Article 1 of 2:
The Scotsman
October 7, 2004
Saddam and the French Connection
Saddam Hussein believed he could avoid the Iraq war with a
bribery strategy targeting Jacques Chirac, the President of
France, according to devastating documents released last night.
Memos from Iraqi intelligence officials, recovered by American
and British inspectors, show the dictator was told as early as
May 2002 that France - having been granted oil contracts - would
veto any American plans for war.
The Iraq Survey Group, who reported last autumn that they had
to date found no WMD, last night presented detailed findings from
interviews with Iraqi officials and documents laying out Hussein's
plans to bribe foreign businessmen and politicians.
Although they found no evidence that Saddam had made any WMD since
1992, they found documents which showed the "guiding theme" of
his regime was to be able to start making them again with "as short
a lead time as possible."
Saddam was convinced that the UN sanctions were on the brink of
collapse, and he bankrolled several foreign activists who were
campaigning for their abolition. He personally approved every one.
To keep America at bay, he focusing on Russia, France and China -
three of the five UN Security Council members with the power to
veto war. Politicians, journalists and diplomats were all given
lavish gifts and oil vouchers.
Tariq Aziz, the former Iraqi deputy prime minister, told the
ISG that the "primary motive for French co-operation" was to
secure lucrative oil deals when UN sanctions were lifted. Total,
the French oil giant, had been promised exploration rights.
Iraqi intelligence officials then "targeted a number of French
individuals that Iraq thought had a close relationship to French
President Chirac," it said, including two of his "counsellors"
and spokesman for his re-election campaign.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1167592004
Article 2 of 2:
The London Telegraph
Saddam bribed politicians around world
Focusing his attention in particular on France and Russia, both
permanent members of the UN Security Council, Saddam awarded oil
exploration contracts and financial inducements to individuals.
The bribes were at first funded by the Iraqi regime, but later
derived from Saddam's illegal misuse of the oil-for-food programme,
which was supposed to provide food for the poor and medicine for
the sick.
Some US estimates have suggested that the Iraqis siphoned off
$10 billion (£5.6 billion) from the scheme.
"He [Saddam] targeted friendly companies and foreign political
parties that possessed either extensive business ties to Iraq, or
held pro-Iraq policies," said the report.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/10/07/wmd107.xml
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