Saddam's take during the Oil for Food program, that the U.N. Security Council sanctioned, was $100 billion - more than the gross national product of 171 countries. Instead of selling the oil and buying food, he bought bullets, Mercedes, missiles, and Security Council votes, e.g. France, Russia, and China - these were the countries along with the majority of the Security Council who over-ruled the objections of the United States thereby allowing Saddam to pick his suppliers of "humanitarian items". It slipped the Security Council's notice that by 2003 Saddam had built about 78 presidential palace compounds (one larger than Manhattan's Central Park) with the money. Saddam purchased military technology and hardware from: Belarus, Bulgaria, China, France, India, Jordan, North Korea, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Syria, Ukraine, and Yugoslavia - nothing edible. The U.N. took away the limits of how much oil Saddam could sell because it charged a 2.2% administration fee which earned it $1.4 billion over the years.
Iraq was in debt to France for $6 billion, