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| Oil for food, money for guns | |
Most of us consider ourselves to be moral. Some of us have little blemishes on
our past we would describe as 'misunderstandings' or even (in severe cases)
'mistakes', but on the whole we like to think of ourselves as following a moral
code. A question to all such people is this: is it OK to pay a bribe in a
corrupt third world country? We are not talking about the kind of bribe which would stop you from spending
your best 20 years languishing in a Bali prison for an overweight boogie bag -
most people wouldn't have a problem with that. We are talking about the kind of
bribes that make your life (or maybe your business life) run a little smoother.
Giving the traffic cop $5 to avoid a trip to the local police station comes to
mind. Or maybe slipping the baggage handler a few crisp ones to overlook the
fact that you are overweight (your bags that is). Maybe giving the hotel clerk
a small tip to get a 'free' upgrade to a better room, or even help find you
some companionship on that lonely business trip? These things are not that common in Australia, but they are all part of the way
that business (and pleasure) are done in most countries in the world. Every
businessman who has done business overseas expects to grease a few government
palms to 'help things run smoothly'. Some people might have a problem with the
practice, but most of us believe that when in Rome, you pay unto Caesar that
which the Romans do. And Iraq is no exception. Does anyone believe that AWB hasn't been bribing Iraqi officials for decades?
Does anyone believe that the AU$300M in kickbacks to Iraqi government
officials is anything other than business as usual? Does anyone really believe
that the AWB didn't pay bribes when the ALP government controlled it? Do you
own a flock of flying pigs? This is why the Labour opposition has been so spectacularly unsuccessful at
getting any mud to stick to the government over the AWB weapons-for-oil
scandal. The AWB's charter was to sell Australian wheat to corrupt ratbag
governments, and they were expected to use corrupt ratbag methods. And they
didn't come much more corrupt and ratbaggy than Saddam's regime. Not that the current Iraqi officials won't complain about the AWB's actions. Of
course they will - it gives them more justification for demanding more bribes
now. Do these officials really wish that Iraq hadn't bought Australian wheat in
the 1990s? Do they wish their children had gone hungry during those years? It
seems unlikely. And from the average wheat-farmer's point of view, the AWB did what was necessary
to sell their wheat. That makes them .. maybe not good blokes .. but the kind
that you keep employing. Or voting for in the next election. It may go against the grain but the ALP is not sowing the seeds of an election
victory.
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