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| International-UN-NGOs |
| Volcker: Nope, no documents from us |
| 2004-11-17 |
| In response to the Coleman/Levin complaint letter of last week: "Annan turned over all oil-for-food documentation to Volcker," U.N. spokesman, Fred Eckhard, told The New York Sun. Since Mr. Volcker now controls all related documents, he was the one answering the senators' letter, he added. Ah, Kofi, always with someone to hide behind. Mr. Volcker wrote yesterday that after the middle of next year, when his team completes "a definitive report" on the U.N.'s management of the program, "we fully anticipate" that "substantially all" relevant documents will be released. This, he added, would provide "a basis for congressional and public review of our conclusions." "Once we get our But for now, he wrote, his team needs to keep a delicate balance between "essential and desirable transparency and disclosure" and a "degree of confidentiality and simple fairness." "You ain't getting bupkus." He therefore politely declined to guarantee the release of documentation specifically requested by the senators, which relates to the British-based shipping inspection company that was a U.N. contractor, Lloyd's Register. According Mr. Volcker, those documents are related to "a sensitive area involving allegations of bribery, and undue influence." "Anything interesting, you definitely can't get." Lloyd's Register was replaced by the U.N. in February 1999 by a competing Swiss-based shipping inspection company, Cotecna, which had business relations with Mr. Annan's son, Kojo. Ding, ding, ding! |
| Posted by:someone |
| #38 Madeline was way better, right? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-11-17 7:05:27 PM |
| #37 Powell's an empty suit. The most over-rated figure in US politics today. And one of the most feckless Secretaries of State we've seen in twenty years. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-11-17 6:15:34 PM |
| #36 Saw Fox on the opening of the hearings(damn it I wanted more nothing on C-Span 1 or 2)Sen.Levin also braught up the US State Department.That members knew about the shinanigans and ignored(possably condoned or aided and abetted)them,I'm curious to see whose name is mentioned.If true my respect and admiration for Powel just took a serious nose dive. |
| Posted by: raptor 2004-11-17 6:04:08 PM |
| #35 I'm starting to wonder if Sylwester is on the UN payroll You got any links on that? Or is it pure speculation? If you do have links are the names spelled correctly? Is Kofi Kofi mentioned? Are NGO enumerated properly? Has decorum been preserved? Where's my Sioux Headress? Where is JM from Guam? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-11-17 5:12:58 PM |
| #34 I'd be surprised if they jump on it. The Dem party is so decayed I don't think they are capable of such a common sense move. That they've seized the "moral values" issue to direct their blame - as if Bush was elected by buck-toothed, deluded, dolts - shows me that shame and blame is still all they can muster. They are smart and we're stupid, don cha see? Kofi won't take the blame any more than Sadaam will. The Democratic party has, for a very long time, been about 60's wonderbread children not wanting to grow up and act like adults. Once you stop singing "Imagine" and acknowledge Utopia doesn't exist, you have given up on the sunny side of life and are doomed to a mundane, life of boring trudgery. |
| Posted by: 2b 2004-11-17 4:32:05 PM |
| #33 No offense taken. I'm skeptical of the old guard. My continued membership in the Democratic Party is on the line on this one. I'm watching carefully. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-11-17 4:12:49 PM |
| #32 I hope you're right Lex but I also hope you won't be offended if I believe it when I see it. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-11-17 4:11:23 PM |
| #31 Trashing criminals' money-laundering schemes plays well in the heartland, suggests some semblance of foreign-policy seriousness and doesn't require any Dem to openly endorse Bush. If they're smart, they'll be all over this. No-brainer. Which of course doesn't guarantee Boxhead or Pelosi or Kennedy will jump on it.... |
| Posted by: lex 2004-11-17 4:03:52 PM |
| #30 That's history. All the Dems' pundits now are converging on the theme that Dems need to get serious about the votes of winning heartland working-class religious folk and get serious on foreign policy. See northern snob lefty Harold Meyerson's admission that "the White House is worth a drawl", and New Republic arch-lib Peter Beinart on how the Dems need to finally get serious about national security. What better way to start than to trash Don Kofi? This is win-win for any clever and serious Dem Senator. I'm betting Obama will jump on this. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-11-17 4:01:04 PM |
| #29 Their base is their problem. Lotsa folk in Cambridge and SF think Kofi and the UN can do no wrong. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-11-17 3:56:34 PM |
| #28 Unfortunately, Lex, the Oil-for-Food deal is more evidence of why Saddam had to go and why the UN cannot be trusted. For your scenario to play out, the Dems would have to act as if they believe Bush was right, the UN was wrong, and they're on the side of moral values. That just AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-11-17 3:52:45 PM |
| #27 Lex-That visual just put a big, fat smile on my face :) |
| Posted by: Jules 187 2004-11-17 3:38:13 PM |
| #26 I love it. The Dems believe (wrongly, IMO) that they just lost the presidential election based on "moral values." So now we're looking at a scandal bigger than a hundred Enrons, one that involves the UN in a mass murderer's money-laundering and influence-peddling and terror-supporting schemes. I would think that Sen. Levin and his peers on the Dem side of the aisle will try to get on the side of justice and morality in this one. No wiggle room for the Multilateralist Friends of the UN this time. Don Kofi, you're finished. The entire Senate's against you, buddy, and you're going down. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-11-17 3:35:03 PM |
| #25 Watch Oil for Food House Hearings on Fox live right now |
