The heat is on. Washington Times is reporting: House Republicans call for Annan to step down

Excerpt:

“The oil-for-food program is a scandal of enormous proportions, and it may reach into the highest levels of leadership at the U.N.,” said Rep. Roger Wicker, the Mississippi Republican who introduced a resolution yesterday calling for Mr. Annan to resign. “I don’t think we’ll get all the facts as long as Mr. Annan is remaining at the helm,” Mr. Wicker said.

Nineteen Republicans and one Democrat — Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi — had signed the resolution, as of late yesterday.

Calls for Mr. Annan to step down already have come from Sen. Norm Coleman, the Minnesota Republican who is heading the main congressional inquiry into accusations of fraud, bribery and corruption in the United Nations’ administration of the Iraq oil-for-food program.

Mr. Coleman’s Senate inquiry already has determined that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime skimmed billions of dollars from the program, which allowed Iraq to sell small amounts of oil to pay for food and humanitarian assistance while it was under U.N. sanctions.

A separate group of Republicans led by Rep. Jeff Flake, Arizona Republican and member of the House International Relations Committee, yesterday pushed legislation that would tie the United States’ U.N. funding to the organization’s cooperation with investigators.

comments (0)   trackbacks (9)