Terry Everett, September 27, 2004

While United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan called America's toppling of Saddam Hussein and the liberation of the Iraqi people "illegal", many in Congress are pressing for an investigation of the world body for possible mismanagement and corruption in its Oil for Food Program which likely aided the regime of the former Iraqi dictator.

Last week, Annan told the British Broadcasting Corporation that the U.S.-led Coalition attack on Iraq and the war to remove Saddam's regime was "illegal" and "not in conformity with the U.N. charter from our point of view." He added, "I hope we do not see another Iraq-type operation for a long time - without U.N. approval and much broader support from the international community."

Annan's comments received swift and sharp criticism from Coalition leaders, including Secretary of State Colin Powell who pointed out that the U.S. Constitution gave America the right to act in its own self defense. Saddam's defiance of more than a dozen U.N. resolutions on his weapons programs alone justified military action.

Truth is the U. N. showed no inclination to force Saddam to abide by international law and Saddam counted on this weakness to maintain, and indeed, to prop up his regime. One glaring example is the failed U.N. Oil for Food program which was supposed to help the Iraqi people suffering under Saddam while denying the dictator the cash to build up his war machine.

The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) estimates that Saddam received $10.1 billion in illegal revenues from the U.N. Oil for Food program since the mid 1990's. Through apparent U.N. mismanagement and corruption, Saddam managed to pad his personal coffers with oil sales proceeds - money which may still be stashed away in private bank accounts. Furthermore, it is believed that as many as 270 U.N. and foreign officials and business people may have conspired and benefited from Saddam's skimming of these oil revenues.

Recently, a Congressional delegation returned from Iraq where they poured through a large supply of Oil for Food documents which the new Iraqi government has pledged to keep safe for U.S. investigators. This may be the best way to get to the bottom of the Oil for Food fraud since the U.N., itself, has refused to allow access to its own documents.

To put pressure on the U.N., I have cosponsored legislation (HR 4284) that would require the withholding of a portion of U.S. contributions to the U.N. until the President certifies that the U.N. is cooperating in the Oil for Food investigation. Frankly, the U.N., through its failure to act against real threats to peace, and its apparent willingness to turn a blind eye to corruption, has proven that it is no longer relevant. Accordingly, I have also cosponsored the American Sovereignty Restoration Act (HR 1146) which would end U.S. membership in the U.N., bar U.S. military from serving under U.N. command, and deny the U.N. access to American facilities or property.

Like the former League of Nations, the U.N. has degenerated into a debating society where the members talk about doing something and then do nothing. Recent examples include its failure to stop the genocide of tens of thousands in Sudan or play a constructive role in the war-torn Balkans.

It is no longer in our national interest to support the U.N.'s do-nothing, anti-American agenda.

Congressman Terry Everett, a Republican, represents Alabama's Second Congressional District, which includes the state capitol, Montgomery.