House Report Rips U.N. ON OIL-FOR-FOOD

[theski]

HOUSE REPORT RIPS U.N. ON OIL-FOR-FOOD

October 2, 2004 -- WASHINGTON — A congressional report yesterday blasted top U.N. officials for lax oversight of the Iraq oil-for-food program, charging that warnings from its own inspectors that Saddam Hussein was scamming the program were ignored by top U.N. officials.

The bombshell report prepared by the House Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security charges that two companies hired by the United Nations to police shipments of goods going in and out of Iraq have complained that they lacked the authority to adequately do their job and stop the massive smuggling scams.

The report, which is based on documents obtained from the two companies under a recent subpoena, was prepared for members of the subcommittee chaired by Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) in advance of hearings scheduled for next Tuesday.

The two companies hired by the U.N., Cotecna S.A. and Saybolt International, "raised occasional concerns about the ability to carry out their duties and possible corruption," the report said.

"However, many of these concerns appear to have fallen on deaf ears at the U.N., or at least confused ears, as various offices gave ambiguous responses to the contractors," the report said.

The report noted that Benon Sevan, the head of the oil-for-food program, is facing allegations of accepting sweetheart oil deals from Saddam, which call into question "the willingness of the U.N. to address weaknesses in the ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^program

http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/29528.htm