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UN condemns US
Topic Started: May 22 2005, 10:42 AM (761 Views)
Fesarius
Member Avatar
Admiral
^^^
Are you certain that that is still true? I thought Noah switched parties a while ago?
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somerled
Member Avatar
Admiral MacDonald RN
Admiralbill_gomec
May 24 2005, 10:22 AM
somerled
May 23 2005, 10:03 PM
Admiralbill_gomec
May 23 2005, 04:01 PM
Dr. Noah
May 23 2005, 11:51 AM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2005Jan10.html

U.N. Audits Detail Oil-for-Food Overpayments

By Colum Lynch and Justin Blum
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, January 11, 2005; Page A11

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 10 -- Failures in U.N. management of the Iraq oil-for-food program may have permitted excess payments of hundreds of millions of dollars to governments and companies, according to 55 internal audits of the humanitarian program. The excess payments were made even as then-President Saddam Hussein was stealing billions from the program.

Republican lawmakers and congressional staff members investigating the program said yesterday that the audits, released Sunday night by a U.N.-appointed investigative committee, reflect the need for further investigation. They said the audits underscore the need for greater accountability in an organization that is helping to oversee elections in Iraq and handling the disbursement of billions in aid to victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which also is investigating allegations of corruption in the oil-for-food program, said in a statement that a review of the audits "only underscores my long-held concern about the fraud, mismanagement and lack of adequate oversight" at the program.

In an effort to address concerns about its ability to manage large assistance funds, the United Nations announced Monday that it has hired PricewaterhouseCoopers to track the spending of billions of dollars for tsunami survivors.

The committee that released the audits and other internal U.N. documents is headed by former Federal Reserve chairman Paul A. Volcker. It is investigating allegations of corruption in the $64 billion program, which oversaw the sale of Iraqi oil for the purchase of humanitarian goods while the nation was under U.N. economic sanctions.

In a 35-page briefing paper, the Volcker committee said the audits highlighted the "wholesale failure of normal management and controls" over some of the program's operations. It also faulted the United Nations' internal auditors for failing to scrutinize areas of the program that were most vulnerable to corruption: the sale and purchase of oil and humanitarian goods.

Volcker, who is to release his initial findings at the end of the month, said last week that he found no hard evidence of fraud or corruption in the audits. But he is investigating whether the selection of audit targets "was subject to inappropriate management influence" by senior officials at the U.N. oil-for-food program, according to the briefing paper.

U.S. lawmakers had pressed for copies of the audits for months.

Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), in a statement, questioned why U.N. auditors did not investigate the program's most scandal-plagued aspects. "How was the U.N. internal watchdog effectively neutered?" asked Shays, chairman of the Government Reform Committee's subcommittee on national security, emerging threats and international relations. "Why were key recommendations never implemented?"

Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), ranking Democrat on the subcommittee on investigations, said, "The audit reports appear to add little new information about the extent to which Saddam Hussein misused the oil-for-food program or the allegations made against particular U.N. officials." He said the United Nations' "overdue" release of the audits "sets a healthy precedent."

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric acknowledged "deficiencies" in the program's management but added: "Let's not forget that the oil-for-food program did fulfill its main objective by providing humanitarian relief to 27 million Iraqis, and thereby helping to maintain political support for the sanctions, which, in turn, prevented Saddam Hussein's regime from acquiring weapons of mass destruction."

One internal audit alleged that the U.N. Compensation Commission "overcompensated certain parties by approximately $557 million."

The Geneva-based agency is responsible for using Iraqi oil revenues to compensate governments and companies that suffered financial losses during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. A separate audit alleged that the commission might have saved as much as $2.2 billion by setting currency exchange rates on the date an award was paid instead of the date a claimant suffered a loss.

Joseph Sills, a spokesman for the commission, disputed the findings. He said the U.N. auditors had no authority to challenge decisions the commission's panel made on the amount of compensation awards. "They don't have any say there," he said. "We don't feel there have been overpayments."

The audits also cited $5 million in potential losses due to "inadequate control and poor judgment." A review of the U.N. Habitat resettlement program in northern Iraq describes "a situation of mismanagement" that led to the loss of more than $2 million. In one instance, the agency made $500,000 per year in cash payments to building inspectors "who do not provide any services."

The audits also documented alleged overpayments of $1.4 million to three companies that monitored imports of humanitarian goods and to Saybolt Eastern Hemisphere, a Dutch firm that monitors Iraqi oil exports.

