Galloway: 'I'm the accuser, not the accused'

[seemslikeadream]

May 17, 2005

Galloway: 'I'm the accuser, not the accused'
By Philippe Naughton, Times Online

Respect MP George Galloway said today he intended to use a US Senate hearing as a platform to put those responsible for the Iraq war on trial.

In Washington to address the senators who have accused him of receiving vouchers for millions of barrels of oil from Saddam Hussein’s regime, Mr Galloway vowed to show the world who was the real guilty party.



"I am determined, now that I am here, to be not the accused but the accuser," he said. "The people who have been guilty of massive profiteering in Iraq is the US themselves and I intend to put them on trial. I don’t have to answer to them, they don’t rule the world."

The former Labour MP reiterated that he had never bought a barrel of oil in his life, and accused the US Government of using the issue to divert attention from the consequences of the Iraq war. They will have to show me the money," he said. "Anyone can put anyone’s name on documents."

more
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1616104,00.html

[whistle]

1. Galloway is the messenger, that makes him guilty in the eyes...

...of the republickasses :banghead:

[cal04]

2. Headline on Sky News MOTHER OF SMOKESCREENS

British MP George Galloway has launched a blistering broadside against the Senate committee which accused him of taking vouchers for millions of barrels of oil from the former Iraqi regime.

Appearing before the committee, he said senators had gone about their business in a "cavalier fashion".


He said the committee was the "mother of all smokescreens" designed to tar the him, the anti-war movement and the French government.

Fixing his eyes firmly on the committee, the former Labour MP delivered his case in a confident and clear manner.

"I have never seen a barrel of oil, never owned a barrel of oil," he told the committee.

Mr Galloway looked steely-eyed and shuffled his papers as he was addressed by the committee chairman.

He ripped into chairman Norm Coleman, accusing him of damaging his reputation worldwide.

The committee had earlier heard that a former official in the Saddam Hussein regime was interviewed yesterday and again claimed Mr Galloway took the vouchers.But once the initial details of the case were put to Mr Galloway, the MP rallied himself and point by point rebutted the allegations against him.

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13350152,00.html

[chlamor]

3. Go George-Massive Backroom Oil Deals

With fresh indictments last week, the UN oil-for-food scandal took an unexpected turn into the Labyrinth -- the tangled skein of war profiteering and state terrorism that has seen the Bush Family's lust for blood money emerge in three of the darkest criminal episodes in modern American history: Iran-Contra, Iraqgate and the BCCI affair.

Texas oil baron David Chalmers of Bayoil and his partners were hit with criminal charges for allegedly cutting deals with Saddam Hussein in the notorious skim operation that outflanked UN sanctions and diverted funds intended for humanitarian relief. Prosecutors were shocked -- shocked! -- to find such collusion and corruption in the oil business.

Of course, the fact that three U.S. presidents -- the two George Bushes and their new best pal, Bill Clinton -- actually brokered massive backroom oil deals for Saddam that dwarfed Bayoil's petty chiseling, plus the fact that Saddam's nation-strangling thievery has since been eclipsed by the epic rapine of Bush II's Babylonian Conquest, in no way mitigates the seriousness of the Chalmers indictment. But somehow we doubt you'll be seeing those august statesmen sharing leg irons with old Davy anytime soon.

Chalmers is a longtime denizen of the Labyrinth. In the mid-1980s, he joined up with Chilean gun-runner Carlos Cardoen, the Financial Times reported. Cardoen was a CIA frontman used by Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bush I to funnel cluster bombs and other weapons secretly to Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War. At Reagan's direct order, Saddam received U.S. military intelligence, billions of dollars in credits and a steady supply of covert "third-country" arms to sustain his war effort, even though the White House was fully aware of Saddam's "almost daily use" of illegal chemical weapons, The Washington Post reported. Later, Bush I, as president, would also mandate the sale of WMD material to Saddam, including anthrax -- long after Saddam notoriously "gassed his own people" at Halabja.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8614.ht...

[medeak]

4. "America should look in the mirror'

hope they run his statement all day long

[seemslikeadream]

5. WATCH IT HERE IT WON'T BE ON CSPAN!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3672157&mesg_id=3672352&page=

ConfuZed (45 posts) Tue May-17-05 10:59 AM
Response to Original message

73. Watch it on BBC WORLD NEWS HERE!


Windows http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsa/n5ctrl/live/nb/wm/video/now3...
RealPlayer http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsa/n5ctrl/live/nb/rm/video/now3...

[NVMojo]

6. Right FECKING ON!!!!

[MadisonProgressive]

7. British lawmaker in U.S. to deny Iraq payments

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7883488/

Fun excerpts:

“I have no expectation of justice from a group of Christian fundamentalist and Zionist activists under the chairmanship of a neocon (President) George Bush who is pro-war,” Galloway told Reuters after arriving in Washington for the hearing.

“I come not as the accused but as the accuser,” he added.

Galloway had similar words for Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., who chairs the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which called Tuesday's hearing.

“It’s Mr. Coleman who’s been all over the news and he’s a lick-spittle, crazed neocon who is engaged in a witch hunt against all those he perceives to have betrayed the United States in their plan to invade and occupy Iraq,” Galloway told Associated Press Television News.

[eleny]

8. well, hot diggity!

[LiberalVoice]

9. If I were gay...

I would totally date this guy.

“This group of neocons (neoconservatives) is involved in the mother of all smokescreens,” he said of the committee. “I want to turn the tables on this neocon, pro-Israel, pro-war, Republican lynch mob.” - George Galloway

[oxbow]

36. While he is telling truth to power

He also has a history of having some kind of relationship with Saddam Hussein. This goes back as far as the first gulf war. I would be careful abut tying our wagon so closely to his just yet.

I'm not that familiar with him myself, but this is according to the editor of the Guardian on MSNBC today.

[Henny Penny]

50. "He also has a history of having some kind of relationship with

Saddam Hussein."!

Yes he does. "I have met Saddam Hussein exactly the same number of times as Donald Rumsfeld met him. The difference is that Donald Rumsfeld met him to sell him guns and to give him maps the better to target those guns."

So hitch yer wagons........

:bounce: :toast: :party: :beer: :hi: :thumbsup:

[bullimiami]

10. i wish i was british and galloway was my mp

i would be as proud as a peacock.

norm coleman a lickspittle. priceless.....

[Blue Belle]

16. I know... I'm cracking up about that too.

:rofl:

[Benhurst]

11. And to think some say Tony "The Bridge" Blair has a way with

words. Three cheers for Mr. Galloway!

[liberal N proud]

12. George Galloway the new American HERO!

Funny it take someone from outside our own borders to set the story straight.
Shame on the media for not doing this before now and requiring a British official to do their jobs.
He will not have to retract his story.

[Sequoia]

14. Just like Thomas Paine!

Only now we are our own enemy.

[Guckert]

13. The truth kind of stings for the neo con GOP death merchants. this guy is

great. where can i get the transcript of this beat down for the corrupt neocon war profiteers.

[Dudley_DUright]

33. Get your red hot transcript right here

As a former resident of MN, I relished every word of his takedown of that smarmy jerk Coleman.

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0517-35.htm

[MN ChimpH8R]

45. Talk about a brutal beatdown

Reading the tanscript of Galloway's remarks I could feel his righteous and justified indignation right through the screen. There was nothing left of Coleman but a pair of smoking shoes. :woohoo: :bounce: :rofl:

[74dodgedart]

46. Ouch-Coleman got crushed...

[Miss Chybil]

57. Holy shit. nt

[seasat]

15. They tried to get Galloway using forged papers in 2003!

I remember this article about the forged papers that were turning up after the fall of Baghdad. Apparently an Iraqi general was selling forgeries to the US media. One of the forgeries were sold to the Christian Science Monitor. They later determined it was a forgery and retracted the article about Galloway involvement in the oil-for-food program.

(LINK)

On April 25, 2003, this newspaper ran a story about documents obtained in Iraq that alleged Saddam Hussein's regime had paid a British member of Parliament, George Galloway, $10 million over 11 years to promote its interests in the West.

An extensive Monitor investigation has subsequently determined that the six papers detailed in the April 25 piece are, in fact, almost certainly forgeries.

I wonder if Coleman has resurrected these forgeries to try and distract from the US companies involvement in the oil-for-food program?

There is also the fact that the Bush I, Clinton, and Shrub Inc administrations allowed smuggling to Turkey and Jordan to appease their governments due to the loss of revenue under the UN embargo. I read article well before the invasion about how massive truck convoys were carrying oil into Turkey. It was an open secret. (LINK)

They must be relying on the collective short term memory of the US populace to be able to pull this crap off.

[dicknbush]

17. NORMY BOY'S OFFICE NUMBER 1 202 224 5641

CALL AND THANK HIM FOR CALLING GEORGE GALLOWAY TO TESTIFY AND LETTING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SEE HOW A REAL OPPOSITON POLITICIAN OPERATES AND TELLS TRUTH TO POWER.

[Mr Creosote]

18. George Galloway

has been the subject of a concerted hate campaign by the media and establishment here (UK) - and even in my eyes some of the mud has stuck. But that was a bravura performance the like of which I've never seen. Whilst he spoke passionately of the murders of Iraqis by your country and mine - all that Lurch lookalike death's head (sorry didn't catch his name) could muster was an inane grin. Showed them up for the morally bankrupt bastards they are.
Watch ALL his testimony again and again. Tape it for your friends.

[demo dutch]

19. More BBC and MSNBC links to the story on this thread..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1479528

[Zacpres]

20. You can't be serious

No offense here all but to treat this wacko crook like he is a hero is just plain wrong.
Even the dems on the committee know this guy is dirty. This is not the type of messenger Dems need.

[indie_voter]

21. Thanks for the advice

:eyes:

[Mandate My Ass]

22. LOL

Thanks for your concern but...:boring:

[BillZBubb]

23. We will take your "progressive" advice under advisement.

But Chalabi was a great guy right!

Enjoy your stay.

[seemslikeadream]

24. "mother of all smokescreens" WATCH GALLOWAY HERE

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4556113.stm

[Robeson]

25. Appreciate your heart-felt wishes.....

...but...:rofl:

[CTyankee]

26. Your evidence?

Please elaborate.

[Straight Shooter]

52. Evidence? Galloway bashers don't need no steenkin' evidence

But I'm sure Norm Coleman would appreciate having a fresh-faced intern to help sell his talking points ...

[bleedingheart]

29. and the GOP seriously put up GWB as a presidential candidate

what a loser, couldn't make a company profitable, perpetual liar, coke addict,...etc...even the Repubs should have known the guy was dirty...that wasn't the message the GOP should have sent the people...

[d.l.Green]

30. Whoever he is, or was, he's earned the award for the best-used 15 minutes

of fame EVER!:applause:

[Frederik]

32. Galloway told the truth to the scumbags

The truth hurts, doesn't it? And, no, he isn't "dirty". Would you care to inform us what kind of dirt you have on Mr Galloway?

[Pacifist Patriot]

40. I have a feeling that "wacko crook" means....

What he had to say makes me squirm.

[ElectroPrincess]

35. Whoa ! Such strong advice for someone sporting three (X3) posts. :P

No, I say Bless Galloway! Please consider keeping your self-righteousness to help benefit your own and/or your children's behavior. I'm just not buying such "holier than thou" advice emanating from anywhere of genuine concern for the Democratic Party of the USA.

[Hamsta1]

37. This RW Talking Point brought to you by.....

SATAN!

[Pacifist Patriot]

38. And your evidence would be what?

The CSM retracted, apologized and settled a libel claim when they concluded their documentation was sophisticated forgeries. The Daily Telegraph had been offered the documents but declined them. There is zero conclusive evidence that Galloway is a crook.

Galloway is only a "whacko" because he swims against the current and says what he thinks rather than what he thinks people want to hear. People like that are invaluable.

[TheWatcher]

48. I can't believe you don't have a Tombstone yet.

[0007]

49. Is that you, George W. Bush, trying to cover up Cheney and

the crime cabal with another absurd statement?

[Bridget Burke]

59. Thanks for the reminder that this is an important story.

Truth hurts.

[Stockholm]

60. What do you mean?

:shrug:

[dolo amber]

27. Man, don't they know?

Don't EVER mess with a pissed-off Scotsman! :D

Go George!! :bounce:

[Pithy Cherub]

28. Galloway showed those wastrels how it is DONE!

Hey Coleman: Who's your daddy now? :rofl:

Loved IT!

[ElectroPrincess]

34. Oh yeah! Beautiful ... Norm Coleman is a PUTZ ... this is proof positive

[leesa]

31. Methinks this is going to backfire big-time on the Senate

[Pacifist Patriot]

39. I really hope so. Galloway sure lobbed a number of really sweet

sound bites for the media to sink their teeth into. Now hopefully they'll take the bait.

