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Phred
Fred's son
Registered: 10/18/00
Posts: 12,949
Loc: Dominican Republic
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All about the oil
#2286564 - 01/30/04 08:20 AM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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Saddam?s Gifts Document: Saddam Supporters Received Lucrative Oil Contracts By Brian Ross ABCNEWS.com Jan. 29? ABCNEWS has obtained an extraordinary list that contains the names of prominent people around the world who supported Saddam Hussein's regime and were given oil contracts as a result. All of the contracts were awarded from late 1997 until the U.S.-led war in March 2003. They were conducted under the aegis of the United Nations' oil-for-food program, which was designed to allow Iraq to sell oil in exchange for humanitarian goods. The document was discovered several weeks ago in the files of the Iraqi Oil Ministry in Baghdad. According to a copy obtained by ABCNEWS, some 270 prominent individuals, political parties or corporations in 47 countries were on a list of those given Iraq oil contracts instantly worth millions of dollars. Today, the U.S.Treasury Department said that any American citizens found to be illegally involved could face prosecution. "You are looking at a political slush fund that was buying political support for the regime of Saddam Hussein for the last six or seven years," said financial investigator John Fawcett. Investigators say none of the people involved would have actually taken possession of oil, but rather just the right to buy the oil at a discounted price, which could be resold to a legitimate broker or oil company, at an average profit of about 50 cents a barrel. List Includes Prominent Names Among those named: Indonesia President Megawati Sukarnoputri, an outspoken opponent of U.S.-Iraq policy, who received a contract for 10 million barrels of oil ? about a $5 million profit. The son of the Syrian defense minister received 6 million barrels, according to the document, worth about $3 million. George Galloway, a British member of Parliament, was also on the list to receive 19 million barrels of oil, a $9.5 million profit. A vocal critic of the Iraq war, Galloway denied any involvement to ABCNEWS earlier this year. "I've never seen a bottle of oil, owned one or bought one," Galloway said in a previous interview with ABCNEWS. According to the document, France was the second-largest beneficiary, with tens of millions of barrels awarded to Patrick Maugein, a close political associate and financial backer of French President Jacques Chirac. Maugein, individually and through companies connected to him, received contracts for some 36 million barrels. Chirac's office said it was unaware of Maugein's deals, which Maugein told ABCNEWS are perfectly legal. The single biggest set of contracts were given to the Russian government and Russian political figures, more than 1.3 billion barrels in all ? including 92 million barrels to individual officials in the office of President Vladimir Putin. Another 1 million barrels were contracted to the Russian ambassador to Baghdad, 137 million barrels of oil were given to the Russian Communist Party, and 5 million barrels were contracted to the Russian Orthodox Church. Also on the list are the names of prominent journalists, two Iraqi-Americans, and a French priest who organized a meeting between the pope and Tariq Aziz, Saddam's deputy prime minister. The following are the names of some of those who, according to the document, received Iraqi oil contracts (amounts are in millions of barrels of oil): Russia The Companies of the Russian Communist Party: 137 million The Companies of the Liberal Democratic Party: 79.8 million The Russian Committee for Solidarity with Iraq: 6.5 million and 12.5 million (2 separate contracts) Head of the Russian Presidential Cabinet: 90 million The Russian Orthodox Church: 5 million France Charles Pasqua, former minister of interior: 12 million Trafigura (Patrick Maugein), businessman: 25 million Ibex: 47.2 million Bernard Merimee, former French ambassador to the United Nations: 3 million Michel Grimard, founder of the French-Iraqi Export Club: 17.1 million Syria Firas Mostafa Tlass, son of Syria's defense minister: 6 million Turkey Zeynel Abidin Erdem: more than 27 million Lotfy Doghan: more than 11 million Indonesia Megawati Sukarnoputri: 11 million Spain Ali Ballout, Lebanese journalist: 8.8 million Yugoslavia The Socialist Party: 22 million Kostunica's Party: 6 million Canada Arthur Millholland, president and CEO of Oilexco: 9.5 million Italy Father Benjamin, a French Catholic priest who arranged a meeting between the pope and Tariq Aziz: 4.5 million Roberto Frimigoni: 24.5 million United States Samir Vincent: 7 million Shakir Alkhalaji: 10.5 million United Kingdom George Galloway, member of Parliament: 19 million Mujaheddin Khalq: 36.5 million South Africa Tokyo Saxwale: 4 million Jordan Shaker bin Zaid: 6.5 million The Jordanian Ministry of Energy: 5 million Fawaz Zureikat: 6 million Toujan Al Faisal, former member of Parliament: 3 million Lebanon The son of President Lahoud: 5.5 million Egypt Khaled Abdel Nasser: 16.5 million Emad Al Galda, businessman and Parliament member: 14 million Palestinian Territories The Palestinian Liberation Organization: 4 million Abu Al Abbas: 11.5 million Qatar Hamad bin Ali Al Thany: 14 million Libya Prime Minister Shukri Ghanem: 1 million Chad Foreign minister of Chad: 3 million Brazil The October 8th Movement: 4.5 million Myanmar (Burma) The minister of the Forests of Myanmar: 5 million Ukraine The Social Democratic Party: 8.5 million The Communist Party: 6 million The Socialist Party: 2 million The FTD oil company: 2 million link: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/WNT/Investigation/saddam_oil_vouchers_040129.html I wonder if George Galloway will face questions in parliament today? pinky
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Xlea321
Stranger
Registered: 02/25/01
Posts: 9,134
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Re: All about the oil [Re: Phred]
