AWB 'unwitting player' in oil-for-food

The Australian: AWB 'unwitting player' in oil-for-food:

"The biggest warning came in 2003 with a sudden 400 per cent increase in the trucking costs charged by Alia – a company which actually provided no transport services and funnelled the money to the Iraqi government."

This inquiry, led by former US Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, is astounding, particularly since the money was paid in 2003. But 2200 companies paid 2.4 billion to Saddam Hussein's government in 2003. So we didn't question those increases? Was the UN involved? Can people really pretend to be ignorant of this? We participated in the US led invasion of Iraq on March 20th 2003. The ships had been in the gulf for a month, at least. So when were these payments made and why to a government we were claiming to have WMD and a recalcitrant leader? Why were we supplying that much wheat to a country we were going to deprive of its population? Any business questions the price of things. Look how we squawked over the price of petrol. A 400% increase is pretty hefty and we didn't complain, ask , investigate, especially since we were so disguted, supposedly with the country?? If we were so suspicious about this government , it ought to have been second nature to question irregularities.So where's the money now? Why pay Saddam Hussein when you are supposed to be "hunting him down"? The truth, whatever it is, will not change. What is it? I congratulate Paul Volcker on such assiduous research.

"It's very unfortunate that with hindsight people are examining what happened and finding that there are problems that may well have been able to be alleviated," GCA chief operating officer David Ginns said.

It's not unfortunate at all. It's fantastic. We should be looking for the truth because we were never happy with the things we were being told and so many lives have been cruelly wasted because of lies. Lies, lies and more lies and 2.4 billion dollars to the regime we were supposed to be taking down because it was good for us and good for Iraq. As usual, money is the root of all evil. We should be getting to the bottom of this. The truth didn't ever hurt anyone...but some people can't handle the truth!