On His Excellency's Secret Payroll
	found on The Telegraph written by gerrymander, edited by John (Plastic) [ read unedited ] posted Tue 22 Apr 8:30am
		"British Labour MP George Galloway, an outspoken critic of sanctions against Iraq and the recent war, is himself facing criticism which if true seems likely to force him from his Parliament seat. A breaking story from the April 22 edition of the Telegraph (registration required for some links) links him to the toppled regime by a chain of evidence worth £375,000 per year," gerrymander writes. "The incriminating documents, discovered in an Iraqi intelligence office by reporter David Blair, chart the course of funds sold under the auspices of the UN Oil for Food program, then diverted to Galloway's non-profit organization, the Mariam Appeal. [Galloway] obtained through Mr Tariq Aziz three million barrels of oil every six months, according to the oil-for-food programme. His share would be only between 10 and 15 cents per barrel. He also obtained a limited number of food contracts with the Ministry of Trade. The percentage of its profits does not go above one per cent.

	"Galloway has denied any such involvement with the Iraqi government: 'Maybe it is the product of the same forgers who forged so many other things in this whole Iraq picture. Maybe The Daily Telegraph forged it.' He has, however, confirmed the involvement with Fawaz Zureikat, noted in the documents, as his named representative to Iraq on behalf of the not-for-profit."

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1.  keep this in perspective   by captainebo       at Tue 22 Apr 8:46am score of 1.5 interesting     There is no question that, if true, this evidence places Galloway in mighty scummy company. If it is true, I hope he can't be elected to supervise London's shit in the future. That said, I have no doubt much of the right will try to generalize this one man's possible wrongdoing as evidence of a massive evil conspiracy in the left. As a pre-emptive strike on Ann Coulter, let me state that we could all join that game, and judge the entire right according to Adolf Hitler, but of course we all know what Godwin has to say about such moronic comparisons. Ebo "In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds." -Martin Luther King   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

4.  Re: keep this in perspective   by bitekman       at Tue 22 Apr 9:56am score of 1.5 astute   in reply to comment 1     Agreed. But it's an unfortunate side effect of one of the Left's (as much as I dislike that term) anti-war strategies, which was to discuss the corruption of the Bush administration. This gives the Right an easy out, which is just to find corruption on the other side of the fence. And since corruption knows no political boundries, it's inevitable that it will be found. We saw the same scenario with the linking of France and Germany to oil and other interests in Iraq. Call it bitekman's rule: All ideologies have a significant percentage of followers who are only in it for personal or political gain. I'm full of bees...who died at sea -- Sparklehorse   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]   5.  Re: keep this in perspective   by throwawayhack       at Tue 22 Apr 9:59am score of 2 interesting   in reply to comment 1     I hope he can't be elected to supervise London's shit in the future. Galloway is an MP for Glasgow Central. He's been called "a friend to every dictator" and much worse things throughout his career. Even before this he was in trouble with his own party — there has been talk of him being expelled for various reasons. He hasn't exactly made many friends inside the Labour Party, although he has some support in his home city. The Conservative Party is presumably enjoying watching him in trouble, and to be honest so am I. The old nickname for him is "the MP for Baghdad Central" (during the Kosovo crisis it was "Belgrade Central"). In the light of these allegations maybe he really was the MP for Baghdad Central.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

3.  My gut instinct tells me set up   by chatsubo       at Tue 22 Apr 9:52am score of 3 intriguing     For the record, I think George Galloway is an arrogant, egotistical, fool, and a disgrace to the Labour Movement, who would be better of working for the people he was meant to represent rather than being a propaganda tool for Iraqi Stalinists, but I think he has been set up. MI5/6 have had a long tradition of agents, often working with out official approval (though not always), who decide that a politican is subversive, and then go out of their way to smear him, with whatever means necessary. It is a matter of public record that there was a unsanctioned smear campaign, carried out by some sections of the intelligence community, against Harold Wilson during the 1970's, due to the fact that some more right wing agents thought he was a KGB spy. The fact that the Daily Telegraph, which has had a long and close relationship with the security services, found these papers, make me even more suspicious. Still, I would like to be proved wrong. On a last point, I would point out that Galloway is not some sort of representative of the left-wing of the Labour Party, most of whom hate him even more than Tony Blair. Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

6.  Re: My gut instinct tells me set up   by M. Mosher       at Tue 22 Apr 10:42am score of 1   in reply to comment 3     I know next to nothing about George Galloway and you may be right that he was set up. But if the allegations are true, more evidence will surface. It isn't easy to hide that much money — or at least, it isn't easy to spend that much money without someone noticing.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]   14.  Re: My gut instinct tells me set up   by bradley547       at Tue 22 Apr 2:01pm score of 1.5 astute   in reply to comment 3     What got my attention was the fact that a REPORTER found these documents in the offices of the Iraqi equivalent of the CIA. So, that begs the question, Where were OUR intelligence guys? Shouldn't one of our first priorities be to secure any intelligence info from the Saddam regime? I mean it's not like we suspect they've been HIDING anything after all! For a reporter to be allowed to freely roam a site which should have been sealed off on day one raises so many red flags that I don't know where to begin.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]   15.  We know one place they weren't.   by MAYORBOB       at Tue 22 Apr 4:59pm score of 1   in reply to comment 14     They weren't providing security at the Iraqi museum and library. I was also taken aback by the notion that the headquarters of Iraqi intelligence, a location that we surely knew of, was not locked down almost from the moment that Coalition forces entered Baghdad. Tending to final details.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]   20.  Re: We know one place they weren't.   by ideonode       at Wed 23 Apr 4:41am score of 1   in reply to comment 15     Actually, I'm more surprised that the headquarters of Iraqi intelligence wasn't bombed into the ground during the shock and awe.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]   22.  Re: We know one place they weren't.   by nyekulturniy       at Wed 23 Apr 11:54am score of 1   in reply to comment 20     "Actually, I'm more surprised that the headquarters of Iraqi intelligence wasn't bombed into the ground during the shock and awe", ideonode noted You forget that Iraqi intelligence was a bureaucracy, and bureaucrats like documentation to cover themselves in case something goes wrong. Furthermore, bureaucrats love copies, in case something happens to the first copy. In fact, I'll be posting this message another two times to make sure you get it! Nyekulturniy... Proudly confusing readers and editors since 1981!   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

7.  The Libel case should be fun   by tylerh       at Tue 22 Apr 10:49am score of 1.5 interesting     From today's Guardian "Labour MP George Galloway today vowed to sue the Daily Telegraph for libel." A word about British libel laws: they favor the subject of the article. Quite different from American libel laws that favor the publisher. Forbes recently lost a high-profile case against a Russian Oligarch, for example. The MP for Baghdad says:"I will be suing for libel, without any equivocation. The Daily Telegraph produces no evidence for the serious allegations that they make other than a document, which they say popped into their hands in a search through a cruise missile and smoke blackened building." Tony Blair's reply: "We just went and purely by chance we stumbled across this room which had these files in it, and again purely by chance we came across these files which carried the label Britain. And it was two days before we had actually gone through the contents and found this document." So they admit at the get-go they don't have an iron-clad chain of evidence: investigators had two days to fiddle with the files before admitting they'd found it. I can't imagine why the Brit's would bother, but I'm sure a good lawyer can make a lot a hay out of this. Based on the initial salvos and the quirks of British libel, I'll guess that the Telegraph will be making a large "donation" to one of George's charities" in a couple of years. Courage   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

8.  Re: The Libel case should be fun   by captainebo       at Tue 22 Apr 11:11am score of 1.5 informative   in reply to comment 7     You are correct in your analysis of British libel laws, but allow me to point out one serious mistake: Tony Blair's reply: "We just went and purely by chance we stumbled across this room which had these files in it, and again purely by chance we came across these files which carried the label Britain. And it was two days before we had actually gone through the contents and found this document." That reply was in fact from David Blair, a reporter with the Telegraph, not Tony, who is unlikely to have spent much time searching through bombed out Iraqi filing centers. Ebo "In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds." -Martin Luther King   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]   13.  Errata   by tylerh       at Tue 22 Apr 1:47pm score of 1   in reply to comment 8     That reply was in fact from David Blair Oops, my bad. Thank you for the correction. Or, should I switch to third person: "Tylerh regrets the error." Courage   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]   9.  Re: The Libel case should be fun   by googa       at Tue 22 Apr 11:31am score of 1.5   in reply to comment 7     Good points, but don't underestimate how often brit papers come together when one of them is facing legal action...especially when the paper is likely to pull some kind of 'we thought they were genuine, in the public interest etc' line of argument. None of this may matter, except to bring a few more quieter digs Galloway's way. The point being they wont just shut up about it. Especially if it is true.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]   18.  Re: The Libel case should be fun   by My name is Mudd       at Tue 22 Apr 10:18pm score of 1   in reply to comment 7     Even under friendly British libel law, the old maxim generally holds true. "If you sue someone for libel, they're liable to prove it."       If Galloway sues, the funding of the non-profits becomes discoverable. All they have to do is follow the money. Short then is the time which every man lives, and small is the nook of the Earth wherein he dwells.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

10.  Why buy the cow....   by Petronius       at Tue 22 Apr 11:46am score of 1.5 helpful     In this week's issue of Newsweek, their reporters analyze a bunch of Iraqi Intelligence Service documents they seem to have bought from a pushcart in Paradise Square. Their take is that the IIS was both brutal and stupid, their foreign agents recycling stuff from European newspapers as "secret data" while cashing their checks from home. Is it possible that the bribery scheme was in fact a form of embezzlement by a London IIS agent? I only say this because from everything I've read about Galloway, he would be pleased as punch to support Saddam for free. What rescues us from insignificance is the courage of our questions and the depth of our answers. Carl Sagan   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

19.  A few updates   by gerrymander       at Tue 22 Apr 11:01pm score of 1.5 informative     The Guardian goes into some detail about veracity of the documents found, and Galloway's chances to escape prosecution and/or win a libel suit. Short answers: the Telegraph's story matches real events and looks to be true; Galloway has grounds to start a libel suit under UK law (though winning is another matter); and his future in Parliament is anyone's guess. The Times reports that the UK Attorney-General may open an investigation into the finances of the Mariam Appeal, Galloway's not-for-profit.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

23.  When I said "no," I meant "maybe"   by My name is Mudd       at Thu 24 Apr 7:45am score of 1     According to this article: "George Galloway conceded last night that intermediaries in his fund-raising activities could have siphoned off money from Saddam Hussein — but insisted he had never done so" Short then is the time which every man lives, and small is the nook of the Earth wherein he dwells.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]