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| U.N. OKs $2.9B for 2000 Kuwait Invasion |
| 2004-12-10 |
| The United Nations panel overseeing compensation for victims of Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait has approved awards worth $2.9 billion for environmental damage, the world body said Thursday. The awards by the U.N. Compensation Commission included $2.27 billion to Kuwait for damage caused by Iraqi troops, who used trenches and lakes filled with crude oil to defend their positions. Another $625 million went to the government of neighboring Saudi Arabia for damage caused to its desert environment by military installations set up by the international coalition that forced Iraq's army out of Kuwait. Iran's government also received a small amount. The panel now has approved claims worth a total of $51.8 billion. Money to pay the claims comes from Iraqi oil sales. Those payments, however, are running well behind the claim approvals. The overall amount released for individuals, companies and governments is now $18.8 billion, the UNCC said. The panel currently is paying out about $200 million every three months, with individuals receiving priority. The next payment is scheduled for mid-January. It is expected to take years to pay all the claims, with big oil companies having to wait until the end. All claims are expected to be decided by June 2005, when the panel will close down. All individuals should receive their money by 2007, UNCC spokesman Joe Sills said. The panel consists of the 15 permanent U.N. Security Council members. The council decided last year that the claims would be funded by 5 percent of Iraqi oil sales. Until the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein last year, the commission received 25 percent of the proceeds from the U.N. oil-for-food program, which - in an exception to international sanctions - allowed the former Iraqi regime to sell oil and buy food, medicine and other humanitarian goods. The oil-for-food program has been plagued by allegations of |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #19 Ah, poor Mikey - jealousy is a pathetic response. Sad. Don't address any of the points, no, that would require you to justify that which can't be justified... By all means, Iraq (Under New Management - it seems you haven't noticed this inconvenient fact) should continue to bend over to keep the money flowing to the UN, your sacred soulmate - the last bastion of So what is it, Mikey: Are you a mercenary who's getting something from the UN - something understandable, though despicable - or are you just utterly asinine, inane, and clueless? |
| Posted by: .com 2004-12-10 8:08:28 PM |
| #18 The council decided last year that the claims would be funded by 5 percent of Iraqi oil sales. Sounds reasonable to me. . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-12-10 7:05:31 PM |
| #17 Saddam/Baathists = Current Allawi gov't in Sylwester/Kofi speak. Makes sense. Not a lot of sense, even less than chasing a rolling .... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-12-10 6:54:55 PM |
| #16 So yeah, what you said, .com, the UN oughta take a flying fuck at a rolling donut. (Great visual, btw!) It's superb wit! Just superb wit!! . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-12-10 6:49:33 PM |
| #15 How many of you were, two years ago, making these same arguments that Iraq should not have to pay for the damage? How many of you, two years ago, were saying that the UN should not make Iraq pay for the damage? Now, all of a sudden, you are heaping all this blame on the UN for this compensation policy. . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-12-10 6:47:53 PM |
| #14 On further reflection, how is it that the UN still has access to Iraqi oil proceeds, anyway? Or is is that these claims are being paid out of pre-invasion proceeds -- the same funds Allawi begged the UN to turn over to the IIG a couple of months ago. So yeah, what you said, .com, the UN oughta take a flying fuck at a rolling donut. (Great visual, btw!) |
| Posted by: ST 2004-12-10 6:02:25 PM |
| #13 The thing about war is that lots of stuff gets broken. One reason post-war Germany became an economic powerhouse is that all their legacy systems and equipment had been removed (in many cases literally down to the ground), allowing them to start with the very latest. And anyway, what damage did Iraq do to Saudi Arabia? The environmental damage caused by the American troops camped in the desert for a decade was directly due to the fact that the Saudis prefer to hire their army rather than doing the work to produce an indigenous force. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2004-12-10 1:04:13 PM |