Jan Heinsbroek, president of Saybolt, said the company addressed the issues that the audits raised when the audits were conducted. "We were successful in explaining each point brought forward," Heinsbroek said. U.N. officials "accepted all of our explanations."

Cotecna, one of the import monitors, was never given copies of the audits by the United Nations, according to company spokesman Seth Goldschlager. Evelyn Suarez, a Washington lawyer for the Geneva-based company, said: "Cotecna is confident that a full consideration of the facts in proper context will demonstrate that Cotecna performed its function with due diligence and utmost professionalism."
**********************************************************

It appears that the UN is investigating the scandal, unlike the 9 billion dollars unaccounted for by the US.

Also, I agree with 24.  We need to work with the rest of the world due to the nature of the world's interdependency.  It only causes more problems to work against them.

You still live in this moral equivalence world, don't you?

Pity that you can't take off the blinders of hatred to the current administration to see the truth about this so-called "united nations" organization you revere and adore. Not very "tolerant" of you, is it. The UN is crooked from one end to the other and deserve nothing less than to be dissolved.

REMEMBER RWANDA!!

We didn't see the USA sending the 1st Airborn Div to stop it dead in it's tracks either ... despite having the resources to do so virtually overnight (something the UN doesn't have , but should) .... what's that say about the USA ?

If I remember correctly the USA mobilised a rapid response force - but only to evacuate it's nationals , and then left (abandoned) the place to it's own devices , and we all know what happened.

Ask Bill Clinton. He was president during the Rwanda genocide.

Sorry to disappoint you.

I don't give a fig who the president at the time was, both your parties are pretty much the same from policy wize , so similar as to be hard to tell apart.

The point is no one did squat, not the UN (because of weak support for any attempts to intervene by the USA (and others) until it was too late , and because of the rules of engagement and totally inadequate resources imposed on the Blue Baretts who were right next door at the time and were powerless do anything (commanded by a Canadian I believe, I saw a documentary and his story not so long ago ), and NATO did nothing , as did the USA .

Talking about intervening where genocide is happening , is cheap . Passing the buck costs lives .
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Admiralbill_gomec
UberAdmiral
Minuet
May 24 2005, 09:26 AM
AB - just as an aside.

Noah is a member of the Green Party. I am sure he would be just as happy critisizing Democrats as he is critisizing Republicans. :rotfl:

Actually, I am commenting to Somerled just above.

As for being a member of the Green party, does that mean if I join the Constitution Party I would automatically condemn Republicans as often as I condemn the left? (The answer would be "no.")
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Admiralbill_gomec
UberAdmiral
somerled
May 24 2005, 11:32 AM
Admiralbill_gomec
May 24 2005, 10:22 AM
somerled
May 23 2005, 10:03 PM
Admiralbill_gomec
May 23 2005, 04:01 PM
Dr. Noah
May 23 2005, 11:51 AM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2005Jan10.html

U.N. Audits Detail Oil-for-Food Overpayments

By Colum Lynch and Justin Blum
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, January 11, 2005; Page A11

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 10 -- Failures in U.N. management of the Iraq oil-for-food program may have permitted excess payments of hundreds of millions of dollars to governments and companies, according to 55 internal audits of the humanitarian program. The excess payments were made even as then-President Saddam Hussein was stealing billions from the program.

Republican lawmakers and congressional staff members investigating the program said yesterday that the audits, released Sunday night by a U.N.-appointed investigative committee, reflect the need for further investigation. They said the audits underscore the need for greater accountability in an organization that is helping to oversee elections in Iraq and handling the disbursement of billions in aid to victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which also is investigating allegations of corruption in the oil-for-food program, said in a statement that a review of the audits "only underscores my long-held concern about the fraud, mismanagement and lack of adequate oversight" at the program.

In an effort to address concerns about its ability to manage large assistance funds, the United Nations announced Monday that it has hired PricewaterhouseCoopers to track the spending of billions of dollars for tsunami survivors.

The committee that released the audits and other internal U.N. documents is headed by former Federal Reserve chairman Paul A. Volcker. It is investigating allegations of corruption in the $64 billion program, which oversaw the sale of Iraqi oil for the purchase of humanitarian goods while the nation was under U.N. economic sanctions.

In a 35-page briefing paper, the Volcker committee said the audits highlighted the "wholesale failure of normal management and controls" over some of the program's operations. It also faulted the United Nations' internal auditors for failing to scrutinize areas of the program that were most vulnerable to corruption: the sale and purchase of oil and humanitarian goods.

