U.N's Oil-for-Food program corrupt and illegal

Prior to the March 2003 launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom, those on the left had been adamantly insisting that one of the real reasons for targeting Iraq was oil.

Actor Dustin Hoffman said, "I believe — though I may be wrong because I am no expert – that this war is about what most wars are about: hegemony, money, power, and oil."

The focus on oil had slowly been declining until recent reports surfaced implicating that the United Nations Oil-for-Food program had contributed in part to more than $21.3 billion in illegal revenues pocketed by Saddam Hussein.

Senate Governmental Affairs investigations subcommittee reports that the Oil-for-Food program accounted for one-third of the total illegal revenue. The head of the investigation, Sen. Norm Coleman R-Minn., has publicly called for Secretary-General Kofi Annan to resign calling this, "[T]he most extensive fraud in the history of the U.N."

After seeing how the economic sanctions imposed after the Gulf War crippled the Iraqi populous; the United Nations decided to undergo a program that would enable Saddam Hussein to sell oil and use the revenue to buy food, medicine and other humanitarian needs. Iraq exported oil the first time in December of 1996 under the Oil-for-Food program.

Although Senator Coleman insists that Secretary-General Annan is refusing to give his subcommittee access to 55 United Nation internal audits; it is clear that three of the main beneficiaries of the scandal are China, Russia and France.

These same three countries are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and therefore obtain the right to unilaterally veto any U.N. resolution. And, by coincidence, all three countries were strongly opposed to President Bush's final resolution proposed to the United Nations, calling specifically for the removal of Hussein through military force.

What's worse for Secretary-General Annan is that his son, Kojo Annan, has had a continued relationship with a Swiss company that provided services for the Oil-for-Food program called Cotecna. The New York Sun reported that Kojo remained on Cotecna's payroll as late as February 2004, and had received approximately $150,000 under a non-competition agreement since he left in 1999.

The Oil-for-Food scandal and Secretary-Generals son's activity are far more serious than the accusations of ‘foul play' over Vice President Dick Cheney's relationship with Halliburton. Cheney signed an insurance contract to guarantee he would get no more or less for his deferred compensation earned while Chief Executive Officer of Halliburton and signed a "Gift Trust Agreement" that turns over all stock option profits to charities. Cheney effectively cut off all financial ties to Halliburton.

Those that were upset over Halliburton should be outraged with the United Nations. This scandal may end up accumulating a price tag of roughly $23 billion. Halliburton's total cost of operation in Iraq is estimated to be around $600 million, less than one tenth of one percent the cost of the Oil-for-Food scandal.

So, maybe the left was right, not ideologically but factually. This war was about oil. That is exactly why China, Russia, and France refused to join the coalition of the willing.

Scott Lankford is a Criminal Justice major and Computer Science minor at CSULB.