the Centrist

The United Nations is again threatening to sanction an Islamic state for developing Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). It is aiming its accusations at the radical Islamic theocracy of Iran. They are certain that the Iranians are developing nuclear weapons … sound familiar? The United Nations is once again threatening … to make a resolution. My, what a deterrent; in international speak, a resolution amounts to a nasty letter. You may recall they gave Iraq 17such ultimatums and when Iraq snubbed its nose at each one, they merely turned up the rhetoric and released another. That is when the Coalition stepped in to prevent the spread of WMD’s to Islamic terrorists. The rational was simple, the jihad did not mean to kill 3,000 in the twin towers bombings; it meant to kill over 50,000. Should these weapons fall into the hands of al Qaeda or others in this jihad, they would not hesitate to use them.

That logic seems cogent to most Americans, yet Sec. Gen. Kofi Annon disagrees. He accuses America of an ‘illegal war’ because we did not get his approval for this action. Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly obvious that whether it is the genocide in the Sudan, the spread WMD’s to rogue states, or the AIDS crisis the United Nations has become nothing more than a shill for the oil rich Islamic nations.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the ‘Oil for Food’ Program. This was the program put into place by the United Nations after the first Gulf War (Clinton Administration). Iraq was to sell some of its oil so that humanitarian aid (food and medicine) could be provided to its people. The program was to be run solely by the United Nations as they were to take control of Iraqi economy in this humanitarian gesture. Instead of fulfilling their commission, the U.N. awarded all decision making authority to that bastion of humanity … Saddam.

Saddam choose mostly European Companies which were more than happy to pay him a kickback. He used these illegal monies to in turn buy luxuries, build castles, and purchase illegal weapons from these same European nations. The humanitarian commission was neither properly overseen nor carried out by the United Nations. This Program has turned into the largest scandal in history … dwarfing more publicized debacles like Enron. Presently we are aware of a staggering 10.2 billion dollars which never reached the intended individuals.

Furthermore, Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn. and chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations, told Fox News; “We’re talking about American lives that are being lost in an attempt to bring democracy to Iraq,” Shays said. “If France, Russia, China and Germany had told Saddam it was time to back down and honor his commitments it is possible the United States may not have needed to go to war in Iraq.” Moreover, Shays states that terrorists there (in Iraq) and here, laying in wait to attack our homeland, not only profited from this program, but also are still drawing from that illegal windfall. Thus, Shays concludes, the war could have been avoided, if these selfish nations (Germany, France, and Russia), the same nations which Sen. Kerry wishes us to embrace, would have put pressure on Saddam to allow thorough inspections. Yet because they were reaping billions of dollars (much of it from American tax payers) from the ‘Oil for Food’ scandal by selling illegal weapons and taking kickbacks from and to Saddam they were not in favor of true inspections. Should proper inspections have occurred they would have exposed the very illegal weapons being provided by our ‘allies’. This in turn would have blown the lid off of the ‘Oil for Food’ scam.

Furthermore, to nobody’s surprise, part of the ‘deal’ included a kickback to United Nations authorities. According to Fox News many of these European and Middle Eastern companies were able to simply pocket the money by paying off United Nations overseers. These same officials knowingly allowed some aid to get through, unfortunately it was in the form of spoiled food and outdated medicine. One such entrepreneur hired by Saddam was Mark Rich, that infamous criminal pardoned by President Clinton on the eve of his last term.

In what has to be the ultimate eclipse of reason, the more the Iraqi people suffered, the more the world blamed the United States. To make maters worse, while the U.S. was suffering from irrational blame, the U.N. was paying itself a 2.2% commission for every oil contract.

Congressman Shay states: “we can be absolutely certain some of the ‘Oil for Food’ money went to terrorists” (including al Qaeda). Furthermore, the 911 Commission did not look into this United Nations Program, and the present UN internal investigation, headed by American Paul Volker, has no subpoena power to insist on viewing these heretofore secret U.N. records.

So as we consider the Kerry Doctrine of closer ties with the United Nations we must first reflect on its agenda. The goal of the United Nations is becoming blatantly apparent: blame America and Israel for the world’s problems while simultaneously placing the financial burden for its ill conceived programs on the American taxpayer.