Oil For Food

Pete duPont is exploring the Oil for Food program at OpinionJournal.com

The House International Relations Committee is scheduled to hold hearings on all these matters. Chairman Henry Hyde feels much more strongly about U.N. corruption than his Senate colleagues do: he believes the Oil-for-Food program "represents a scandal without precedent in U.N. history," and so Mr. Annan's response "must be equally unprecedented."

Since the House appropriates the money that the U.S. contributes to the U.N.--about a quarter of its annual $1.5 billion base budget--Mr. Hyde might place the next quarterly U.N. check on his desk, to be exchanged for a full and accurate report on Oil-for-Food from Kofi Annan.

And then, depending on what we learn about the integrity of U.N. operations, we can decide what might be an appropriate role for the United Nations in Iraq and how we might be sure the international body fulfills it honestly.

As I've said before, the only appropriate response is to charge Mr. Annan with crimes against humanity and turn him over to the forthcoming Iraqi Government for sentencing.