Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Ripsnort on May 20, 2004, 07:53:37 AM
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It is not like most of us here knew the UN was a corrupt organization in regards to Iraq.
Audit report here:
http://www.foxnews.com/projects/pdf/un_oilforfood_audit.pdf
NEW YORK — An internal United Nations audit from 2003 found significant problems with the international organization's Iraqi oil-for-food program, revealing that millions of dollars went unaccounted for.
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The 23-page audit by the U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services (search) into the program — now the subject of an independent probe looking into allegations of abuse — also revealed problems with the oil-for-food program's administration, specifically with a company that employed Secretary General Kofi Annan's son as it prepared to bid for an oil-for-food contract.
Click to read the U.N. internal audit of the oil-for-food program.
The audit devotes almost 20 pages to the U.N.’s dealings with Cotecna (search), a Swiss-based company that was awarded a $4.8 million dollar contract for the oil-for-food program just months after Annan’s son, Kojo, ended a consulting assignment with the firm.
It is not clear if Annan himself ever read the audit. He has insisted in the past that he was unaware of any problems with the oil-for-food program while it was in operation. He has also denied any conflict of interest with his son’s involvement with Cotecna.
The April 8, 2003 report was addressed to Benon Sevan (search), former head of the oil-for-food program. Sevan has refused to talk to Fox News about the program or his role in the matter, except to say that he has done nothing wrong.
The document was obtained by Mineweb.com, an international mining publication based in South Africa that focuses on mining finance and corporate news.
The overall conclusion of the report is "that management of the Contract has not been adequate and certain provisions of the Contract have not been adhered to." The incorporation of additional costs was deemed "uneconomical" and the Contract was "amended prior to its commencement, which was inappropriate."
The Office of Iraq Programs needs to "strengthen its management of contracts and the Procurement Division should ensure that the basis of payment is appropriate in order to avoid additional costs to the Organization," the audit found.
Several references in the audit are damning to Cotecna and seem to openly question the relationship between the company and its U.N. client. Among the specific charges listed in the report:
— U.N. officials approved $356,000 in “additional costs” to the contract just four days after the proposal was signed.
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— Within a year of the contract’s signing, it was amended to add other charges far above those originally approved. This included a hike in the "per man day fee" to $600 from an initial $499. This higher fee "was exactly equal to the offer of the second lowest bidder."
— Cotecna and U.N. officials understaffed inspection stations at entry points into Iraq, which “affects the performance of services."
— In northern Iraq, where Kurdish officials have said they were cheated out of billions of dollars in oil-for-food aid, there were no inspectors on the job. The result was "huge differences between the figures for goods reported to have arrived by the U.N. agencies and the contractor."
The audit found the oil-for-food administration had "been aware" of problems for years but had failed to adequately address them. And it determined no one from the United Nations monitored Cotecna agents operating in Iraq.
“In absence of a contract manager, there can be no assurance that the services provided were in consonance with the spirit and letter of the Contract,” the audit stated.
But after the report's April 2003 submission — and just three months before handing over control of the oil-for-food program to the Coalition Provisional Authority (search) in Iraq — the United Nations signed a new $9.8 million contract for Cotenca.
Cotenca officials declined to answer individual questions about the the company's participation in the program or the role of Kojo Annan. In the past, they've issued statements denying any wrongdoing and maintaining they properly followed all U.N. regulations
U.N. officials have said the internal audits and other relevant documents have been handed over to Paul Volcker, who was named by Annan last month to investigate the growing scandal. Volcker has declined requests for interviews, but is expected to make an appearance at a U.N. press briefing on Thursday.
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Fox News is teh devel's news
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No! not the cute little blue helmeted folk who want to rule the world for our own good?
lazs
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I agree the UN is corrupt and corrupt everyon just look : HalibUrtoN
YetAnotherProof of UN corruption
btw I didn't read your article Rip. it ain't new :)
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Originally posted by straffo
I agree the UN is corrupt and corrupt everyon just look : HalibUrtoN
YetAnotherProof of UN corruption
btw I didn't read your article Rip. it ain't new :)
Whats new is the key word "independent":
The 23-page audit by the U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services (search) into the program — now the subject of an independent probe looking into allegations of abuse"
And the fact that the document was not public before.(apparently, according to this article)
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the UN is a commie plot to rob the faithful of our precious bodily fluids and feed them to hungry spiders.
