Congressional investigation into missing Oil for Food funds

Описание: (6 Oct 2004)

1. Committee hearing
2. SOUNDBITE (English): Christopher Shays, Chairman, House Governmental Reform Committee:
"This was a program that was basically not working, and I wanted you to start it of to explain why it was not working. You have given me a justification as to why we basically allowed this program to go forward even though it wasn't working. So, you have given a lot of people cover, but you haven't helped us understand whether you the government, the State Department, this administration, felt this program worked. You are trying to give us the impression that it was working, but it was not perfect, that it was robust, but it could have been more robust, that is misleading."
3. Patrick Kennedy at witness table
4. Kennedy
5. SOUNDBITE (English): Christopher Shays, Chairman, House Governmental Reform Committee:
"The bottom line was almost every transaction, it appears, may have been a rip off, may have been a transaction that compromised the UN (United Nations), compromised other people and allowed Saddam Hussein to make money illegally without the world community having to agree that he was. That's the way I look at it. Tell me what's wrong with my picture?"
6. SOUNDBITE (English): Patrick Kennedy, former US Ambassador to the United Nations:
"Your picture is absolutely correct. It was almost, and I hate to say this, a chess game. He (Hussein) attempted to manoeuvre and we attempted, with certain allies, but not enough of them, to cease and block his activities. I'm agreeing, sanctions are leaky, the sanctions regime did not work as it intended, i.e. to have 100 per cent."
7. SOUNDBITE (English): Christopher Shays, Chairman, House Governmental Affairs Committee:
"No, don't say 100 percent, because I'm not sure you even had 50 per cent."
8. Committee hearing room

STORYLINE:

American Congressman Christopher Shays called the oil-for-food' program a failure on Tuesday during hearings on the role the United Nations played in the structure of the program.

The committee is hearing testimony on the disappearance of millions of dollars from the fund set up from Iraqi oil sales to buy food and medicines for Iraqis.

The program was created to help the Iraqi people cope with UN sanctions imposed after Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The
program, which ran from 1996 to 2003, allowed the Iraqi government to sell oil primarily to buy humanitarian goods.

Then UN Ambassador Patrick Kennedy said the program successfully provided critical food and medicine to the Iraqi people.

But under heated questioning from Shays, he acknowledged that Cotecna, the company hired to monitor goods coming into Iraq, and Saybolt
International B.V., the company inspecting oil exports, did not have the authority they needed to perform adequate inspections.

Stronger oversight, he said, would have been blocked by other countries on the UN Security Council who did not want to undermine Iraq's sovereignty. Companies from some of those countries also were doing business with Iraq, either buying oil or selling products.

"It was about as leaky as it could get," said Shays. "Almost every transaction may have been a rip-off" that compromised the United Nations and
allowed Hussein to make money.

Executives from Cotecna and Saybolt said they were hampered by poor equipment, dangerous conditions, and relentless efforts by Hussein to exploit the oil sales for illegal profits and kickbacks.

Kennedy sought to present the program as one that had some failures, but also some success. He indicated that program needed to be "more robust."



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