His master's voice Part II: Normie "angry" at UN

[dflprincess]

http://www.startribune.com/stories/709/5086729.html
<snip>
WASHINGTON (AP) - Saddam Hussein's regime made more than $21.3 billion in illegal revenue by subverting the U.N. oil-for-food program and other sanctions - more than double previous estimates, according to congressional investigators.

"This is like an onion - we just keep uncovering more layers and more layers," said Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., whose Senate Committee on Government Affairs received the new information at hearing Monday.

New figures on Iraq's alleged surcharges, kickbacks - and oil-smuggling dating back to 1991 - are based on troves of new documents obtained by the committee's investigative panel, Coleman told reporters before the hearing. The documents illustrate how Iraqi officials, foreign companies and sometimes politicians allegedly contrived to allow the Iraqi government vast illicit gains.

Coleman said the probe is just beginning and that officials aim to discover "how this massive fraud was able to thrive for so long." He said he is angry that the United Nations has not provided documents and access to officials that investigators need to move ahead.

Officials must get to the bottom of the allegations because, among other things, it will help the international community to better design future sanctions programs, some senators said.

But the committee's ranking Democrat, Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, said "for the most part the U.N. sanctions achieved their intended objective of preventing Saddam from rearming and developing weapons of mass destruction."

If Normie's worried about fraud why doesn't he take a look at the election?

[Spinzonner]

1. Maybe they can call in their friend Ken Lay as a consultant

on massive frauds

[knowbody0]

2. best not to peel too deep

halliburton's inside

[Old and In the Way]

4. hehehe

Does stormin' Norman know? All world-class fraud is going to find its way back to the financial base of the Republican Party.

Hey, maybe Norm really is a mole for Democrats! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[peacetalksforall]

3. If Normie is handling this...I suspect they need to cover something up.

Let him, let them prove me wrong.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. I haven't read it yet, but either the current issue or the last issue

of Harper's has a short aricle, the sidebars of which seem to indicate that the alleged U.N. "fraud" couldn't possibly have happened without the U.S. complicity. I'll have to read it tomrrow.

[katinmn]

6. onion analogy??!! Hmmmm

This is like an onion - we just keep uncovering more layers and more layers," said Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., whose Senate Committee on Government Affairs received the new information at hearing Monday.

Interesting choice of analogy. That one's repetitively used to describe someone with borderline personality disorder. I've often wondered if many of our politicians with grandiose thinking, Nazi-esque behaviors are borderlines.

[mzmolly]

7. Agreed.

If Normie's worried about fraud why doesn't he take a look at the election?

:hi:

[MsAnthropy]

8. He's shocked....SHOCKED I tell you! What a smarmy, slimy dork.

[bvar22]

9. The Duelfer Report:

"The U.S. companies -- including Exxon Mobil Corp., ChevronTexaco Corp. and El Paso Corp. or their predecessors -- and individuals were identified in the Central Intelligence Agency's 1,000-page report on the Hussein regime's campaign, though their names were redacted from the publicly released version. While confirming that sanctions had prevented Iraq from obtaining weapons of mass destruction, the report by arms inspector Charles Duelfer, released last week, described efforts by the Hussein regime to manipulate the Oil-for-Food program in its favor, circumventing U.N. mandates, and possibly U.S. law." (my bold)

http://www.corpwatch.org/print_article.php?&id=11569

I wonder why the names of the US Corporations were "redacted" from the report given to the USMedia????

This is just dishonest PR bluster from the Republicans. They don't want this to go anywhere besides the US CorpoMedia to help slander the UN and divert attention from more important issues in Iraq. The total for the Oil for Food Scandal is about $20Billion. That's chump change for the corporate looting and pillaging in Iraq.
$20Billion disappeared the night Viceroy Bremmer left Iraq.

It is interesting that The El Paso Corp. was involved in this mess. You may remember this Corporation as being one of the Enron front companies that helped rig the California Energy Shortage of 2001.

"El Paso Corporation, the Texas energy company, withheld supplies of natural gas into California during the 2001-2002 power crisis, driving prices to record levels, a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission judge said."

http://www.srimedia.com/artman/publish/article_160.shtml

I agree with little Rubberstamp Normie. This is like an onion. The more layers you peel, the more Republican CorpoCorruption you find!

[no name no slogan]

10. I heard the latest on this on NPR this morning

Apparently Normie is now calling for the resignation of UN Gen Sec Koffi Annan, due to the corruption in the "Oil for Food" program.

Boy oh boy, I can't wait to send this carpetbagging yesman packing in two more years!!!!

:toast:

[bvar22]

11. Unfortunately, Normie doesn't come up for re-election..

...until 2008. But maybe we can mount a recall little Normie rubberstamp campaign. A recall is worth exploring. He HAS BROKEN most of his campaign promises.

Is it possible to recall a US Senator???

[DFLforever]

19. No, there is no provision for recall of a US senator.

[CatholicEdHead]

12. Playing to the base

There are LOTS of people out there who HATE the UN with every inch of their body. Most of their responses tough are the one liners from Rush etc...

Alienate the UN, fire up the base, deflect blame and responsibility. The same playbook goes on and on and on...