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what is wrong with halliburton? didn't they win a fair bid?
lazs
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(http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/images/smilies/yawn.gif)
excuse me, carry on....
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When will we see those that have blamed the US for starving the Iraqis for over 10 years redirect their indignation to the ones truly responsible for depriving the Iraqis? When hell freezes over? I suspect they don't even care. Which proves what most of us have known all along, they were only looking for an excuse to ridicule the US.
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Originally posted by AKIron
....they were only looking for an excuse to ridicule the US.
tinfoil hat time? :D
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at least corruption in UN came to public....
How it happen that Enron boys got contract in Iraq for billions $$ never came to public.
You know... those contracts w/o tender.... gift from President..
naaaa we will not speak about 50 mil.$$ Bush got (on election race) from some company whitch got bill.$$ task in Iraq....
its simply ... over here its illegal and its called corruption... So we have sutch problems...
In US it seems to be legal, just part of bussines, so you have no problems with corruption....
why are you still windering about it ?
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No idea what you are talking about lada. Nilsen, no need for your tinfoil hat just yet, unless you know what lada is talking about. ;)
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VV Rip, missed the indepedent part.
Originally posted by AKIron
When will we see those that have blamed the US for starving the Iraqis for over 10 years redirect their indignation to the ones truly responsible for depriving the Iraqis? When hell freezes over? I suspect they don't even care. Which proves what most of us have known all along, they were only looking for an excuse to ridicule the US.
Seems to me there is a logical flaw in you reasoning.
The UN guys are perhaps guilty of corruption and should be judged + punished.
But do they maintain the embargo during years ?
No, they abused it.
The US are responsible of the embargo.
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Originally posted by straffo
VV Rip, missed the indepedent part.
Seems to me there is a logical flaw in you reasoning.
The UN guys are perhaps guilty of corruption and should be judged + punished.
But do they maintain the embargo during years ?
No, they abused it.
The US are responsible of the embargo.
The embargo is not what deprived the Iraqi people. Provisions were made to ensure the Iraqi people's basic needs were met. Siphoning off of these provisions by both Saddam and the UN deprived the Iraqis, not the US.
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Originally posted by lada
at least corruption in UN came to public....
How it happen that Enron boys got contract in Iraq for billions $$ never came to public.
You know... those contracts w/o tender.... gift from President..
naaaa we will not speak about 50 mil.$$ Bush got (on election race) from some company whitch got bill.$$ task in Iraq....
its simply ... over here its illegal and its called corruption... So we have sutch problems...
In US it seems to be legal, just part of bussines, so you have no problems with corruption....
why are you still windering about it ?
Boy it didnt take long to spin the iraq oil for food corruption into Bush/Enron did it.
OOPS I forgot the UN can do no wrong...
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I can't disagree with this but it's far from complete...
Let talk in theory so :
If without embargo the ressources availlable are 150 but the normal need is 100 when there is a 20 "Siphoning" it left 130.
Now set up an embargo but leave the "Siphoning" there is now only 80 availlable.
Who is responsible ?
The guys that still take 20 or the guy that made the amount drop to 100 ?
Plus for the average Iraqi when they were having only 130 there was no penury...
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Originally posted by straffo
I can't disagree with this but it's far from complete...
Let talk in theory so :
If without embargo the ressources availlable are 150 but the normal need is 100 when there is a 20 "Siphoning" it left 130.
Now set up an embargo but leave the "Siphoning" there is now only 80 availlable.
Who is responsible ?
The guys that still take 20 or the guy that made the amount drop to 100 ?
Plus for the average Iraqi when they were having only 130 there was no penury...
Why bother with theory, we have the very real situation/problem to discuss. Provision was made. Someone stole it from the Iraqis. Who is to blame? The thieves of course.
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Originally posted by straffo
But do they maintain the embargo during years ?
No, they abused it.
The US are responsible of the embargo.
:rofl
in '99 France, Russia and China all ABSTAINED from the resolution vote and it passed.
All permanent members of the SC with veto power.
So, for example, France alone could have vetoed it but chose to Abstain so it's the AMREEKANS fault!
