Friday, March 28, 2008
Bonior 'proud' of '02 Iraq trip
Ex-rep says he went to help prevent war, but wouldn't have if he'd known of Saddam link
Deb Price / Detroit News Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- Former Michigan U.S. Rep. David Bonior said Thursday he is "proud" of the controversial trip to Iraq that he and two other Democratic congressmen took in 2002 and wishes more Americans had listened to their concerns about the "horrendous" impact another war in Iraq would have on children there.
Accounts of the trip resurfaced Wednesday when a federal indictment unsealed in Detroit alleged that what appears to be the same trip was secretly paid for by the Iraqi Intelligence Service...
The
U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit confirmed Thursday the entire Detroit office has been recused from the Al-Hanooti case, but officials would not say why. The case is instead being handled by government lawyers from Washington, D.C.
The indictment alleges that an ex-Iraqi Intelligence Service officer asked a former official with the Life for Relief -- Muthanna Al-Hanooti -- to publicize the damage of U.S. sanctions. As part of that, the indictment alleges, Al-Hanooti helped organize a trip to Iraq by a congressional delegation. Al-Hanooti allegedly received a potentially lucrative oil contract from Saddam's regime in return for his services.
The indictment alleges that Life for Relief paid $34,000 for the trip, but then was secretly reimbursed by the Iraqi Intelligence Service through an intermediary....