Post-Gazette Editorial – 4/18/05

This page was last updated on June 7, 2005.

Hitting home / New indictments widen the oil-for-food scandal; Editorial; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; April 18, 2005.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“The focus in the Iraq oil-for-food scandal shifted from New York to Texas Thursday with the arrest and indictment of David Bay Chalmers Jr., head of Houston-based Bayoil USA, Inc.

“Mr. Chalmers was charged along with Bulgarian oil trader Ludmil Dionissiev by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. The accusations included paying millions of dollars in kickbacks in connection with the $65 billion United Nations program. Oil-for-food was set up to try to spare ordinary Iraqis the pain of the U.N. sanctions against Iraq.

“The Texas oil executive is charged with making extraordinary payments to get Iraqi oil; artificially lowering the price paid to the Iraqis, thus defeating the purpose of the program; and being involved in payoffs to U.N. officials. Bayoil is the first U.S. firm to be charged. It has business connections to Coral Petroleum, Inc., another Houston-based firm.”

[RWC] The frequent mention of Houston and Texas is not only statement of fact. The idea is to connect scandal with Texas and Texas with President Bush.

Did you note the editorial didn’t mention a political affiliation for Mr. Chalmers? According to The Center for Responsive Politics, the only political donation he made during the last six years was $1,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2000. I don’t imply Democrats are crooks; it’s an unfortunate statement of fact that crooked people are of all political affiliations. I mention this only because I believe the editorial would have noted – and loudly – Mr. Chalmer’s contribution had it been to a Republican group.

“Another oil-for-food indictment was issued the same day against South Korean lobbyist Tongsun Park, who became famous in 1977 when he was charged with bribing as many as 100 U.S. congressmen on behalf of South Korean interests. He testified freely before the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and, in return, the charges against him were dropped. Only one legislator, Rep. Richard T. Hanna, a Democrat from California, was convicted and imprisoned in the affair. Mr. Park, who is in South Korea, was charged this time with making payoffs to U.N. officials in the Iraq oil-for-food affair.

“There is no indication so far that either Bush administration figures or any members of Congress are implicated in Bayoil’s or Tongsun Park’s involvement in the oil-for-food scandal.”

[RWC] When the editorial said, “There is no indication so far that either Bush administration figures or any members of Congress are implicated,” did you notice the list omitted the Clinton administration? Lest we forget, the Oil-for-Food program began in 1997 with more than three years left in the Clinton administration. Therefore, if we’re going to use “so far” for the Bush administration and Congress, we need to use “so far” for the Clinton administration.

“Given the active role of U.S. oil traders in deals worldwide, including those involving Iraqi oil, oil-for-food indictments were probably inevitable. The aggressive pursuit of corruption cases in the past by U.S. attorneys in New York suggests that they will follow all leads, as they should, even if they lead from New York to Houston to Washington.”

[RWC] It may come as a surprise to the PG, but not all oil trading is done in Houston. When I worked for Texaco, most or all of international oil trading was done at HQ in New York. I mention this only because I believe the editorial is trying associate President Bush with the scandal simply because he’s from Texas and has many acquaintances in the energy industry.