美国国会牵扯进伊拉克石油换食品计划

Iraq Oil for Food Scandal Plays Out on Capitol Hill

美国国会牵扯进伊拉克石油换食品计划

Representatives of companies monitoring the shipment of oil and delivery of humanitarian 1 goods under the former United Nations Oil for Food Program for Iraq have denied any wrongdoing. The denial came in testimony 2 before a congressional committee looking into abuses of the program. The latest chapter of the Oil for Food scandal played out on Capitol Hill this past week.

The two companies, Netherlands-based Saybolt, and Swiss-based Cotecna, are among U.N. contractors 4 under investigation 5 in connection with the Oil for Food Program.

Intended to help ease the impact on Iraqi civilians 7 of economic sanctions imposed in 1990 during the rule of Saddam Hussein, it allowed Iraq to sell a certain amount of its oil for food and medicine and other civilian 6 items.

Results so far from probes by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, an independent commission headed by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, and by congressional committees, indicate billions of dollars were diverted through unauthorized surcharges and kickbacks 9 to the former Iraqi dictator.

Republic Congressman 10 Dana Rohrabacher spoke 11 at a hearing of the House Oversight 12 and Investigations 13 Subcommittee.

Dana Rohrabacher: The United Nations I believe has much to answer for. Nearly 10 years after the Oil for Food Program we still have not heard all of the answers.

The congressman was hoping for some answers from a of John Denson, General Counsel for Saybolt.

He echoed previous statements that the company performed its work well in difficult and politically sensitive conditions, but went into detail on one factor connected to the tracking of outgoing oil shipments under the program.

Denson: Iraq never did undertake to put into place functioning meters at Mina al-Bakr. As a result, Saybolt could not measure the flow of oil into individual tankers 15. Instead, Saybolt had to utilize 16 an alternative method of measurement. This method, while compliant 17 with international commercial standards, was not as foolproof as a meter nor as accurate as a meter would be.

Mr. Denson said the company alerted the United Nations both before and during the U.N. Oil for Food Program about monitoring inadequacies at the port.

Attention focused on Saybolt in connection with monitoring of oil shipments and two incidents in 2001 in which a tanker 14 was topped off with more than 200,000 barrels of oil after inspectors 18 had formally certified 19 a lower amount.

Saybolt suspended an employee, a Portuguese 20 national; after allegations emerged indicating he accepted a $105,000 bribe 21 from Iraqi officials. He later resigned.

Mr. Denson also pointed 22 out that Saybolt's responsibilities covered only two loading locations, adding the company's job was not to act as a police force in all of Iraq.

Similar testimony came from Eveyln Suarez, U.S. Counsel for another contractor 3, Cotecna Inspection 23, S.A.

The company had a very limited role, she said, of authenticating 24 that humanitarian goods arriving for the Iraqi people under the Oil for Food Program matched those listed in U.N. contracts.

Eveyln Suarez: Cotecna was not empowered by the U. N. to enforce sanctions or to police the Iraqi border. Cotecna was not responsible for end-user verification.

She says Cotecna employees visually inspected all goods, and conducted closer random 25 inspections 26 of 10 percent of these, but were not authorized 8 to act regarding goods that did not arrive, interdict 27 prohibited items not covered by contracts, assess the value of goods or verify prices. Had any employee been involved in bribery 28, she adds appropriate action would have been taken.

Testimony by both companies turned the focus squarely back on the United Nations, which they said provided no enforcement at Iraq's borders as part of the Oil for Food Program.

In other testimony to the committee, former United Nations official Rehan Mullick who served in Baghdad from 2000 to 2001, renewed charges that U.N. supervisors 29 there and in New York ignored his warnings about lack of adequate verification of delivery of humanitarian goods.

Mr. Mullick, who was fired from his U.N. job after making his allegations, said Saddam Hussein's intelligence agents had penetrated 30 the U.N. humanitarian office in Baghdad, where they were able to control and or manipulate delivery records.

U.S. lawmakers have charged that U.N. officials repeatedly turned a blind eye to rampant 31 corruption 32 in the Oil for Food Program, and congressional committees are continuing their own investigations as the Volcker commission prepares to issue additional findings in coming weeks and a more extensive report later this year.

Dan Robinson, VOA news, on Capitol Hill.

注释：

testimony [5testimEni] n. 陈述

scandal [5skAndl] n. 丑闻

sensitive [5sensitiv] adj. 敏感的

alternative [C:l5tE:nEtiv] adj. 选择性的

loading [5lEudiN] n. 装载

verify [5verifai] vt. 核实