Thinking as a Hobby

Well, this story (what Instapundit refers to as UNSCAM) has finally hit the big time:

The UN Security Council has approved an investigation into reports of massive corruption in the UN-administered oil-for-food programme in Iraq.
The now-defunct scheme was designed to help Iraq buy humanitarian goods and ease the impact of sanctions.

Apparently, the UN had an approved list of stuff that Iraq could buy with oil revenue. Hussein's regime regularly marked items up about 10% and socked away the difference into Swiss bank accounts, then using that money to, among other things, bribe UN officials and politicians in other countries (the article doesn't name which ones...). All of these transactions were supposed to be audited by the UN, who apparently rubber stamped them all, either due to incompetence, corruption, or a combination.

The really pathetic thing is, we're now desperately trying to get the UN on-board with the political process in Iraq...to "add legitimacy to the process".

The UN has been inept at brokering peace agreements and intervening militarily to prevent genocide and civil war. It hasn't played a significant role in the most significant disputes (such as the Israeli/Palestinian conflict). And so you'd think they could at least manage the administration of humanitarian projects. Well, you'd be wrong.

How can anybody really take the UN seriously anymore?




	Thinking as a Hobby Home Get Email Updates LINKS JournalScan Email Me Admin Password Remember Me 3477663 Curiosities served Share on Facebook				2004-04-22 8:59 AM UN Legitimacy Previous Entry :: Next Entry Read/Post Comments (10) Well, this story (what Instapundit refers to as UNSCAM) has finally hit the big time: The UN Security Council has approved an investigation into reports of massive corruption in the UN-administered oil-for-food programme in Iraq. The now-defunct scheme was designed to help Iraq buy humanitarian goods and ease the impact of sanctions. Apparently, the UN had an approved list of stuff that Iraq could buy with oil revenue. Hussein's regime regularly marked items up about 10% and socked away the difference into Swiss bank accounts, then using that money to, among other things, bribe UN officials and politicians in other countries (the article doesn't name which ones...). All of these transactions were supposed to be audited by the UN, who apparently rubber stamped them all, either due to incompetence, corruption, or a combination. The really pathetic thing is, we're now desperately trying to get the UN on-board with the political process in Iraq...to "add legitimacy to the process". The UN has been inept at brokering peace agreements and intervening militarily to prevent genocide and civil war. It hasn't played a significant role in the most significant disputes (such as the Israeli/Palestinian conflict). And so you'd think they could at least manage the administration of humanitarian projects. Well, you'd be wrong. How can anybody really take the UN seriously anymore? Read/Post Comments (10) Previous Entry :: Next Entry Back to Top