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The Oil for Food Scandal

By Noam Chomsky at Oct 28, 2004

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Long-time New York Times and Wall St Journal Middle East correspondent Youssef Ibrahim, who is quite knowledgeable, recently wrote that a large part of current revenues from oil are being siphoned off by the Allawi government and other Iraqi officials and traders. In addition there is almost nothing known about huge amounts of funding that supposedly passed through US corporations. It's not unlikely that all of this dwarfs whatever may be found about the "bad guys". Probably more will come out of the Volcker report. It should also be stressed that all of this is a total scam, a transparent effort to divert attention from the fact that the US sanctions (called "UN sanctions," but everyone knows that without US pressures they wouldn't have been imposed the way they were) had a horrendous impact on Iraqis (and probably helped keep Saddam in power). Not the right story, therefore sidelined, though occasionally something comes out, for example, right after the abduction of the Care director a few days ago, who had apparently been doing marvellous and courageous work for decades in Iraq, and was a bitter and public critic of the sanctions (and the war).

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Re: The Oil for Food Scandal

By Frankamendola, Franka at Nov 05, 2004 04:42 AM
It is not up to the US to remove dictators from other countries. This should have come from within Iraq itself. As much as I am not a fan of Bush, I would not want foreign armies to invade the US to remove him from power. Anybody who disagrees with this is a hypocrite in my opinion. The only way "Regime Change" would be justified is if there are massive human rights violations going on within said country. Even then, it is up to ALL countries to take action and share the burden. In the case of Iraq, this should have been done in 1988 when Saddam's worst crimes were commited. To befriend Saddam for 3 more years, bomb them, impose horrifing sanctions for 12 years, then bomb them again, is the real crime here. There are always other alternatives to war.

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Re: The Oil for Food Scandal

By Ttigue, Ttigue at Nov 02, 2004 22:36 PM
Agreeing with FrankA's comment. A common argument I hear from Iraq invasion supporters is the Oil For Food program. Specifically, France and others opposed the US invasion because of their pre-war dealings with Saddam Hussein. A more developed version of the argument goes that the France & Russia were willing to let the country suffer while they received cheap oil. Presumably, the US/UN sanctions placed on Iraq were meant to weaken Saddam Hussein's government as well as undermine the ability to produce WMD. It is generally agreed that the sanctions wreaked havoc on the general population of Iraq. A common estimate is 300,000 deaths. If the Oil For Food program sustained Saddam Hussein and the government while sanctions destroyed the country, surely a change would be required. I personally do not believe that invasion is the solution. What are the alternatives to invasion? And assuming Saddam is a brutal dictator, is it beneficial to remove him and how would you remove him without invasion?

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Re: The Oil for Food Scandal

By Frankamendola, Franka at Oct 28, 2004 23:10 PM
Yes, and it is also being used by the right to be a "see I told you so" with respect to France and other "old Europe" countries not supporting this illegal, preventive war of aggression. Although it is true that there have been monies siphoned off the Oil For Food Program, who are we to be throwing stones?

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By Mkb3, Mkb51 at Oct 28, 2004 21:22 PM
Can you comment in more detail on the insignificance of the Marshall Plan relative to military aid and integration in post WWII Europe. As it stands, you statement:: "The same concerns were also a factor in the reconstruction of Europe on the basis of military aid and integration (far more significant than the Marshall Plan) and many other policies." is somewhat mysterious.

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