Volcker, who is to release his initial findings at the end of the month, said last week that he found no hard evidence of fraud or corruption in the audits. But he is investigating whether the selection of audit targets "was subject to inappropriate management influence" by senior officials at the U.N. oil-for-food program, according to the briefing paper.

U.S. lawmakers had pressed for copies of the audits for months.

Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), in a statement, questioned why U.N. auditors did not investigate the program's most scandal-plagued aspects. "How was the U.N. internal watchdog effectively neutered?" asked Shays, chairman of the Government Reform Committee's subcommittee on national security, emerging threats and international relations. "Why were key recommendations never implemented?"

Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), ranking Democrat on the subcommittee on investigations, said, "The audit reports appear to add little new information about the extent to which Saddam Hussein misused the oil-for-food program or the allegations made against particular U.N. officials." He said the United Nations' "overdue" release of the audits "sets a healthy precedent."

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric acknowledged "deficiencies" in the program's management but added: "Let's not forget that the oil-for-food program did fulfill its main objective by providing humanitarian relief to 27 million Iraqis, and thereby helping to maintain political support for the sanctions, which, in turn, prevented Saddam Hussein's regime from acquiring weapons of mass destruction."

One internal audit alleged that the U.N. Compensation Commission "overcompensated certain parties by approximately $557 million."

The Geneva-based agency is responsible for using Iraqi oil revenues to compensate governments and companies that suffered financial losses during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. A separate audit alleged that the commission might have saved as much as $2.2 billion by setting currency exchange rates on the date an award was paid instead of the date a claimant suffered a loss.

Joseph Sills, a spokesman for the commission, disputed the findings. He said the U.N. auditors had no authority to challenge decisions the commission's panel made on the amount of compensation awards. "They don't have any say there," he said. "We don't feel there have been overpayments."

The audits also cited $5 million in potential losses due to "inadequate control and poor judgment." A review of the U.N. Habitat resettlement program in northern Iraq describes "a situation of mismanagement" that led to the loss of more than $2 million. In one instance, the agency made $500,000 per year in cash payments to building inspectors "who do not provide any services."

The audits also documented alleged overpayments of $1.4 million to three companies that monitored imports of humanitarian goods and to Saybolt Eastern Hemisphere, a Dutch firm that monitors Iraqi oil exports.

Jan Heinsbroek, president of Saybolt, said the company addressed the issues that the audits raised when the audits were conducted. "We were successful in explaining each point brought forward," Heinsbroek said. U.N. officials "accepted all of our explanations."

Cotecna, one of the import monitors, was never given copies of the audits by the United Nations, according to company spokesman Seth Goldschlager. Evelyn Suarez, a Washington lawyer for the Geneva-based company, said: "Cotecna is confident that a full consideration of the facts in proper context will demonstrate that Cotecna performed its function with due diligence and utmost professionalism."
**********************************************************

It appears that the UN is investigating the scandal, unlike the 9 billion dollars unaccounted for by the US.

Also, I agree with 24.  We need to work with the rest of the world due to the nature of the world's interdependency.  It only causes more problems to work against them.

You still live in this moral equivalence world, don't you?

Pity that you can't take off the blinders of hatred to the current administration to see the truth about this so-called "united nations" organization you revere and adore. Not very "tolerant" of you, is it. The UN is crooked from one end to the other and deserve nothing less than to be dissolved.

REMEMBER RWANDA!!

We didn't see the USA sending the 1st Airborn Div to stop it dead in it's tracks either ... despite having the resources to do so virtually overnight (something the UN doesn't have , but should) .... what's that say about the USA ?

If I remember correctly the USA mobilised a rapid response force - but only to evacuate it's nationals , and then left (abandoned) the place to it's own devices , and we all know what happened.

Ask Bill Clinton. He was president during the Rwanda genocide.

Sorry to disappoint you.

I don't give a fig who the president at the time was, both your parties are pretty much the same from policy wize , so similar as to be hard to tell apart.

The point is no one did squat, not the UN (because of weak support for any attempts to intervene by the USA (and others) until it was too late , and because of the rules of engagement and totally inadequate resources imposed on the Blue Baretts who were right next door at the time and were powerless do anything (commanded by a Canadian I believe, I saw a documentary and his story not so long ago ), and the NATO did nothing , as did the USA .

Talking about intervening where genocide is happening , is cheap . Passing the buck costs lives .

Befor you open your mouth (electronically) you might actually want to learn something about 1) our political parties, and 2) our political process.

