UN investigation charade.

As the world's attention is focused on the transfer of "sovereignty" to the Iraqis, and the bodies of U.S. service members continue to be flown home from the region, there are rumblings concerning another disturbing Iraqi-related matter. We speak of the "oil-for-food" program. Following Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, the UN imposed sanctions on Iraq's imports and exports. However, in 1996 the UN relaxed those sanctions somewhat, by creating the "oil-for-food" program. The reason given for this decision was to relieve the suffering of innocent Iraqi civilians resulting from the trade sanctions, by allowing the former Iraqi regime to sell oil to buy humanitarian goods. The program ended last November.

In an April 18, 2003, New York Times column, Claudia Rosett pointed out that the oil-for-food commission members "are picked from a 'register of experts' supplied by [UN Secretary General Kofi] Annan." She elaborated, "one staff member told me that this register cannot be released because it is 'not public.' The identities of the individual claimants are, of course, 'confidential.'"

In a June 23 Times op-ed piece, "The Great Cash Cow," veteran columnist William Satire quoted a source he de scribed as "one of the insiders familiar with the $10 billion U.N. oil-for-food scandal." "This was the biggest cash cow in the history of the world.... Everybody--traders, contractors, banks, inspectors--was milking it. It was supposed to buy food with the money from oil that the U.N. allowed Saddam to sell, but less than hall" went for that." The General Accounting Office estimated in March that the Iraqi government pocketed $5.7 billion it obtained by smuggling oil to its neighbors and another $4.4 billion in kickbacks demanded from contractors.

A three-member panel led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker is conducting the official investigation into the scandal. (None other than UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed the investigative panel. So much for impartiality.) Volcker's Insider bona-tides are impeccable. He is the former North American chairman of the Trilateral Commission. He is also a member of the establishment-elite Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

Even though Voleker asserts that he intends to unearth key elements of the scandal, he was critical of independent oil-for-food investigations being carried out by members of Congress such as Senator Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) and Representative Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) "I think there is a legitimate responsibility to go after miscreants," Volcker said, "but cooperation among firms involved in the program can be stymied if politicians issue subpoenas without telling us. But it's their choice, not ours." Volcker insisted that his panel would uncover the truth behind the scandal, stating: "I am confident, ii" we are permitted to proceed, in an orderly way, that we can get the best explanation of the oil for-food program, as administered by U.N., that it is possible to get."

A June 3 Fox News report observed: "Some members of the now-dissolved Iraqi Governing Council claimed that coalition administrator L. Paul Bremer [CFR] has been hindering the investigation to prevent any revelations that might embarrass the U.N. during the critical transition of power in Iraq." The report also noted: "Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., sent a letter to Bremer on May 21 raising questions about entrusting the investigation to figures [the Iraqi Board of Supreme Audit] who may have allegiances to Saddam." The report quoted Shays as asking: "Why are officials from the Saddam era more trustworthy stewards of an investigation of oil-for-food than the coalition-appointed Iraqi Governing Council or its successor'?"

At a press conference at UN headquarters on June 25, a questioner asked Secretary-General Annan to comment about Paul Volcker's statement in a recent interview that he had seen "a lot of smoke" in the oil-for-food program. Mr. Annan replied: "I saw one [interview] by Mr. Volcker where he indicated that he has all he needs to do the investigation. In fact, he was asked, 'Do you have subpoena power?' And he said, 'I have something better than subpoena. I have access to all the UN documents. I have access to UN staff'. I have access to documents of UN contractors and companies [that] dealt with the UN on this issue.' He was absolutely satisfied with the material and information he has."

Annan added, "We cannot prevent those who write stories based on leaks or bits of information here and there. That can be dangerous and distracting.... We have lots of work to do, and we have appointed a very, very good team to carry it out. Mr. Volcker is not out to make a name for himself; he's not on the make. He is completely disinterested. He is doing it for one dollar--if you need to know. I don't know where you got your information from." Mr. Volcker may not be "on the make" insofar as money is concerned, but does that mean he is committed to no other agenda? Considering that the United Nations was created largely by his one-world CFR-internationalist predecessors--whom he has heavily allied himself with--can we expect anything other than a whitewash by the Voleker team?