With all that has been going on, the UN OFF Scandal has been forgotten about by all but a few. But really, what it comes down to is that there may be some other reasons for France, Germany, and Russia to say non, nein, and nyet to the deposing Iraq, despite Resolution 1441.
Of course, when the Democratic standard-bearer refers to “allies,” he dismisses the more than 30 nations – including Great Britain, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Australia – that joined with the United States in Iraq.
Kerry deems Bush’s coalition building a failure because the president didn’t get France, Germany and Russia to go along, to sign off on a U.N. resolution authorizing regime change in Baghdad.
But what Kerry and other war critics fail to acknowledge is that French, German and Russian opposition to the war in Iraq was not based on some high-minded principle or another.
It was all about Iraqi dinars. They had huge investments in Saddam’s regime. And they did not want the United States to oust him from power until they were repaid.
Indeed, France was owed $3 billion by Saddam; Germany $2.4 billion. Russia was owed $3.4 billion and claimed a whopping $52 billion in pending contract obligations with Baghdad.
(Emphasis mine). So a minimum of $8.4 billion owed. Of course, there is also the banned goods sold to Saddam (more later). Of course, we know all about the OFF Scandal, putting $10 billion in Saddams pockets. But how about:
Documents found in Saddam’s Oil Ministry revealed that at least two participants in the oil-for-food program, both picked by Saddam, both approved by the United Nations, had terrorist ties.
One was a company – Galp International Trading Corp., linked to a Liechtenstein firm, ASAT Trust – that has been identified by the United Nations itself as “belonging to or affiliated with al-Qaida.” The other was a Geneva-based subsidiary of a Saudi company, Delta Oil, which had close financial ties in the 1990s to the Taliban, which provided safe haven for Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida in Afghanistan.
I believe that after President Bush wins reelection, it will be time to put the screws to the UN.
Oh, and the connection to banned goods? Here, and here
