U.S. Iraq oil claims target Chirac: French senator (GEE YA THINK!?)

Tehran Times ^ | May 14, 2005

[Paul_Denton]

PARIS (Reuters) - A senior French politician said on Friday he had been implicated in an oil-for-food scam in Iraq in an effort to discredit President Jacques Chirac, a fierce opponent of the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

A U.S. Senate report on Thursday said Senator Charles Pasqua -- once a close Chirac associate and former interior minister in a conservative government -- had received an allocation of 11 million barrels of oil with the personal approval of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

The oil-for-food program allowed Iraq to sell limited oil supplies to buy basic goods and negotiate its own contracts, but the program was dogged by allegations of massive fraud and charges Saddam used it to buy influence in the West.

Pasqua, who has immunity from prosecution as a member of the French Senate, again denied any link to Saddam's Iraq and said he had urged the president of the French Senate to launch a separate probe into the allegations made against him, other French nationals and leading French companies.

Asked on LCI television if he was being targeted in an effort to discredit Chirac, Pasqua said: "To me, that's obvious.

"Perhaps also, those who think that, through me, they can strike Jacques Chirac, are unaware that the nature of our relations has changed, at least politically.

"And if they think I could have influenced France's policy, they are wrong," said Pasqua, who fell out with Chirac in the mid-1990s over European policy.

"I'm capable of defending myself, that's not the issue. (What is at issue is) the campaign that's underway that is targeting a certain number of big French firms and French interests," he said. "In the United States, there is a real psychosis. This psychosis consists of them saying, 'if France was hostile to the American intervention (in Iraq), it's due to its economic interests or preferential relations it had with Saddam Hussein'."

Pasqua said there was a race between three separate probes -- by the U.S. Senate, the United Nations, and the FBI -- to shed light on the allegations, which first surfaced after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

The French Foreign Ministry on Thursday criticized the U.S. Senate for naming Pasqua, saying those accused had not been given a chance to defend themselves against the allegations.

[Paul_Denton]

Whenever the french whine, you are doing it right.

[jacob_wisc]

Bomb the french!

[GSlob]

How could one discredit (or attempt to) someone without credibility to begin with? Could one get dry water?

[Avenger]

"In the United States, there is a real psychosis. This psychosis consists of them saying, 'if France was hostile to the American intervention (in Iraq), it's due to its economic interests or preferential relations it had with Saddam Hussein'."

I have to admit that he is right. We need to face up to the reality that France would have opposed the U.S. on Iraq just for the sake of opposing us. Of course, France's economic ties to Saddam Hussein made this particular manifestation of French policy toward the U.S. all the more compelling.

[Paul_Denton]

"And if they think I could have influenced France's policy, they are wrong,"

Pfft. The only reason the french are not speaking german or russian is because of us. If their policy goes against ours then we will not let france get in our way.

[Lord Nelson]

There has been rumours that the Liberal Party of Canada did not vote against the war on principle. But in fact received kickbacks directly to the Liberal Party from Saddam Hussein. If it's true it is big news. However, as far as the entire UN scandal goes, all those liberals that love the UN are putting their fingers in their ears and screaming "la la la la la la la". Nothing is going to change their minds. Multiculturalism and Multi-lateralism is their religion and they will always back up the UN. Notice how Democrat Senators are fighting tooth and nail to protect the UN.

Between the two great wars the pacifist movement was formented by German agents in Britain. It should no surprise then that the entire anti-war movement is really a movement of collaborators.