Why the Sanctions Against Cuba Are Right

Last night I began watching a segment on Fox News about the UN Oil For Food scandal. As I was listening to the report, it became evident to me that this is exactly why the sanctions against Cuba need to be so tight - to prevent Fidel Castro from being able to skirt the sanctions against the country and line his pockets in the process. Val Prieto over at Babalu Blog has been saying this for months, and, while I mentally agreed that he must be right, now I am beginning to see a concrete example of why what he has written must be true. I am going to be commenting on the Oil For Food scandal as I have the time to do a little more research on it, but for now, you can check out THESE LINKS for some information that was put forth in the report.

The main article doesn't come close to conveying the information included in last night's report. I'll have to see if I can't get my hands on a transcript of that show. Here is something from the article that my interest you:

“I believe the U.N., parts of it, have been corrupt for years. But this went to a whole new level,” said Rep. Christopher Shays (search), R-Conn., chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations.

Shays is leading one of several Oil-for-Food probes by the federal government. The General Accountability Office has already pegged Saddam’s Oil-for-Food take at $10.1 billion. It could end up being a lot more.

Shays says Iraqis aren't the only victims -- Americans are too.

“We're talking about American lives that are being lost in an attempt to bring democracy to Iraq,” Shays said. "If France, Russia, China and Germany had told Saddam it was time to back down and honor his commitments," Shays said, "it’s possible the United States may not have needed to go to war against Saddam."

Of course, it is entirely likely that these countries were unwilling to apply any pressure to Iraq because they were also on the take. This isn't just wild speculation either, the evidence put forward last night was pretty damning.

That is all I have time for tonight, but I will be commenting further on the UN and our other "allies" throughout the world soon.