(AP/Washington Times) Saddam Hussein micromanaged business deals under the UN's oil-for-food program to maximize political influence with important foreign governments. Iraqi officials have provided a list of foreign companies favored by Saddam for import contracts, including more than 280 Russian and 100 Saudi companies that account for more than half of those on the list. Saddam was able to "subvert" the UN program to generate an estimated $1.7 billion in revenue from 1997 to 2003, according to the Duelfer report. In addition, Iraq brought in more than $8 billion in illicit oil deals with Jordan, Syria, Turkey, and Egypt during the period that sanctions were in place, according to the report.
2004-10-25 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive