Saddam and the French Connection

[cal04]

and it just so happens that the US and Britain recovered these memos)

SADDAM HUSSEIN believed he could avoid the Iraq war with a bribery strategy targeting Jacques Chirac, the President of France, according to devastating documents released last night.

Memos from Iraqi intelligence officials, recovered by American and British inspectors, show the dictator was told as early as May 2002 that France - having been granted oil contracts - would veto any American plans for war.


Tariq Aziz, the former Iraqi deputy prime minister, told the ISG that the "primary motive for French co-operation" was to secure lucrative oil deals when UN sanctions were lifted. Total, the French oil giant, had been promised exploration rights.

Iraqi intelligence officials then "targeted a number of French individuals that Iraq thought had a close relationship to French President Chirac," it said, including two of his "counsellors" and spokesman for his re-election campaign. They even assessed the chances for "supporting one of the candidates in an upcoming French presidential election." Chirac is not mentioned by name.

http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1167592004

[ixion]

1. why is this even news

it never happened, try though he may.

The 'news' is that there were NO WMD's!!

And so what if he was trying to bribe France. Didn't the US bribe and/or strongarm members of the coalition of the billing?

[uhhuh]

4. Exactly

If you try to influence another country to not attack you on trumped up charges by offering lucrative oil contracts, that used to be called diplomacy and trade, not bribery.

( At worst it would be giving in to extortion, but not bribery. Saddam was a horrible man, but this report is shit. This would be S.O.P. in any other international crisis.)

[Radius]

2. CREAM (nt)

[cal04]

3. Mr. Galloway also mentioned

Former Labour MP George Galloway tonight strenuously denied that he had tried to profit illegally from Iraq’s oil-for-food programme.

Mr Galloway was reportedly named five times in the Iraq Survey Group (ISG) report as a recipient of oil vouchers under the United Nations backed scheme to enable Saddam Hussein to export oil to pay for essential imports.


“A lie doesn’t become true just because you keep repeating it,” he said.“These allegations come from officials of the American-imposed puppet government in Baghdad and the Bush administration itself and are aimed at discrediting those who opposed them.


(The Iraq Survey Group, the US-led team hunting for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction)

[ladybugg33]

5. Why shouldn't they vote against the war? There was no reason for it.

Our Congress should have voted against it also.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Moderator]

7. Duplicate

All posts about the Iraq Survey Group should go here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x887558

Please post this take on the survey in that thread.
Thanks