November 2004

Time for U.N. to Lead, Follow or Get Out of Way

The United Nations cookie jar – otherwise known as the “Iraq oil for food” program – is empty.

France and other countries caught with crumbs on their hands insist they were only counting.

Strange. Goodies worth $21 billion, meant for hungry Iraqis, ended up in Saddam Hussein’s hip pocket.

More disturbing is that some of the loot was spent to encourage Palestinian suicide bombers against Israel. The remainder fattened Saddam’s private bank accounts in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

And don’t overlook those three tractor-trailers that backed up to the Iraq National Bank in the dead of night. Saddam’s son carted away umpteen millions of dollars in U.S. currency as the American army approached.

Remember, the Gulf War coalition of 1991 was halted short of total victory by the United Nations. Saddam was allowed to sell oil upon his promise to use the cash for food and medicine.

The U.N. appointed an oversight committee to monitor the program. Astonishingly Saddam was allowed to set the sale price of Iraq oil 50 cents per barrel above market prices.

Now we learn that the 50-cent surcharge was kicked back by oil purchasers in France, Germany, Russia and China.

It is alleged that the son of U.N. Secretary- general Kofi Annan may have been favored with oil purchase vouchers ladled out by Saddam.

The cookie monster was fingered last month by Patrick F. Kennedy – formerly U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Committee for Management and Reform.

He testified before the U.S. House International Relations Committee about the New York branch of the National Bank of Paris. It handled the U.N. $64 billion oil-for-food program.

Kennedy stated the bank made “tens of millions of dollars” in fees without properly monitoring Saddam’s oil sales. Committee investigators set the figure at $700 million.

He declared, “We began pushing for a system to bring this under control, but it was resisted by other nations.”

Committee chairman Henry J. Hyde says, “We have uncovered what appears to be serious malfeasance on an international scale.”

He and Rep. Tom Lantos introduced a bill last week to require greater accountability at the U.N.

“We need international institutions that are transparent, answerable to outside scrutiny and beyond reproach,” says Hyde.

Three other congressional committees are looking into the matter.

A week ago, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations – with wide subpoena power – requested Annan release 55 internal audits of the oil/food program

The U.N. Secretary General refused on the basis individual nations had no right to command the United Nations.

Annan said he has started his own investigation led by Paul Volcker, formerly a highly regarded chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank System.

However, now he has no staff to ferret out records, nor subpoena power to prod reluctant witnesses.

Instead, Volcker hired a private investigating firm – IBIS Risk Management Services, Inc. -- to examine some U.N. records.

It is reported that IBIS uncovered information linking oil/food payments to French President Jaques Chirac.

Volcker says he will release an interim report “on some of the allegations” in January. And perhaps a more comprehensive report by the middle of next year.

It is not likely the American Congress will twiddle its thumbs while the United Nations secretariat bobs and weaves.

The U.S. contributes $7 billion a year to U.N. programs and gets nothing in return but insults.

Another $20 billion in foreign aid is given to 150 countries – most of who seem to vote against us in the General Assembly.

Americans maintain a military establishment to police the world against genocidal thugs and deranged terrorists.

In addition to all this largess and sacrifice, Americans privately contribute most generously to disasters, hardships and epidemics throughout the world.

Americans don’t expect gratitude but are puzzled at animosity. This has aroused stiff resistance to a proposal languishing in the New York state legislature that would expand U.N. headquarters with a 35-story annex.

The United Nations supervises some worthy global relief and educational projects. But so do the Red Cross, Rotary International and the World Bank.

It is time for the United Nations to lead, follow or get out of way.

By Lindsey Wilger Williams, retired newspaper publisher and syndicated columnist