Saddam Hussein was dead broke, the result of UN penalties. Or so it was thought.
So where did the former Iraqi president find the money to pursue missile technology from North Korea, air defense systems from Belarus and other prohibited military equipment.
The CIA's top weapons inspector in Iraq said Saddam carried out much of that trade with proceeds from illegal oil sales to Syria, one of three Iraqi neighbors that bought oil from Baghdad in defiance of the UN.
Trade with Syria, Jordan and Turkey was the biggest source of illicit funds for Saddam, more so than the much-maligned UN oil-for-food program, according to investigations of Saddam's finances.
Though considered smuggling, most of the trade took place with the knowledge -- and sometimes the tacit consent -- of the US and other nations.
With Republican-led congressional committees investigating allegations of oil-for-food corruption, some Democrats are pressing for answers about why the US did little to stop the smuggling. The issue is part of a series of broader questions these lawmakers have about what US officials knew about Saddam's overall illicit finances.
"I am determined to see to it that our own government's failures and oversights or mistaken judgments and decisions should also be exposed," said Representative Tom Lantos, a California Democrat.
Some Republicans are promising to hold hearings on the matter next year. During the dozen years between the two Iraq wars, Saddam's oil sales were supposed to be limited to those under permitted the UN oil-for-food program. From 1996 to last year, the US$60 billion program allowed Iraq to sell oil and use proceeds to buy food, medicine and other necessities.
That program has come under scrutiny because of allegations that Saddam received kickbacks and bribed UN and foreign government officials. Besides the congressional inquiries, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker to head an investigation.
The report by CIA weapons inspector Charles Duelfer found that oil-for-food corruption generated US$1.7 billion for Saddam. It said illegal oil contracts generated about US$8 billion: US$4.4 billion with Jordan, US$2.8 billion with Syria and US$710 million with Turkey. A short-lived agreement with Egypt generated US$33 million. Overall, Saddam had US$10.9 billion in illicit revenue from 1990 to last year, Duelfer said.
The Senate Governmental Affairs investigations subcommittee, using a different methodology, came up with a US$21.3 billion overall estimate, including US$13.7 billion from oil smuggling. The panel did not break that figure down by nation and it includes some smuggling related to the oil-for-food program.
Former State Department officials said the US had little choice but to allow some of these sales to Iraq's neighbors.
Jordan was desperate after the 1991 Persian Gulf War. The UN penalties against Iraq had cost Jordan a major trading partner. Iraq owed Jordan money, but could not repay without selling oil. Jordan needed oil, but could not import from other producers, angry that Jordan supported Iraq in the war.
"We realized that the Jordanian economy and the Jordanian state would collapse" if it didn't get access to oil, said David Mack, deputy assistant secretary of state for Near East Affairs at the time.
The UN formally acknowledged Jordan's oil dealings with Iraq in May 1991, without approving or disapproving of it. Because of that, some people question whether the trade can be considered illicit.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
‘POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE’: Leo Varadkar said he was ‘no longer the best person’ to lead the nation and was stepping down for political, as well as personal, reasons Leo Varadkar on Wednesday announced that he was stepping down as Ireland’s prime minister and leader of the Fine Gael party in the governing coalition, citing “personal and political” reasons. Pundits called the surprise move, just 10 weeks before Ireland holds European Parliament and local elections, a “political earthquake.” A general election has to be held within a year. Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin, leader of Fianna Fail, the main coalition partner, said Varadkar’s announcement was “unexpected,” but added that he expected the government to run its full term. An emotional Varadkar, who is in his second stint as prime minister and at
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia