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US Senate Probe Names British, French Politicians in UN Oil-for-Food
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Scandal
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(http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=D6C511:3919ACA

New report says British parliamentarian George Galloway, former French
Interior Minister Charles Pasqua received oil allocations with Saddam
Hussein's personal approval





A U.S. Senate panel has presented evidence that a senior French
politician and a British member of parliament received oil deals from
Iraq's Saddam Hussein regime during the U.N. oil-for-food program.

The report by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has
revived a controversy over whether Saddam Hussein gave oil deals to
European politicians in exchange for political support.

According to the Senate's year-long investigation, Iraqi oil ministry
documents show that former French interior minister Charles Pasqua got
11 million barrels in oil allocations and British lawmaker George
Galloway got 20 million barrels.

Both men deny the allegations, and there is no evidence in the report
of financial transactions that would confirm the two men actually sold
any Iraqi oil options.







George Galloway (file photo)Mr. Galloway has told British radio the
Senate committee had not allowed him to state his case before the
panel.

"This is a very peculiar type of committee. They have not written to
me. They have not spoken to me," he said. "And they have not answered
my request to be heard by them, so it's no kind of investigation, just
the repetition of a false allegation."

Mr. Galloway was expelled by the ruling Labor Party after he told
British troops they should disobey orders to fight in Iraq.

Before the 2003 invasion, Mr. Galloway was a strong opponent of
international sanctions against Iraq. And he visited Baghdad on
several occasions and met with Saddam Hussein.

Mr. Galloway successfully sued the Daily Telegraph newspaper last year
after it accused him of being an agent of Saddam Hussein. He was
re-elected to parliament last week after defeating a pro-war Labor
Party candidate in a heavily Muslim area of East London.