[Rhodes22-list] More Politics

Fri Apr 30 08:08:23 EDT 2004

Wally
That just plain wrong.

At least when the 
> French and Russian's were on the take no Americans
> were getting killed.

As the last great superpower: if we don't do whats
right; who will???????????
Steve

--- Wally Buck <tnrhodey at hotmail.com> wrote:
> Steve,
> 
> I wouldn't call Bush's taking us to war over false
> hoods a "minor lapse". 
> Talk about understatement!
> 
> I agree that the French and Russians were on the
> take. At least when the 
> French and Russian's were on the take no Americans
> were getting killed. I 
> have said all along this war is about oil and Paul's
> post supports my view 
> point. WMD, human rights, freedom and so on all
> sound good but if there 
> wasn't a drop of oil in the area the US, France, and
> Russia wouldn't give a 
> flip.So now we are at "war " and the US controls the
> oil. I don't see how 
> this is a big improvement.
> 
> Wally
> 
> 
> >From: Steve <rhodes2282 at yahoo.com>
> >Reply-To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
> <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> >To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
> <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> >Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] More Politics
> >Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2004 11:25:08 -0700 (PDT)
> >
> >Very interesting, Paul.  You know, I figured it was
> >only a matter of time before this came out.  A
> country
> >such a French putting monetary issue before the
> safety
> >of the world.  We should all get down on our knees
> &
> >thank God that we have our President (and a GREAT
> >President at that) & Tony Blair over in England
> that
> >was willing to take a stand for whats
> right!!!!!!!!!!
> >Where me a flag; I feel like saluting it:-)
> >Steve
> >
> >
> >
> >--- pdgrand at nospam.wmis.net wrote:
> > > Forgive me if you receive this twice.  I
> > > accidentally left out the subject
> > > on the first try. - Paul
> > >
> > >
> > > April 28, 2004 -- ANYONE who pines for genuine
> > > international
> > > multilateralism would do well to follow the
> bribes
> > > now being uncovered in
> > > the United Nations' Oil-for- Food scandal.
> > > Why did France and Russia oppose efforts to
> topple
> > > Saddam Hussein's regime?
> > > And why did they press constantly, throughout
> the
> > > '90s, for an expansion of
> > > Iraqi oil sales? Was it their empathy for the
> > > starving children of that
> > > impoverished nation? Their desire to stop the
> United
> > > States from arrogantly
> > > imposing its vision upon the Middle East?
> > >
> > > It now looks like they it was simply because
> they
> > > were on the take. Saddam
> > > was their cash cow. If President Bush has
> suffered
> > > some discredit over his
> > > apparently false - but not disingenuous - claims
> of
> > > Iraqi weapons of mass
> > > destruction, the lapse is minor compared to the
> > > outright personal
> > > selfishness and criminality that appears to have
> > > motivated many of those
> > > who opposed his efforts to rid the world of one
> of
> > > its worst dictators.
> > >
> > > Throughout the '90s, France and Russia badgered
> the
> > > United States and
> > > Britain to increase Iraqi oil production.
> President
> > > Bill Clinton and Prime
> > > Minister Tony Blair fought them at each step,
> but
> > > then reluctantly gave
> > > way. First Iraq was allowed to sell 500,000
> barrels
> > > daily. Then, on Franco-
> > > Russian insistence, it was raised to 1 million,
> then
> > > to 2 million and,
> > > finally, to 3 million barrels a day.
> > >
> > > Each time, America and Britain - the nations now
> > > accused of coveting Iraqi
> > > oil - resisted the increases in Iraqi production
> and
> > > urged tighter controls
> > > over the program. Each time, the French and the
> > > Russians prattled on about
> > > the rights of Iraqi sovereignty and the need to
> feed
> > > the children.
> > >
> > > Now we know why the French and Russians were so
> > > insistent. Iraqi government
> > > documents (leaked to the Baghdad newspaper Al
> Mada)
> > > list at least 270
> > > individuals and entities who got vouchers
> allowing
> > > them to sell Iraqi oil -
> > > and to keep much of the money. These vouchers,
> and
> > > the promise of instant
> > > great wealth they carried with them, bought
> vital
> > > support in the United
> > > Nations to let Saddam stay in power.
> > >
> > > The list of those receiving these bribes
> includes
> > > France's former French
> > > Interior Minister Charles Pasqua (who's a leader
> of
> > > Chirac's party) and
> > > Patrick Maugein, the head of the French Oil firm
> > > Soco International.
> > > France's former U.N. ambassador, Jean-Bernard
> > > Merimee, got vouchers to sell
> > > 11 million barrels.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > In Russia, the payoff chain reached right into
> the
> > > "office of the Russian
> > > president." President Vladimir Putin's Peace and
> > > Unity Party also got
> > > vouchers, as did the Soviet-era Prime Minister
> > > Nikolai Ryzhkov and the
> > > Russian Orthodox Church. Nationalist leader
> Vladimir
> > > Zhirinovsky shared in
> > > the largesse.
> > >
> > > Not to be left behind, the Rev. Jean Marie
> Benjamin
> > > of the Vatican got the
> > > rights to sell 4.5 million barrels as recompense
> for
> > > setting up a meeting
> > > between Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz and
> the
> > > pope.
> > >
> > > Indeed, the list indicates that Benon Sevan, the
> > > United Nations official in
> > > charge of the Oil-for-Food program. received
> > > vouchers. He denies the
> > > charge, but has decided to retire next month
> anyway.
> > >
> > >
> > > At the start of the Oil-for-Food program,
> America
> > > and Britain proposed that
> > > the money flow only to accounts entirely
> controlled
> > > by the United Nations.
> > > Soon this standard was lowered to include
> accounts
> > > not actually controlled
> > > by the United Nations, but only monitored by it.
> > >
> > > Then-Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska) warned that
> > > "oil is fungible" and
> > > noted that once Iraq was allowed to pump and
> sell
> > > it, Saddam could sell all
> > > he wanted outside of officially sanctioned
> channels
> > > and nobody could tell
> > > which black liquid was legal and which not. But
> > > nobody imagined that there
> > > were actual bribes going to specific French,
> Russian
> > > and U.N. officials as
> > > part of the program.
> > >
> > > Now it appears that Secretary-General Kofi
> Annan's
> > > sanctimonious posturing
> > > may have concealed oil bribes which reached high
> up
> > > in the ranks of the
> > > U.N. organization itself.
> > >
> > > The defect of international coalitions is that
> they
> > > include the just and
> > > the unjust, the bribed and the honest, the
> > > democratic and the autocratic.
> > > And their members cannot be trusted equally. The
> > > group that stood up and
> > > backed the invasion of Iraq was nicknamed "the
> > > Coalition of the Willing."
> > > Now it appears it was also "the Coalition of the
> > > Honest."
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> __________________________________________________
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> >
> >
> >
> >
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