U.S. Handling Of Iraqi Oil Revenues Worse Than U.N. Oil For Food 'Scandal'

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Wednesday, December 15

UN panel cites irregularities in US administration of Iraq oil industry

A high level UN panel set up to monitor the administration of the Iraqi oil industry and revenues under Security Council Resolution 1483 , granting the Coalition Provisional Authority the right to spend from Iraq oil money "in the interests of the Iraqi people", reported Tuesday that it had found "important weaknesses" in program management, including lack of financial controls and inconsistently-applied contracting procedures which resulted in millions of dollars in tenders being awarded to Halliburton and other US companies without competative bid. The International Advisory and Monitoring Board is made of representatives from the United Nations, the Executive Heads of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank; its report also noted that billions of dollars had been lost by oil smuggling and misuse of funds at responsible Iraqi ministries.

Read the full text of the Board report here: http://www.iamb.info/pdf/IAMBreport.pdf

The Financial Times has more:
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/e0901bba-4e3f-11d9-9351-00000e2511c8.html

Is Kofi striking back?

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1. backgrounder

Before the war, NSA Director nominee and Condi Rice Deputy Stephen Hadley spoke to the Council on Foreign Relations in February 2003 about the Future of Iraq project. "If war comes," Hadley said, "it will be a war of liberation, not occupation. The United States needs the support of Iraq's people and it will work to win that support." http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/02/20030212-15.html

"A critical part of the Iraq reconstruction effort will be ensuring that Iraq's oil sector is protected from acts of sabotage by Saddam Hussein's regime," Hadley continued, "and that its proceeds are applied for the benefit of the Iraqi people."

"Iraq's oil and other natural resources belong to all the Iraqi people, and the United States will respect this fact," Hadley
said.

However, White House Executive Order, 13303, is a bald contradiction of that assertion by this administration that the Iraqi people are to benefit from our seizure of their resources.

Executive Order, 13303 decrees that 'any attachment, judgment, decree, lien, execution, garnishment, or other judicial process is prohibited, and shall be deemed null and void', with respect to the Development Fund for Iraq and "all Iraqi petroleum and petroleum products, and interests therein." (The Development Fund, derived from actual and expected Iraqi oil and gas sales, apparently will be used to leverage U.S. government-backed loans, credit, and direct financing for U.S. corporate reconstruction operations in Iraq.) http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/pdf/03-13412.pdf

In other words, all of the oil, resources and industry are the property of the U.S.; to trade, sell, and disperse at its discretion. The only ones who will benefit from the robbery of the Iraqi oil are the companies that we will allow to exploit it. The oil mongers will incestuously share the stolen profits at the expense of American lives.

The oil was supposed to fund the war, as obscene as that sounds. But the money from big oil never, never reaches the indigenous cultures. No Iraqi should expect to wrest control over their own wells from the U.S. or its allies. It's likely that the only contact Iraqis will have with their own oil will be at the foreign-owned gas stations.

[Sara Beverley]

2. But who is going to be brave enough to suggest that Bush step down besides

me? :shrug:

Halliburton can mishandle over 50 billion and no one turns their head.

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3. Cheney should fall first with a financial scandal like Agnew did

"Agnew knew, but not enough to keep himself out of jail" GSH

Bush should fall next, like Nixon did, with an election fraud scandal.

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4. related

Annan Pledges to Aid in Oil-For-Food Probe

Thursday December 16, 2004 6:31 PM

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-4677269,00.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan pledged full cooperation Thursday with investigations into alleged abuses in a U.N. oil and aid program that have led Republicans in Congress to demand his resignation. He said U.N. employees can be fired if they do not comply.

An independent inquiry headed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker is ``the most far-reaching in the history of the United Nations,'' Annan said in a speech to the private Council on Foreign Relations.

>>>>The oil-for-food program allowed Saddam Hussein's government to sell oil and use the revenue to buy food, medicine and other necessities. Investigations have found that Saddam skimmed billions of dollars from the program using bribes and kickbacks, some involving top U.N. and foreign government officials.

Annan's son Kojo also worked for a company that had a contract in the oil-for-food program and received payments for years after his employment ended. He worked for the company in Africa, not Iraq.

[Old and In the Way]

5. If only a few Republicans would switch to Independent or Democrat

and switch the balance of power in Congress. The only thing keeping this administration from swinging is the consent of the Republican majority to allow the world-class corruption and war-profiteering to continue.

Can you imagine how quick Bush et al would change their attitude if they were suddenly confronted with a Democratic Congressional majority?

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8. Bring on the midterms!

"In making the great experiment of governing people by consent rather than by coercion, it is not sufficient that the party in power should have a majority. It is just as necessary that the party in power should never outrage the minority."

-Walter Lippmann (1889–1974), U.S. journalist. repr. in The Essential Lippmann, pt. 6, sct. 2 (1982). “The Indispensable Opposition,” Atlantic Monthly (Boston, 1939).

[Up2Late]

6. BBC: US 'failed to control' Iraq oil

Cheney SUCKS/ Kofi ROCKS!

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4098729.stm>

(clip)Revenue 'lost'

The panel, which also includes representatives from the IMF and the World Bank, expressed particular concern about how large contracts paid out of Iraqi funds were given to US firms, such as the oil services group Halliburton, without competitive bidding.

Other problems identified included weaknesses in administration, inadequate accounting systems, poor record-keeping and a failure to follow procedures that had been agreed.

The panel's report says the US-led authorities also failed to deal with widespread smuggling of Iraqi oil out of the country immediately after the war. Nobody knows how much revenue for reconstruction was lost as a result...

[MisterP]

7. proven crime: not a peep in the media

embezzlers and fascist liars accuse UN of crime: all they talk about when they talk about the UN

[underpants]

10. Yeah Fox hasn't mentioned this in a while

They tried (and maybe they did) to set the public opinion on this (all over RW radio too) and now no mention of it. They are using PEterson to kill time but that is over for now. They surely don't want to talk about Rummy all day but still no mention of this. I think they stepped squarely on a rake with this one.

[G_j]

9. This was exposed first

long before the election along with countless other scandals.
I was hoping Kerry would slam this oil revenues scandal because it ties in with the war/oil issue. I'm not sure if he ever mentioned it.
An extensive report was issued on this, then "sovereignty" happened and everything became muddled once again.

edit, link:
http://www.christian-aid.org.uk/news/media/pressrel/040627.htm

Fuelling suspicion: the coalition and Iraq's oil billions /28.06.04

The US-controlled coalition in Baghdad is handing over power to an Iraqi government without having properly accounted for what it has done with some $20 billion of Iraq's own money, says a new report published by Christian Aid.

• Read full report


An audit, reportedly critical, of the coalition's handling of Iraqi revenues is not going to be delivered until mid-July - after the coalition has ceased to exist.

Christian Aid believes this situation is in flagrant breach of the UN Security Council resolution that gave control of Iraq's oil revenues and other Iraqi funds to the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA).

'For the entire year that the CPA has been in power in Iraq, it has been impossible to tell with any accuracy what the CPA has been doing with Iraq's money,' said Helen Collinson, head of policy at Christian Aid.

..more..