Comments on: Hussein Skimmed Billions

By: Mithras

Mithras — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

I guess this right-wing obsession with bashing the UN puzzles me. So Hussein was corrupt. So he diverted funds from feeding and providing medical care to his people into his military and into his own pocket. Why is that the UN's fault?

If someone were on welfare, for example, and they used the money to buy drugs or alcohol, is that the government's fault?

What if someone does a study of corruption in today's Iraq and then concluded it's the fault of the U.S. occupation? Would you accept that as valid criticism?

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Nothing in the post bashes the U.N.

By: Mithras

Mithras — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

You're right, and I should have made it clear your post wasn't an egregious example of the practice. But then again, if not to bash the UN indirectly, why is this relevant? We knew the guy was a dictator, in a region of the world which is notable for its all-pervasive corruption. We knew about his palaces and the suffering of his people - which suffering could have been averted if he had actually used the oil-for-food money properly - before the invasion. I think this kind of thing receives such an eager hearing from conservatives because they think it justifies a unilateralist and exclusively military U.S. foreign policy.

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

I think it shows the type of man we were dealing with and is further evidence of why diplomacy is sometimes inadequate. The UN is by and large quite successful on the humanitarian front, but this was not one of those cases.

By: Mithras

Mithras — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

I'm not sure that conclusion follows. The point of the oil-for-food program was to render Saddam militarily toothless while still providing enough resources for the Iraqi people to live on. No doubt, Saddam's thievery caused a lot of suffering, but the program certainly achieved its aims.

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

I guess this left-wing obsession with protecting the UN puzzles me. So the UN ended up sponsoring the murder of millions. Is that their fault? They only knew about the problem for a decade. It is not like they had any opportunity to stop it.

I mean, who cares if they had no oversight and they funded the torture of children?

What the big deal to the right-wingers?

Paul

Heavy sigh.

By: Small Dead Animals

Small Dead Animals — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

UN Oil For Palaces Program
Roger Simon has been on the UN Oil-For-Food scandal for weeks, and finally, the New York Times has broken the story in a big way. Exerpts: Perhaps the best measure of the corruption comes from a review of the $8.7...

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