[dalloway]

41. MAN, HE ROCKED!

Be sure to catch the video stream. It isn't the same when you don't hear it with that great accent.

FINALLY a politician with some real mojo.

[caligirl]

42. Just thanked Mr. Lick Spittle for bringing Galloway on. A true American

hero, from Britain, finally thanks to Mr. Lick Spittle, um ur, Coleman.:rofl: :woohoo:

His secretary did't take to well, Mr. Lick Spittle's secretsary that is.

[ElectroPrincess]

43. Makes me proud of our Brit cousins ...

We have UK bloodlines on my Mom's side that "never got on a boat."

Here here for the great show of moral courage by our buds from across the pond!

[caligirl]

44. Ney, but I am Scottish I think i am closer to him than you. He's

my long lost cousin, even named my dog Lick Spittle. Thats where he got the name. :toast: :patriot:

[ElectroPrincess]

56. Oh gee, I think it's close enough to be on the same side of da pond

Next round's on me Scottie. :toast:

[Nothing Without Hope]

47. DON'T MISS THE VIDEO OF GALLOWAY'S 4 MINUTE STATEMENT:

it will blow your freaking socks off:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3672646
Thread title: “MSNBC: UK's Galloway blisters US policy on Iraq - (VIDEO and AUDIO)”

Amazing that it was allowed to be on US TV at all. Truth sends the cockroaches running.

[reality based]

51. Watch it in its full glory on the BBC site

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4556113.stm

One of the greatest public appearances before Congress in my long lifetime. He made mincemeat of Norm Coleman and Levin didn't fare too well either. He kept the big picture in focus.

[Nothing Without Hope]

55. Yes - it's been too, too long since we've had a speaker with guts and

integrity stand up to the neocon thugs and Dem sellouts. No wonder they got him out of there as soon as they could. Pity, I'm sure they were looking forward to roasting him slowly and publically as a convenient scapegoat for their own crimes.

Let's hope the echoes of that speech don't ever die. Wonder if it will be replayed at prime time? Or will the suppression fog be dropped over an embarrassing moment for the criminal cartel?

[flordehinojos]

53. brava, Mr. Galloway!

[AlamoDemoc]

54. Well done, Mr. Galloway...you are my hero

[emad]

58. CAREFUL with Galloway. WHAT he said was 100%. But....

his bravado after winning £150,000 libel damages from the UK's Telegraph paper which repeated an Iraq oil backhanders smear started by the Christian Monitor may be just a sweetener to draw him into an MoD honeytrap.

Galloway is not what he appears. He is yet another cold war KGB ID theft plant.

During John Major's premiership 1990-97 Galloway was under close scrutiny by all the major world security/inteligence services because of his connections with beneficiaries of corruption scams run by ARMAND HAMMER RIP via offshore slush funds previously operated by the late Robert Maxwell.

By 1996 he was implicated in Iraqi oil money laundering connected with US oil trader MARC RICH, former UAE ambassador to the UK MAHDI AL-TAJIR and France's Elf Oil's NADHMI AUCHI.

In the UK, the recpipients of embezzled oil revenues in the Galloway camp are Carole Caplin (former Blair 'lifestyle guru'), several junior members of the so-called House of Windsor and former business associates of the late Robert Maxwell.

Most of the UK intelligence on Galloway was mothballed by MI5/6 after the 1997 UK general election after investigations into his dealings with the Mariam charity, and its association with fundraising by Tory Party jailbird Jeffrey Archer.

[Vladimir]

61. Where on earth have you found all this out? n/t

[emad]

62. Used to have an interesting job in legal/administration. Galloway

and his coterie of ex-Russian cons have laundered approximately £100million in the UK into property fraud scams that were initially started by Margaret Thatcher, then taken up by Robert Maxwell.

After Blair got elected a second generation of crooks - including Carole Caplin and Ken Livingstone - took up- this mantle, confident that it was not being monitored by the cops.

Now their confidence has reached beyond all credibility.

Watch Galloway tumble.

It is a set up. A sting.

[bemildred]

63. Tsk, now you have done went and warned him.

No doubt, scared by your revelations, he will clean up his act
and never be brought to justice. Such a shame.