DO NOT attempt to blame Rwanda on the US. It is clearly the fault of your vaunted Untied Nations. Stop lying.
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somerled
Member Avatar
Admiral MacDonald RN
Admiralbill_gomec
May 24 2005, 12:34 PM
somerled
May 24 2005, 11:32 AM
Admiralbill_gomec
May 24 2005, 10:22 AM
somerled
May 23 2005, 10:03 PM
Admiralbill_gomec
May 23 2005, 04:01 PM
Dr. Noah
May 23 2005, 11:51 AM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2005Jan10.html

U.N. Audits Detail Oil-for-Food Overpayments

By Colum Lynch and Justin Blum
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, January 11, 2005; Page A11

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 10 -- Failures in U.N. management of the Iraq oil-for-food program may have permitted excess payments of hundreds of millions of dollars to governments and companies, according to 55 internal audits of the humanitarian program. The excess payments were made even as then-President Saddam Hussein was stealing billions from the program.

Republican lawmakers and congressional staff members investigating the program said yesterday that the audits, released Sunday night by a U.N.-appointed investigative committee, reflect the need for further investigation. They said the audits underscore the need for greater accountability in an organization that is helping to oversee elections in Iraq and handling the disbursement of billions in aid to victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which also is investigating allegations of corruption in the oil-for-food program, said in a statement that a review of the audits "only underscores my long-held concern about the fraud, mismanagement and lack of adequate oversight" at the program.

In an effort to address concerns about its ability to manage large assistance funds, the United Nations announced Monday that it has hired PricewaterhouseCoopers to track the spending of billions of dollars for tsunami survivors.

The committee that released the audits and other internal U.N. documents is headed by former Federal Reserve chairman Paul A. Volcker. It is investigating allegations of corruption in the $64 billion program, which oversaw the sale of Iraqi oil for the purchase of humanitarian goods while the nation was under U.N. economic sanctions.

In a 35-page briefing paper, the Volcker committee said the audits highlighted the "wholesale failure of normal management and controls" over some of the program's operations. It also faulted the United Nations' internal auditors for failing to scrutinize areas of the program that were most vulnerable to corruption: the sale and purchase of oil and humanitarian goods.

Volcker, who is to release his initial findings at the end of the month, said last week that he found no hard evidence of fraud or corruption in the audits. But he is investigating whether the selection of audit targets "was subject to inappropriate management influence" by senior officials at the U.N. oil-for-food program, according to the briefing paper.

U.S. lawmakers had pressed for copies of the audits for months.

Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), in a statement, questioned why U.N. auditors did not investigate the program's most scandal-plagued aspects. "How was the U.N. internal watchdog effectively neutered?" asked Shays, chairman of the Government Reform Committee's subcommittee on national security, emerging threats and international relations. "Why were key recommendations never implemented?"

Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), ranking Democrat on the subcommittee on investigations, said, "The audit reports appear to add little new information about the extent to which Saddam Hussein misused the oil-for-food program or the allegations made against particular U.N. officials." He said the United Nations' "overdue" release of the audits "sets a healthy precedent."

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric acknowledged "deficiencies" in the program's management but added: "Let's not forget that the oil-for-food program did fulfill its main objective by providing humanitarian relief to 27 million Iraqis, and thereby helping to maintain political support for the sanctions, which, in turn, prevented Saddam Hussein's regime from acquiring weapons of mass destruction."

One internal audit alleged that the U.N. Compensation Commission "overcompensated certain parties by approximately $557 million."

The Geneva-based agency is responsible for using Iraqi oil revenues to compensate governments and companies that suffered financial losses during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. A separate audit alleged that the commission might have saved as much as $2.2 billion by setting currency exchange rates on the date an award was paid instead of the date a claimant suffered a loss.

Joseph Sills, a spokesman for the commission, disputed the findings. He said the U.N. auditors had no authority to challenge decisions the commission's panel made on the amount of compensation awards. "They don't have any say there," he said. "We don't feel there have been overpayments."

The audits also cited $5 million in potential losses due to "inadequate control and poor judgment." A review of the U.N. Habitat resettlement program in northern Iraq describes "a situation of mismanagement" that led to the loss of more than $2 million. In one instance, the agency made $500,000 per year in cash payments to building inspectors "who do not provide any services."

The audits also documented alleged overpayments of $1.4 million to three companies that monitored imports of humanitarian goods and to Saybolt Eastern Hemisphere, a Dutch firm that monitors Iraqi oil exports.