#2287003 - 01/30/04 12:04 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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I wonder if George Galloway will face questions in parliament today? Doubtful. Not after what happened the last time "documents" were "found" in Baghdad. Christian Science Monitor admits using forged documents against antiwar British MP Galloway By Mick Ingram 5 July 2003 Scottish Labour MP George Galloway has issued High Court libel proceedings against the Telegraph newspaper over a claim that he received money from Saddam Hussein?s regime in Iraq. The move follows a public apology to Galloway by the Christian Science Monitor for having made similar allegations based on forged documents. In April the Telegraph claimed that Galloway had secretly received at least ?375,000 a year from the Iraqi government. It alleged that he had made substantial profits by receiving money from the ?oil for food? programme. The newspaper also claimed Galloway received a percentage of the profits on a number of food contracts he had supposedly obtained with the Iraqi ministry of trade. The Telegraph said it had evidence Galloway had a meeting with an Iraqi agent, on December 26, 1999, at which he asked for more money, further alleging that Galloway had used the Mariam Appeal, which he founded, as a front to conceal his secret commercial dealings with Iraq?s intelligence service. All of these allegations were based upon documents said to have been discovered in the bombed-out ruins of the Iraqi Ministry of Information building in Baghdad by Telegraph reporter David Blair. The story was then picked up by the American newspaper Christian Science Monitor, which claimed to have obtained its own documents showing that Galloway had received some $10 million from the Iraqi regime over an 11-year period for the promotion of its interests in the West. The Monitor has now been forced to apologise for its story. Its June 20 edition published a retraction stating that the documents were forgeries. The retraction, ?Galloway papers deemed forgeries: Iraq experts, ink-aging tests discredit documents behind earlier Monitor story,? said that after publishing the initial article of April 25, 2003, ?An extensive Monitor investigation has subsequently determined that the six papers detailed in the April 25 piece are, in fact, almost certainly forgeries. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/jul2003/gall-j05.shtml
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Le_Canard
The Duk Abides
Registered: 05/16/03
Posts: 94,392
Loc: Earthfarm 1
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Re: All about the oil [Re: Xlea321]
#2287483 - 01/30/04 03:30 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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..and the plot sickens...er ...thickens!
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GazzBut
Refraction
Registered: 10/15/02
Posts: 4,773
Loc: London UK
Last seen: 2 months, 24 days
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Re: All about the oil [Re: Phred]
#2287527 - 01/30/04 03:57 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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I notice Saddam didnt award too many gifts of oil to the US.
-------------------- Always Smi2le
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Xlea321
Stranger
Registered: 02/25/01
Posts: 9,134
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Re: All about the oil [Re: GazzBut]
#2287530 - 01/30/04 03:59 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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Perhaps because the CIA wrote the document?
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GazzBut
Refraction
Registered: 10/15/02
Posts: 4,773
Loc: London UK
Last seen: 2 months, 24 days
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Re: All about the oil [Re: Xlea321]
#2288035 - 01/30/04 07:52 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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Or perhaps thats why they just went in and took control of it!
-------------------- Always Smi2le
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Phred
Fred's son
Registered: 10/18/00
Posts: 12,949
Loc: Dominican Republic
Last seen: 9 years, 2 months
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Re: All about the oil [Re: Phred]
#2346167 - 02/17/04 02:47 PM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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A few excerpts from: Special investigation ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Iraq oil cash funded MPs' campaigns Businessmen handed on money illicitly siphoned from UN deals to pressure groups run by George Galloway and Tam Dalyell David Leigh and David Pallister Tuesday February 17, 2004 The Guardian -- "Money illicitly siphoned from the UN oil-for-food programme by Saddam Hussein was used to finance anti-sanctions campaigns run by British politicians, according to documents that have surfaced in Baghdad." ...... -- "Separately, a dossier from the oil ministry in Baghdad has been handed by the British Foreign Office to Customs and Excise, which has been asked to investigate. They were also referred to the Cabinet Office because of their political sensitivity. "The government has been given copies of certain documents [from Iraq]," a Foreign Office spokeswoman said yesterday. "They are being passed to the appropriate authorities for consideration." -- "The contents of the new documents shed light on Mr Galloway's libel battle with the Daily Telegraph. Last year newspaper reports based on purported Iraqi intelligence files led to him being accused of receiving an annual ?375,000 in secret personal payments from Saddam. " "Our investigations in Iraq, New York, Paris, Moscow and London indicate the new British-related documents are authentic, although their meaning is not always clear. " ........ -- "Despite their importance in the bitter Galloway controversy, the contract documents seem unlikely to surface in the pending libel trial. " http://politics.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12956,1149796,00.html Damn, the CIA's forgers are really good. Fooling the Guardian... getting people named on the list to agree it is legitimate... coming up with a separate dossier of interest to parliament... pinky
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GazzBut
Refraction
Registered: 10/15/02
Posts: 4,773
Loc: London UK
Last seen: 2 months, 24 days
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Re: All about the oil [Re: Phred]
#2346257 - 02/17/04 03:07 PM (20 years, 1 month ago) |
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So the whole political establishment is corrupt? And your point is?
-------------------- Always Smi2le
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