Paul Deserves both praise and applause for his Report
After the end of the first Gulf War the United Nations at the instigation of the USA and other Western Powers imposed a most horrendous regime of sanctions on Iraq. Iraq was forbidden even to sell oil and as a consequence the quality of life and the civil infrastructure of Iraq virtually collapsed. It is well known that nearly 800,000 children dies prematurely because of the nobn availability of paracteamol, a drug that all take for granted. In these circumstances the UN decided to allow Iraq to export its Oil and import food, the program that came to be called Food for OUIl Program. The moneies gained by the export of Iraq oil was to be deposited in an escrow account maintained by the UN. So far so good. Then the likes of KOjo Annan, the son of the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, got on to the act and subverted a viable humanitarian program into a get rich fast scam in which the minnions of Saddam Hussain were accomplises. Shell companies were created and the Iraqi Oil Ministry at Bagdad assigned the right to lift and sell oil in the international market at a lower cost and the differnece in price to the tune of 50cents a barrel was deposited against the accounts of individuals in the Jordon National Bank.
This was a scam waiting to happen and Paul Volcker has done a comendabel job in following the money trail and has perused 20 million documents in order to arrive at the truth. The fact is that some of the leading Third world politicians like Natear Singh, India's Foereign Ministeer seem to have made millions at the cost of starving and dying Iraqis. Ofcourse, no thief ever says even if he is caught with his finger in the till. even acknowledges that he is a thief. And the same with the like of Natwr Singh and his son Jagat Singh. There is now an outrage agaIst these clowns and they have been thoroughly exposed by Paul Volcker and his team.
There is howeve a small problem. Paul Volcker in his interveiw with LA tIMES STATED THAT HE CHANGED THE LANGUAGE OF THE REPORT vis a vis Kofi Annan. I think that a splendid job was compromised by allowing this needless concession to Kofi Annan. The father claims that Cotecna, for which his son Kojo works obtained contracts without his knowledge. Given the way the UN system works this is impossible and Paul Volcker muist have nailed the lie of Kofi Annan,as the credibility of a truthful and accurate Report stands compromises as a consequence.