The Iraqi connection
The week's news at a glance.
Houston
Two Houston oilmen were formally charged this week with paying “secret kickbacks” to Saddam Hussein’s government in exchange for the right to sell Iraqi oil. The payments should have helped pay for food and medicine for ordinary Iraqis under the United Nations oil-for-food program, which operated from 1996 to 2003 to help Iraqis weather hardships caused by economic sanctions against the regime. But the kickbacks helped Saddam turn the program into a “cash cow masquerading as a humanitarian venture,” said John Klochan of the FBI’s office in New York, where the men, David Chalmers Jr. and Ludmil Dionissiev, were charged. Both pleaded not guilty.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
July 13 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include new TSA rules, FEMA cuts, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy complimenting Donald Trump's new wardrobe
-
5 weather-beaten cartoons about the Texas floods
Cartoons Artists take on funding cuts, politicizing tragedy, and more
-
What has the Dalai Lama achieved?
The Explainer Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader has just turned 90, and he has been clarifying his reincarnation plans