British and French Politicians On UNSCAM Dole? Zut Alors!

UNITED NATIONS — A U.S. Senate committee probing corruption in the U.N. Oil-for-Food program released new evidence purporting to show that two prominent politicians from Britain and France received millions of barrels of Iraqi oil in exchange for their support of Saddam Hussein's regime.

Citing contracts, letters and interviews with former Iraqi leaders, the probe set out evidence Wednesday to back the claim that British lawmaker George Galloway (search) and former French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua (search) accepted oil allocations under the scheme.

Galloway and Pasqua have denied any wrongdoing in the Oil-for-Food program.

Galloway has a rather checkered past, which includes being closely associated with Saddam Hussein before Saddam was deposed. He was a strident opponent to Tony Blair's actions to side with the US in invading Iraq.

As I've said in the past, one has to follow the money to see and understand why some people act the way they do. Galloway appears to have been following orders from Saddam based on the oil money purported to have been sent his way.

Will the Iraqi government call for restitution to reclaim the money that should have been theirs?

Pasqua is in a similar position; and given that the French government opposed the US invasion to their utmost abilities, new revelations about Pasqua aren't particularly surprising.