| Posted by: 3dc 2004-11-17 3:23:20 PM |
| #24 I was wondering if he was on Cotecna's payroll, since that seems to be the only thing he's interested in protecting. |
| Posted by: Dishman 2004-11-17 2:34:27 PM |
| #23 I'm starting to wonder if Sylwester is on the UN payroll. |
| Posted by: someone 2004-11-17 1:40:37 PM |
| #22 In other words, you have no evidence that Kojo Annan was personally involved in any UN decisions or activities. In other words, you've married the strawman and are determined to stand by your man. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-11-17 1:14:35 PM |
| #21 Mike, your concern for young Kojo is touching, but I believe you're missing the point. Can you say, big fish? |
| Posted by: lex 2004-11-17 12:27:45 PM |
| #20 Mike, you haven't presented any evidence that little-green-men-from-outer-space performed bizarre sexual experiments on you when you were a child, therefore your whole line of thinking is baseless. |
| Posted by: Dishman 2004-11-17 12:27:22 PM |
| #19 Beyond the speculations about Kojo Annan, does anybody have any evidence at all of anything improper in Contecna's acquisition and performance of its UN contract? . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-11-17 12:25:02 PM |
| #18 It's not about the son; it's his pappy who's the real perp here. Claudia Rosett, as usual, has the goods on Kofi-- read her long, careful and devastating indictment of Kofi's involvement: http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/cRosett/?id=110005904 |
| Posted by: lex 2004-11-17 12:20:43 PM |
| #17 Kujo's a small-fry. Whether or not he was personally involved is essentially irrelevant. What is relevant is that his father was involved, and his employer got a lucrative contract. |
| Posted by: Dishman 2004-11-17 12:16:39 PM |
| #16 Re #15 (Robert Crawford) In other words, you have no evidence that Kojo Annan was personally involved in any UN decisions or activities. . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-11-17 11:50:35 AM |
| #15 The problem is that people who say Kojo Annan was involved with any UN decisions or activities don't provide any evidence. The problem is, no one says that. What they say is that Kojo and/or his employer were on the receiving end of money funneled through his employer based on decisions made, in part, by his father. Nice try to set up a strawman, though. Next time, leave off the pumpkin head -- they tend to rot. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-11-17 11:06:21 AM |
| #14 Coleman is not going to let it fade away. This is a career builder for him. Volker and Kofi also probably know that when the information gets out, Kofi's history. Half of Volker's job is to convince Kofi the information will get out. Coleman's helping here. Kofi simply cannot destroy the amount of incriminating information that is likely floating around financial institutions regulated by the U. S. and subpoenable by Coleman. The other half of Volker's job, is to cut a deal for Kofi so that he leaves in glory and isn't prosecuted. Sevan and Kojo along with other small fry will probably have to be sacrificed. Kofi will sget a little mud on his skirt, but will leave his post on 12/31/06. The real question is who will follow him. Is there anybody on earth acceptable to le Grand Chiraq, W, Pooty, Blair and Hu? |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-11-17 10:48:48 AM |
| #13 Mike, can you reconcile an eight month Volcker study with a lack of evidence. And that's without subpoena power! Smells like a "wait long enough and it will fade away" operation to me. |
| Posted by: Tom 2004-11-17 10:30:03 AM |
| #12 Perhaps it's time for there to be a major sewage leak somewhere in Manhattan. Or maybe just an intermittent problem with the water delivery to that same area of Manhattan. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2004-11-17 10:19:32 AM |
| #11 Re #7 (Frank G): I'll provide links for any detail you ask about. That's not the problem. The problem is that people who say Kojo Annan was involved with any UN decisions or activities don't provide any evidence. . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-11-17 10:17:54 AM |
| #10 Volcker's investigation is a joke. How can you carry out a credible investigation if you have no subpoena power? |
| Posted by: lex 2004-11-17 10:14:34 AM |
| #9 and MS's beat goes on - can you provide evidence, links, etc. ? If he looked at the evidence, he wouldn't be defending Annan. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-11-17 9:34:16 AM |
| #8 These guys need to be advised that they have 30 days to turn over copies of all pertinent information or our U.N. payments stop and diplomatic immunity is null and void for all suspects. Show your cards or get out of Dodge. |
| Posted by: Tom 2004-11-17 9:10:16 AM |
| #7 and MS's beat goes on - can you provide evidence, links, etc. ? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-11-17 8:50:32 AM |
| #6 Has Volcker gone over to the Dark Side? No way. Volker's just playing the game as Annan has it laid out. |
| Posted by: badanov 2004-11-17 8:44:53 AM |
| #5 Lloyd’s Register was replaced by the U.N. in February 1999 by a competing Swiss-based shipping inspection company, Cotecna, which had business relations with Mr. Annan’s son, Kojo. Details are here. . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-11-17 8:39:47 AM |
| #4 Didn't Stephen King write a novel about Mr. Annan’s son, Kojo? |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2004-11-17 8:39:09 AM |
| #3 Telling that even Levin's on the right side of this one. Volcker OTOH is a tired old man with no stomach for a fight. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-11-17 8:31:55 AM |
| #2 Cut off all U.S. funds until the docs are provided - clear and simple |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-11-17 8:27:51 AM |
| #1 Has Volcker gone over to the Dark Side? Hmmm. There must be much more here than meets the eye and made it into this story. Levin? Grandstanding twit & asshole - complete with his patently absurd glasses down on the end of his nose and hair combed over to cover the bald spot. A silly poseur. But Volcker... time will tell, I guess. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-11-17 4:26:48 AM |