refused to support us, but actively obstructed and continue to refuse assistance in our efforts to liberate Iraq!
So, where is the outrage?
