On November 15, the American sentate began a Congressional investigation of the claims made by the Iraqi Al-Mada newspaper. The investigation considered Saddam era documents from the State Oil company and testimony from senior members of the regime.
On May 12th, 2005 Senators Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Carl Levin (D-MI), Chairman and Ranking Member Respectively of the bipartisan Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), issued a joint staff report disclosing evidence that the recently reelected member of the British Parliament George Galloway were granted lucrative oil allocations under the United Nations Oil for Food Program (OFF).
“The Subcommittee's report presents detailed evidence -- including numerous documents created by Saddam Hussein's Ministry of Oil and testimony of senior Hussein regime officials -- that [...] George Galloway received lucrative oil allocations under the Oil for Food Program,” said Coleman.
“This report exposes how Saddam Hussein turned the Oil for Food Program on its head and used the Program to reward his political allies like Galloway. The report includes evidence that Galloway was granted allocations for a whopping 20 million barrels of oil.”
These allocations could be sold on to other buyers at a profit of 3 to 30 cents a barrel. The report also said that Galloway may have used his Mariam "Appeal", set up to help a four-year-old Iraqi girl with leukaemia, to conceal payments.
After protest by Galloway that the investigation had ignored his request to give evidence before the Subcommittee Norm Coleman issued a statement stating that "Contrary to his assertions, at no time did Mr. Galloway contact [the committee] by any means, including but not limited to telephone, fax, e-mail, letter, Morse code or carrier pigeon".
He went on to state that "he would be pleased to have Mr. Galloway appear at the Subcommittee's May 17th hearing entitled, Oil For Influence: How Saddam Used Oil to Reward Politicians and Terrorist Entities Under the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program. The hearing will begin promptly at 9:30 AM and there will be a witness chair and microphone available for Mr. Galloway's use."
|
