Reaction to the Volcker report, an Egyptian view

Al-Ahram Weekly | International | Smoking gun or smokescreen?:

"As to the timing of the report, some believe that a smokescreen is being established to shield not only the Security Council, which was allegedly complicit with the oil-for-food scandal, but the US government, mired in its own domestic and international problems. 'I sense Annan was pushed by Washington to have Volcker do public, media-conspicuous, work in order to divert attention from the mess in the US capital with regard to the criminal invasion and occupation of Iraq. Meantime, several Congressional committees are working on studies of US scandals linked to the UN oil-for-food programme -- I have met two committees myself,' Halliday told the Weekly."

This is an interesting article with quotes from several persons involved in the scandal. In some ways, it provides a fuller explanation than I have seen in much western coverage of the affair.