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Politics : Proof that John Kerry is Unfit for Command -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wayners who wrote (25145)	2/7/2005 6:04:08 PM
From: lorne	Respond to of 27181

Former UN Head Boutros-Ghali Defends Iraq Oil Deal Sat Feb 5, 2005 07:29 AM ET reuters.com LONDON (Reuters) - Former U.N. head Boutros Boutros-Ghali refused to take all the blame for Iraq's scandal-tainted oil-for-food program on Saturday, pointing the finger at his successor Kofi Annan. Boutros-Ghali was U.N. secretary-general at the start of the program which was designed to allow Iraq to buy food and medicines to ease hardships caused by U.N. sanctions. "I share the responsibility, but don't twist the whole operation," Boutros-Ghali told BBC radio. "The basis (of the program) was decided by the Security Council, approved by the Security Council, the execution was done during the mandate of my successor." Boutros-Ghali headed the United Nations from January 1992 until Annan took over in 1997. An inquiry into the oil-for-food program, which ran from 1996 until 2003, found on Thursday it had been beset by political favoritism and had suffered from lax U.N. controls. The report by Paul Volcker, the former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman appointed by Annan to probe the $67 billion program, found that the director of the plan, Benon Sevan, helped steer oil contracts to a relative of Boutros-Ghali. The report does not accuse any U.N. officials of getting bribes. Annan said U.N. officials would be disciplined and diplomatic immunity would be lifted if criminal acts were committed. Following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, documents emerged that showed the former Iraqi leader was skimming funds from the program, selling oil illegally outside the scheme -- often with the knowledge of Security Council members -- and bribing a variety of officials around the world. A CIA investigation last September found Saddam earned $1.7 billion through kickbacks and illegal surcharges and took $8 billion from illegal oil sales to other countries. "I regret the mismanagement and the scandal which appear now with the Volcker report," Boutros-Ghali said. "I consider that the fact that we have been able to sign the memorandum of understanding, to obtain the agreement of the Security Council and to obtain the agreement of the Iraqi administration that this was a success for the poor people of Iraq who were suffering 10 years of economic sanctions."