Global Policy Forum

By Dafna Linzer

The United States and Britain are drafting a plan to use Iraqi oil proceeds from a $40 billion account to pay for humanitarian relief supplies during a war, The Associated Press has learned. The proposal, based on the assumption that the Iraqi regime will be quickly overthrown, will likely be presented by shortly after a military conflict begins, according to senior diplomats and U.N. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte, announcing that a plan was in the works, asked for swift Security Council support in order to "ensure continued delivery of key humanitarian supplies, particularly food and medicines to Iraq." Negroponte said the United States had been consulting with the United Nations and the other Security Council members on the plan that would make adjustments to the oil-for-food program, which feeds more than 60 percent of the Iraqi population. He didn't reveal details but diplomats and U.N. officials said the United States is hoping to win the backing of Secretary-General Kofi Annan who would then present the American ideas to the council.

The secretary-general's role in the process was requested by several council members, including Russia, which want to avoid any further divisiveness in a council deeply scarred by months of fighting over the Iraq crisis, the diplomats said.

The plan wouldn't give Washington and London direct access to the vast Iraqi cash reserves sitting in a U.N. escrow account. But by channeling some of the money into immediate humanitarian relief it will ease their financial responsibilities for caring for millions of Iraqis likely to be affected by the war. In the meantime, the proposal would effectively halt any lucrative business deals that French, Russian or other companies have with Iraq through the United Nations' oil-for-food program.

But French diplomats said it would be easier to support a paper with Annan's fingerprints on it, rather than those of Washington and London, which would effectively be occupiers in Iraq by the time the resolution hits the council chamber. Annan told the Security Council on Wednesday that he would be bringing them a proposal soon on the program.

The council was convening hours before President Bush's 48-hour deadline expires for Saddam and his sons to leave Iraq or face military action.

Despite a diplomatic defeat earlier this week, the Bush administration still plans to push an ambitious agenda in the council regarding Iraq. Part of its plans were previewed in a statement at the end of Sunday's U.S.-British-Spanish summit in the Azores Islands when the trio said they wanted U.N. leadership on humanitarian issues surrounding any conflict.

U.S. and British diplomats involved in drafting the new plan said it would temporarily turn over the reins of the oil-for-food program to Annan, who will prioritize Iraq's humanitarian needs and purchase supplies using cash built up from Iraq's oil sales. London and Washington are still working out many of the details, including the length of time the Annan-run system will remain in effect. Diplomats said the exact timeframe will depend on initial assessments of the war's progression. The longer it takes for the military to stabilize Iraq, the longer the program will remain in effect, they said.

Sensing the looming conflict, Annan was forced to evacuate U.N. staff from Baghdad this week and suspend the humanitarian program which allowed Iraq to sell oil to buy food and medicine and spare parts for infrastructure damaged in the Gulf War. The program was designed to alleviate burdens created by the economic sanctions imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

Under the program, Iraq's oil proceeds, which have ballooned to $40 billion according to previously undisclosed U.N. figures, were placed in a U.N.-controlled account which paid for Iraq's purchases. The humanitarian supplies were distributed by U.N. and Iraqi government workers while the United Nations oversaw Iraqi oil production and sales.

But over the years, the account, the program, and an elaborate monitoring mechanism designed to prevent the Iraqis from using the money to buy weapons, have all been the subject of bitter debate in the Security Council. France and Russia, with the highest number of Iraqi business deals, have accused Washington of blocking sales of some items which could have military applications. The United States however argued that tighter restrictions were needed to prevent Iraq from rearming.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.