Gee tsigprofit, Galloway & the BBC sound just like you.
The Saddam Bribery System
Power Line
by Scott
May 12 2005
The Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has released its "Report on Oil Allocations Granted to Charles Pasqua & George Galloway." The report was embargoed until midnight (EDT), but the London Times has the story: "Galloway was given Iraq oil allocations, says Senate report." Here is the press release issued by subcommittee chairman Senator Norm Coleman:
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Today Senators Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Carl Levin (D-MI), Chairman and Ranking Member respectively of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), issued a joint staff report disclosing evidence that the former French Minister of Interior Charles Pasqua and recently reelected member of the British Parliament George Galloway were granted lucrative oil allocations under the United Nations Oil for Food Program (OFF).
The program was designed to permit Iraq to sell its oil and use those proceeds to purchase food, medicines, and other humanitarian goods for its people. As PSI's year-long investigation has demonstrated, Saddam Hussein quickly devised multiple abuses of the OFF Program in an effort to undermine UN sanctions and obtain illicit income. PSI's report and exhibits regarding Pasqua and Galloway's activities can be found in the attached PDF files.
One of the Hussein regime's chief methods of manipulating the OFF Program was through "oil allocations." The attached report shows that Pasqua received 11 million barrels in oil allocations, while Galloway received allocations of 20 million barrels of oil. The Iraqi government distributed its oil by selling the right to buy a set number of barrels - an "allocation" - to prospective buyers. Under the OFF Program, Iraq was permitted to sell oil to whomever it wanted. The Hussein regime awarded these oil contracts to influential foreign officials, among others, in an effort to maximize Iraq's influence around the world. These allocation holders -- essentially gatekeepers to Iraqi oil - would sell their right to buy under-priced Iraqi crude to traditional oil producers and in turn received a "commission," which typically ranged from 3 to 30 cents per barrel.
The staff report presents numerous documents from the Hussein-era Ministry of Oil that expressly identify Charles Pasqua and George Galloway as allocation recipients. In addition, the evidence shows that Pasqua sought to conceal these transactions because he "feared political scandals." The evidence also indicates that George Galloway may have used a children's cancer foundation in connection with at least one of his allocations.
"The Subcommittee's report presents detailed evidence -- including numerous documents created by Saddam Hussein's Ministry of Oil and testimony of senior Hussein regime officials -- that former French Minister of Interior Charles Pasqua and recently reelected Member of the British Parliament George Galloway received lucrative oil allocations under the Oil for Food Program," said Coleman. "This report exposes how Saddam Hussein turned the Oil for Food Program on its head and used the Program to reward his political allies like Pasqua and Galloway. The report includes evidence that Saddam Hussein personally approved allocations to Charles Pasqua, and that Pasqua `fear[ed] political scandals' because of these secret allocations. The report also shows that Galloway was granted allocations for a whopping 20 million barrels of oil. All told, this report paint a disturbing picture of the dark under-side of the Oil for Food Program."
"While, according to former Secretary of State Colin Powell, U.N. sanctions on Iraq successfully prevented Iraq from acquiring weapons of mass destruction, the sanctions program had some weaknesses as well," said Levin. "The Pasqua and Galloway oil allocations show how Saddam Hussein misused the Oil for Food program to reward people he hoped would work against U.N. sanctions. The United States and other U.N. Security Council members made a fundamental mistake in allowing Saddam Hussein to award Oil for Food contracts and issue oil allocations."
New evidence regarding oil allocations and other matters surrounding the misuse of the Oil for Food scandal will be presented at a hearing Tuesday, May 17, entitled Oil For Influence: How Saddam Used Oil to Reward Politicians and Terrorist Entities Under the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program. The hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. in Room 562 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
The May 17th hearing will be the third hearing the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has held on the UN's OFF Program. It will detail how Saddam Hussein manipulated the OFF Program to win influence and reward friends in order to undermine sanctions. In particular, this hearing will present evidence detailing how Saddam rewarded foreign officials with lucrative oil allocations that could be converted to money. The hearing will also examine the illegal surcharges paid on Iraqi oil sales, using examples involving the recently indicted U.S. company, Bayoil.
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We have obtained a copy of the report and read it. The report is based in part on subcommittee interviews with key players in the OFF scam including former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan, and the person referred to in the report as "Senior Hussein Regime Official No. 1."
The press release accurately summarizes the gist of the report. As to the magnitude of the transactions, the report states: "In light of the fact that most allocations consisted of millions of barrels of oil, such commissions were quite lucrative, reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars per allocation."
The report diplomatically buries one of its most interesting revelations in footnote 5. According to footnote 5, "Terrorist individuals and entities who received [OFF] allocations include the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Abu Abbas and the Mujahedeen-e Khalq". It will be interesting to see if Thursday's news stories pick up this particular item on the friends of Saddam Hussein.
The report notes that the arm of the Iraqi goverment that managed the sale of Iraqi crude oil under the OFF program was the State Oil Marketing Organization, commonly called SOMA. An anonymous Husssein regime official is cited in the report as observing that inside SOMA, the OFF program was nicknamed the "Saddam Bribery System."
UPDATE: The BBC has posted the Senate subcommittee report here in PDF (link below). The BBC story carries denials of profiteering by both Galloway and Pasqua. The BBC has also posted the statement issued by Galloway on the report:
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It's Groundhog Day again.
These are the same false allegations which are still the subject of a libel action with the Daily Telegraph (so far I'm £1.6m [$3m] up).
This is a lickspittle Republican committee, acting on the wishes of George W Bush.
Isn't it strange - and contrary to natural justice you might think - that I have written and e-mailed repeatedly asking for the opportunity to appear before the committee to provide evidence and rebut their assumptions and they have yet to respond, while apparently making a judgement.
Why am I not surprised?
Let me repeat. I have never traded in a barrel of oil, or any vouchers for it.
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In another BBC story, Kofi Annan points the finger elsewhere: "U.S. and U.K. blamed for oil scandal." The BBC has also posted Annan's statement responding to the report.
UPDATE 2: Tom Steward has forwarded us Senator Coleman's statement regarding Galloway's comments:
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This report contains the strong denials of wrongdoing by both Mr. Pasqua and Mr. Galloway. Contrary to his assertions, at no time did Mr. Galloway contact PSI by any means, including but not limited to telephone, fax, email, letter, Morse code or carrier pigeon. Chairman Coleman would be pleased to have Mr. Galloway appear at the Subcommittee's May 17th hearing entitled, "Oil For Influence: How Saddam Used Oil to Reward Politicians and Terrorist Entities Under the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program." The hearing will begin promptly at 9:30 AM and there will be a witness chair and microphone available for Mr. Galloway's use.
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