Jan Heinsbroek, president of Saybolt, said the company addressed the issues that the audits raised when the audits were conducted. "We were successful in explaining each point brought forward," Heinsbroek said. U.N. officials "accepted all of our explanations."

Cotecna, one of the import monitors, was never given copies of the audits by the United Nations, according to company spokesman Seth Goldschlager. Evelyn Suarez, a Washington lawyer for the Geneva-based company, said: "Cotecna is confident that a full consideration of the facts in proper context will demonstrate that Cotecna performed its function with due diligence and utmost professionalism."
**********************************************************

It appears that the UN is investigating the scandal, unlike the 9 billion dollars unaccounted for by the US.

Also, I agree with 24.  We need to work with the rest of the world due to the nature of the world's interdependency.  It only causes more problems to work against them.

You still live in this moral equivalence world, don't you?

Pity that you can't take off the blinders of hatred to the current administration to see the truth about this so-called "united nations" organization you revere and adore. Not very "tolerant" of you, is it. The UN is crooked from one end to the other and deserve nothing less than to be dissolved.

REMEMBER RWANDA!!

We didn't see the USA sending the 1st Airborn Div to stop it dead in it's tracks either ... despite having the resources to do so virtually overnight (something the UN doesn't have , but should) .... what's that say about the USA ?

If I remember correctly the USA mobilised a rapid response force - but only to evacuate it's nationals , and then left (abandoned) the place to it's own devices , and we all know what happened.

Ask Bill Clinton. He was president during the Rwanda genocide.

Sorry to disappoint you.

I don't give a fig who the president at the time was, both your parties are pretty much the same from policy wize , so similar as to be hard to tell apart.

The point is no one did squat, not the UN (because of weak support for any attempts to intervene by the USA (and others) until it was too late , and because of the rules of engagement and totally inadequate resources imposed on the Blue Baretts who were right next door at the time and were powerless do anything (commanded by a Canadian I believe, I saw a documentary and his story not so long ago ), and the NATO did nothing , as did the USA .

Talking about intervening where genocide is happening , is cheap . Passing the buck costs lives .

Befor you open your mouth (electronically) you might actually want to learn something about 1) our political parties, and 2) our political process.

DO NOT attempt to blame Rwanda on the US. It is clearly the fault of your vaunted Untied Nations. Stop lying.

I know enough to comment, and I have read posters here who are living in the USA say the very same thing about the two parties in the USA, and wishing for real choice.

So don't patronise me.
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who
Have light saber. Will travel.
Personally, I think both the UN and NATO should end. I think the UN is a waste of money and the purpose of NATO (the USSR) is no longer present. Neither benefits the US.
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Dr. Noah
Sistertrek's Asian Correspondant
Yes, I am still a member of the Green Party. I changed my registration to Republican to vote for McCain in 2000 and will again if he decides to run. I criticize Democrats as well as Republicans, I just consider them the lesser of the two evils. In my opinion, the problem with political corruption will NEVER change unless we get real campaign finance reform which is why I continually support the REPUBLICAN John MCCain. ;)
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Fesarius
Member Avatar
Admiral
Noah,

I am Green with envy. Thanks, though. I thought you had switched parties some time ago.
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Admiralbill_gomec
UberAdmiral
somerled
May 25 2005, 02:46 AM
I know enough to comment, and I have read posters here who are living in the USA say the very same thing about the two parties in the USA, and wishing for real choice.

So don't patronise me.

Judging by most of your posts, your knowledge of our political system couldn't fill the space on the back of a postage stamp.

Also, I never patronize, I simply point out your deficiency.
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Dr. Noah
Sistertrek's Asian Correspondant
You have a great memory Fes. :yes:
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Fesarius
Member Avatar
Admiral
'I hold an A-7 memory classification, Noah.'
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Hoss
Member Avatar
Don't make me use my bare hands on you.
Fesarius
May 25 2005, 08:44 AM
'I hold an A-7 memory classification, Noah.'

Mine is DDR400 SDRAM.
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Fesarius
Member Avatar
Admiral
^^^
Yes, I seem to remember that.

Quote:
 
Be the change you want to see in your couch cushions.

:loling: :rotfl: :clap: ;)
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Hoss
Member Avatar
Don't make me use my bare hands on you.
Fesarius
May 25 2005, 08:54 AM
^^^
Yes, I seem to remember that.

Quote:
 
Be the change you want to see in your couch cushions.

:loling: :rotfl: :clap: ;)

I have been waiting so long for someone to comment on that. Thanks. I hope that I didn't offend Gandi or 24.
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