These auditors who did the report Coisty referenced had wanted the CPA to place hundreds of auditors with each Iraqi agency. Bremer said this was contrary to US and UN policy which was to let the Iraqis deal with running their own agencies. The CPA established and independent judiciary and inspector general with each agency to guard against corruption. There were over a million families dependent on this system and 8.8 billion was not properly accounted for by the accounting standards. Bremer responded to the report with a detailed report of his own saying there was no way to follow such standards in a war. There is nothing weird or nefarious about it. I would be amazed if there was not some corruption there, but it is not the same circumstances, and no one including the people who did the report are saying it was. They are calling it bad management.

Now there is a difference between this and the deliberate and complicated switch and bait scheme going at the UN.

It is also true that there was smuggling of oil going on and CNN [I know I know] recently did a story concerning the indifference of the UN and US to oil smuggling to Jordan.

But muddying the waters will not change the fact that Saddam corrupted the UN and in the process effected the policies of the members of the UN security council.

But it’s ‘just politics’ to you.

Yeah right, the US is not only to blame for its mistakes, but the UN’s as well.

Yeah right. I heard about this and from what I understand the problem is with the accounting. In other words the CPA was not doing things in a way that lived up to western accounting practices. The way Bremer and Denor described it they had an economy flat on its back and these accountants wanted to put people in every office and question every outlay of money. For instance military people would pay locals to help work, this was something that was frowned on but was very successful. I would be surprised if there was not some problems, there always is, but this oil for food thing went on for years and never would have come to light if it had not been for the invasion.

But don’t worry, if it has to do with Americans or the war effort all those folks who were more than happy to sit back for years on end and watch Saddam and the Frenchies and God knows who else bleed those people dry, rip them off and make a mockery out of a humanitarian aid effort will be on this like a vulture on road kill. They could care less about common decency but just like the tone of your post makes plain they love to point fingers and cast blame.

Would all this Kofi baiting had happened if the UN had played ball with the US more over Iraq?

And here’s some irony, if you do it:

Kofi Annan was strongly supported by the US when he was given the job as UN General Secretary.

I am sure he is rueing the day he misbehaved. For the US, revenge is swift.

Politics, eh?