Rafiki said:
Just heard George Galloway in front of the Senate Committee... The maverick politician is in good form. He mixed defending himself with good offensive moves as well. Liked the comparison between his two meetings with Saddam compared to those of Donald Rumsfeld.... and the accusation of the US companies plundering Iraq in the immediate months after the war... fascinating.
His waffling doesn't negate the following...Oh, and I cut the list short to keep this concise...
1. Saddam Hussein's chief lieutenant, Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan, confirmed in an interview with the subcommittee that
Galloway received allocations.
2. In addition, as reflected in the poster presented now, Ramadan confirmed that
Galloway was granted allocations, quote, "because of his opinions about Iraq. He wants to lift embargo against Iraq."
3. Other regime officials confirm that
Galloway received allocations under the oil-for-food program.
4. In fact, just yesterday, the subcommittee reinterviewed a senior member of the Hussein regime to confirm whether Galloway received allocations. The subcommittee asked the following question:
"Did the Iraqis grant any oil allocations to George Galloway, a member of the British Parliament?" His answer: "Yes."
5. The first series of exhibits reveal that
Galloway received an allocation of 3 million barrels of oil in phase nine of the program.
6. In the first exhibit, which is reflected in exhibit 9, we see a letter from SOMO to the minister of oil requesting approval of contract M-923. In identifying the contract, SOMO indicates that the contract is with a French oil company called Irideo (ph), and next to that name, the letter states "Fawaz Zuraiqat, Mariam Appeal."
Yesterday, the subcommittee verified with that senior member of the Hussein regime that this document was authentic and that the oil minister's signature was genuine.
Regime officials interviewed by the subcommittee also confirmed that in these letters to the oil minister, the allocation recipient was identified in parentheses next to the purchaser's name. Accordingly, this document indicates that the recipient of this oil allocation was Mariam Appeal, the
foundation established by George Galloway, ostensibly to help a 4-year-old Iraqi girl named Mariam who was suffering from leukemia.
Therefore, it appears that George Galloway used a children's cancer foundation to conceal his oil transaction.
7. A different Ministry of Oil document further confirms that
Galloway received an allocation. That document, which appears at exhibit 10, is a chart created by SOMO after the fall of Hussein regime, that lifts all oil allocations granted in phase nine of the program.
8. Entry number 23 of that chart indicates that the oil for contract M-923, the Irideo (ph) contract that we discussed a moment ago,
had been allocated to George Galloway and his agent, Fawaz Zuraiqat.
9. A single regime official that was interviewed yesterday confirmed that Zuraiqat facilitated
Galloway's (ph) oil transactions. Quote, "It's my understanding that Fawaz Zuraiqat is oil lifter for Galloway."