kofi and the oil for food thing

Those crazy lefties over at the Toronto Star have published an interesting editorial from Paul Heinbecker, former Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations, about the growing Oil For Food scandal. It doesn't answer many questions, but it gives some good background and explicitly says what has been in the subtext of pretty much every news report on the subject - that the American Republican Members of Congress calling for Kofi Annan's resignation are probably making such a big issue out of all this for reasons other than moral outrage:

"Given all this, why all the rancor towards the U.N. and its secretary-general and why now? Two reasons suggest themselves. First, the alleged Iraqi kickback scheme may have involved U.N. officials and warrants investigation. Second, and more troubling, congressional and other opponents of the U.N., friends of Halliburton to boot, evidently see an opportunity to diminish or destroy an organization they consider an obstacle to U.S. foreign policy. There is not much doubt that the refusal of the Security Council to endorse the war in Iraq and Annan's characterization of that war as illegal are stimulating the animus of the American right."

Link to article (free registration required)