The New York Sun is reporting that both the Clinton Administration and UN officials were warned early on of problems with the UN Oil for Food Program:

The Clinton administration and the United Nations were warned of a crucial problem in the oil—for—food program when it was first designed, Claude Hankes—Drielsma, a former British consultant to the Iraqi Governing Council, told The New York Sun yesterday. Investigators under Paul Volcker admit that this problem now "seriously hampers" their probe.

Mr. Hankes—Drielsma said that Madeline Albright, the former secretary of state, as well as U.N. officials who designed the program before it was officially accepted by Saddam in late 1996, were warned by Iraqi dissidents that they should not allow oil to be sold through shadow companies and middlemen.

Such companies allowed for an elaborate scheme of bribes that allegedly were paid by Saddam in the form of allocations, or "vouchers," of millions of barrels of oil to friendly politicians, government ministries, and U.N. officials. Those companies were set in a way that was designed to hide the true beneficiaries, or end users.

It is becoming clear that there are problematic answers to the classic Watergate question: "What did the Secretary of State know, and when did she know it?"

Madeline Albright should be subpoened by Senator Coleman's investigative subcommittee, and required to answer under oath about what she knew, and what she communicated to President Clinton. She will no doubt invoke Executive Privilege. Let her do so before the cameras.

Hat tip: Ed Lasky

Thomas Lifson   12 28 04