:rofl :rofl :rofl
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Originally posted by AKIron
No idea what you are talking about lada. Nilsen, no need for your tinfoil hat just yet, unless you know what lada is talking about. ;)
I probably messed up Enron with Worldcom..
here we go
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/123016_worldcomiraq22.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A40708-2003Oct30¬Found=true
What do you think about that Iron.
It is nice example of what we call corruption.
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Originally posted by Toad
:rofl
So, for example, France alone could have vetoed it but chose to Abstain so it's the AMREEKANS fault!
:rofl :rofl :rofl
Whole Iraq is American
fault (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=www.indymedia.nl/img/2003/03/9920.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.indymedia.nl/nl/2003/03/9921.shtml&h=200&w=300&sz=10&tbnid=xd9bem9jYYQJ:&tbnh=74&tbnw=111&start=1&prev=/images%3Fq%3DSadam%2BHussein%2BDonald%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DG)
or not ?
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Originally posted by lada
I probably messed up Enron with Worldcom..
here we go
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/123016_worldcomiraq22.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A40708-2003Oct30¬Found=true
What do you think about that Iron.
It is nice example of what we call corruption.
I scanned both of those articles. Neither made any claims of illegal activity. The main opponents of the Worldcom contract were bid competitors. Where is the corruption?
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Corruption is, that somebody make decision whitch will lead to his personal enrichment.
So if Mr. Bush pick some company w/o tender and company will donate him money, it is corruption over here.
Im wondering that sometime American are so proud, that money move their world, but its funny how they become blind in sutch cases.
Did you realy read second link ?
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Originally posted by lada
Corruption is, that somebody make decision whitch will lead to his personal enrichment.
So if Mr. Bush pick some company w/o tender and company will donate him money, it is corruption over here.
Im wondering that sometime American are so proud, that money move their world, but its funny how they become blind in sutch cases.
Did you realy read second link ?
Ok, first of all, no. Making a decision to enrich oneself is not corruption. Unless it is done illegally or imorally. Secondly, Bush does not decide who gets what government contracts. There are firm laws and guidelines in place for bidders and government contract managers to follow in determining who gets what and how they are fulfilled. Maybe this isn't so in your country? That would explain your lack of understanding.
I told you I scanned them both. I did not read them carefully.
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Enron and Worldcom were hosed long before Bush got elected.
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Originally posted by AKIron
Maybe this isn't so in your country? That would explain your lack of understanding.
I told you I scanned them both. I did not read them carefully.
aha... so you are lazy to read it and im lack of understanding....
yeah that sound logic
RA: What are you talking about... ??
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Originally posted by lada
aha... so you are lazy to read it and im lack of understanding....
yeah that sound logic
RA: What are you talking about... ??
Didn't say I was too lazy. I read fast and can usually get the gist of something by scanning. Please tell me how my analysis was wrong.
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Originally posted by Toad
So, for example, France alone could have vetoed it but chose to Abstain so it's the AMREEKANS fault!
What is your problem with this ?
It's true ,I don't see anything to add.
Whatever the number of :rofl you will put in your post it won't change this truth.
What I understand of your and Iron post is : the Embargo against Iraq was effective because the UN is corrupt.
Originally posted by AKIron
Why bother with theory, we have the very real situation/problem to discuss. Provision was made. Someone stole it from the Iraqis. Who is to blame? The thieves of course.
Yes, the thieves ... but the one who took 50 , the one who took 20 or both ?
Whatever your will do it won't change the opinion of the Iraqi :
-before the US embargo their was a dictature but they where surviving.
-After the US embargo their was a dictature but they where dieing.
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Originally posted by straffo
The US are responsible of the embargo.
France is responsible because it did not veto the resolution and let it pass.
See how easy it is?
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It verify my signature :
When intelligent folks decide to no longer understand, they become much more successful at stupidity than idiots
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America now caused the the UN corruption .. LOL
some of you are good for a laugh
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Indeed. I've noticed that myself. But I won't name names. ;)
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Frankly, If the U.N. doesn't start doing what we tell them to do again, what's the point in having it around?
Let's just disband it.....
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Originally posted by lada
Corruption is, that somebody make decision whitch will lead to his personal enrichment.
So if Mr. Bush pick some company w/o tender and company will donate him money, it is corruption over here.
Im wondering that sometime American are so proud, that money move their world, but its funny how they become blind in sutch cases.
Did you realy read second link ?
you do know that worldcom was run by Bernie Evers, a Canadian right?