Al Qaeda and Oil For Fraud

John Kerry has made much of the argument that the United Nations must participate in the liberation of Iraq to give that liberation moral credibility. The idea that liberation of a people, any people, gains moral credibility when endorsed by a human bureaucracy is an affront to God who endowed all men with inalienable rights including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. When arguments to the contrary are fronted by "Post Christian" men of privilege, living comfortably and safely in Western countries, rest assured they (if not the people they represent) have lost their way.

That John Kerry looks to the U.N. for moral credibility in Iraq is surreal; it is rather like looking to France for qualities of national heroism. William Safire demonstrates why this is so in today's New York Times, with an editorial that continues his effort to prevent the "Oil For Fraud" program from dying the quiet death so desired by Kofi Annan and his kleptocratic supporters in the U.N. Oil For Fraud was a cash cow for U.N. functionaries, for Annan's son, and for corporations and governments that happen to be French or Russian. Sadly, Safire again reports that the United States government is more comfortable looking the other way than exposing U.N. corpulence.

In Commentary Magazine, and National Review today, Claudia Rosett writes on the same issue from a slightly different perspective. Rosett speculates that al Qaeda may have profited from the Oil For Fraud program. She writes of financial transaction records that have seen daylight and public scrutiny, that indicate a number of al Qaeda front men and institutions were chosen by Saddam Hussein to process the booty resulting from under priced oil contracts.

Where the looters put the loot is not now known, and only will be if the U.N., France, Russia and other profiteers are held to account. President Bush should be leading the call for accountability on behalf of the Iraqi people instead of following the State Department’s lead in currying favor with the U.N. Of course, we should not expect such leadership from John Kerry- he is neither stupid, nor principled enough come out for the people of Iraq against his own political interests.