[bvar22]

13. If Kofi was involved in corruption , kickbacks, bribery or...

...malfeasance then I also call for his resignation. I am AGAINST corruption wherever and whenever it occurs. I am bi-partisan in this approach.

I do believe that the NeoCons are running a smear campaign against Kofi and "Old Europe". They should NOT BE ALLOWED to censor out the participation of American Corporations.

[dflprincess]

14. Ed Schulz and one of his callers was going after Normie today

One of them suggested that if Normie is really concerned with corruption he should look at all the money Halliburton has stolen from the taxpayers. The caller called Norm a weasel - I wonder if she posts here or if "weasel" is just the first word that comes to any intelligent person's mind when they think of Norm.

[GAspnes]

15. the Weasel was on NBC this morning

running in circles, answering Katie Couric's questions with talking points and hinting that the reason we invaded Iraq was because of the massive fraud in the UN Oil-for-Food program.

No transcript that I can find.

[bvar22]

16. Did anyone ask about...

...the involvement of American Corporations ?
Several were named in the uncensored version Duelfer Report.

[GAspnes]

17. not that I heard

although I'm sure a real journalist would have asked.

[Krupskaya]

18. When the story says...

<snip>"The documents illustrate how Iraqi officials, FOREIGN companies and sometimes politicians allegedly contrived to allow the Iraqi government vast illicit gains."<snip>

....it means American companies. "Foreign" = "Non-Iraqi." It means American.

[dflprincess]

22. Yet another reason for invading Iraq?

What's the count now?

[suegeo]

25. Does anyone have a count on the reasons given, yet?

Here's a start:

Saddam had weapons of mass destruction

Saddam was behind the 9.11 attacks

There were weapons hidden behind large palm trees

Saddam gassed and tortured his own people (now the USA is doing it)

Saddam was a brutal dictator

We are bringing freedom and liberation to the Iraqi people, who we are killing

God personally told George Bush to invade.

And now Norm's reason: corruption in the oil for food program

[Alisa]

27. You forgot "I'm doing it for daddy"

[scarletwoman]

20. StarTribune letter writers take on Normie too!

Two great letters in today's STrib: http://www.startribune.com/stories/563/5114708.html

All for accountability

Sen. Norm Coleman says U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan should resign because "he was in charge" during the oil-for-food scandal (Star Tribune, Dec. 1).

If we use Coleman's logic, someone should resign because of the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. Who should resign for misleading the American people into war?

I think Coleman should clean his own house before he tries to force his agenda on the United Nations and to impugn the character of a respected world leader like Annan.

Elaine Liss, Plymouth.

And:

Coleman's 'courage'

It was inspiring to see Norm Coleman's call for Kofi Annan's resignation over the U.N. oil-for-food affair. As Coleman says, the "CEO" should take responsibility when something so significant goes wrong.

Fortunately, Coleman has the moral high ground to take this stance, given his incessant demands that high-level heads roll over the Abu Ghraib scandal -- one of the blackest marks on our national reputation, a terrorist recruitment bonanza, and a danger to American troops in the future.

And who can forget Coleman's podium-thumping demands that the ax fall on the head architects of the Iraqi occupation, an inexcusably slipshod affair for which we can only guess at the final cost in lives and treasure?

And we all saw how Coleman put his political career on the line in calling for a full accounting up the chain regarding the faulty claims about Iraqi weapons that were used to justify an unprovoked war. He has surely been a tireless champion calling for accountability from an administration that seems only capable of pointing the finger outward. But that's kind of consistency -- dare we call it integrity -- that we've come to expect from our senator.

Matt Sobek, Minneapolis.

Way to go, Elaine and Matt! :bounce:

sw

[GAspnes]

21. those are great!

Wish I'd written either one of them.

[messyca]

26. off topic a little.....

In regards to the first letter to the editor, I wrote pretty much the same diatribe in G.D on this very subject last night. I don't know whether to feel vindicated, or extremely embarrassed. On my honor, this is the first time I have read it.

[loveable liberal]

23. they should investigate normies zipper problem.

[USA_1]

28. KissButt Coleman's zipper problems

Why do you think the DFL hasn't made an issue of his serial womanizing?

[MsAnthropy]

24. Terrific letter in PP today!

Coleman could take a lesson from Annan

It is unfortunate that Norm Coleman, a failed New York Democrat who somehow managed to weasel his way into Minnesota politics, should come out so stridently against Kofi Annan.

I support the vigorous investigation of fraud in the oil-for-food program, but for Coleman to demand that Annan step down because of the perception of negligence is a bit disingenuous. Here are some perceptions that might cast Mr. Coleman's credibility on this issue into doubt.

Norm Coleman is perceived to be a lap dog of the Bush administration, which in turn is perceived to be vengeful and intolerant of dissent. Norm Coleman failed to deliver Minnesota for George W. Bush in 2004 and so has motive to attempt to return to the good graces of president and party.

What better way to do so than to apply classic unsubstantiated character assassination to one of the administration's most visible critics?

What I have seen as I have followed the news is a level of courage and strength of character in Mr. Annan that Mr. Coleman would do well to emulate.

GLENN MARSHALL

Eagan