| #12 This is over Mikey's head simply because he ducked. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-12-10 1:02:42 PM |
| #11 Mike: It wasn't Iraq that did the damage; it was the Ba'ath party. Did we demand Germans (non-Nazi) pay for Rotterdam or Cantebury? Did we make the Japanese people pay for China? Hell, are we going to make the UN member countries pay for the OFF damage? UNSCAM has shown the UN cannot be trusted with money. They need to immediately hand over any remaining funds they've leeched from Iraq to its government. |
| Posted by: jackal 2004-12-10 12:52:50 PM |
| #10 Saddam is going to "pay". |
| Posted by: Tom 2004-12-10 12:24:29 PM |
| #9 Who's supposed to pay for the damage that Iraq did to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia? Who's supposed to pay for the Kuwaiti oil wells that Iraq destroyed and for all the environmental damage? |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-12-10 12:18:47 PM |
| #8 maybe if you pulled your head from Kofi's ass to read it the first time it would make sense, MS |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-12-10 10:01:29 AM |
| #7 Right Mikey, like you didn't learn one of the mistakes of the Versailles Treaty? The reparations debt undermined the economic viability of the Weimar Republic. So shortly after the conclusion of round 2, a.k.a WWII, the US set up the Marshall Plan. No inherited debt helped for a pacific democratic prosperous Germany, something we could also hope for Iraq. |
| Posted by: Don 2004-12-10 9:36:07 AM |
| #6 1. Mike, it is really simple. There is no contradiction. 2 years ago, Iraq=Saddam. Saddam=oil-for-food scam. Lotsa participants stuffing their pockets. Sucking the Iraqis dry. 2. Not anymore. Capiche? |
| Posted by: Sobiesky 2004-12-10 8:52:28 AM |
| #5 Two short years ago, all the blow-hards were screaming their outrage that Iraq was supposed to compensate Kuwait and Saudi Arabia for the damage that Iraq caused to those two countries. In this context, the blow-hards were outraged that the UN was not doing enough to compel Iraq to pay. Now the very same blow-hards are outraged about exactly the opposite. Iraq is not supposed to pay for the damage, and the UN should not make the UN pay. To try to understand the new logic, see #2 and #3. . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-12-10 8:31:59 AM |
| #4 Anything the U.N. does must be right, ain't that so, Mikey? Wrong! This is pure bullshit. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia should be delighted to cancel these debts if for no other reason than to help stabilize Iraq. "Until the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein last year, the commission received 25 percent of the proceeds from the U.N. oil-for-food program" That's really interesting. Would this 25 percent (that's hopefully still in the U.N.'s bank account, but I doubt it) be considered food or medicine? And how does it compare to Saddam's take? And how much has already been skimmed off for "administrative charges"? |
| Posted by: Tom 2004-12-10 8:24:41 AM |
| #3 I believe Allawi & Co should tell the UNdead, France, Russia, et al to take a flying fuck at a rolling donut and kick them all out. Zero debt repayment to the crooks who tried to keep them enslaved. Zero compensation to the richer than Gawd Kuwaitis. Zero UNdead access to Iraqi oil or funds. They can sell their oil to whomever they wish - and there will always be buyers at market prices. It's time for Iraq to untangle itself from Saddam's actions and recognize they are suckers to the UNdead and Euros. Maybe if everyone tries to read it a second time, it might make some sense to someone. . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-12-10 8:12:14 AM |
| #2 ST - You nailed it. Personally, I believe Allawi & Co should tell the UNdead, France, Russia, et al to take a flying fuck at a rolling donut and kick them all out. Zero debt repayment to the crooks who tried to keep them enslaved. Zero compensation to the richer than Gawd Kuwaitis. Zero UNdead access to Iraqi oil or funds. They can sell their oil to whomever they wish - and there will always be buyers at market prices. It's time for Iraq to untangle itself from Saddam's actions and recognize they are suckers to the UNdead and Euros. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-12-10 2:08:16 AM |
| #1 Not only is the UN using Oil For Food proceeds to fund the investigation of their own embezzlement of it, but Money to pay the claims comes from Iraqi oil sales. So the UN aids and abets a brutal fascist dictator, actively hinders his removal, and now they're energetically bilking the victims of his oppression. Allawi and the IIG must be delighted. |
| Posted by: ST 2004-12-10 1:59:23 AM |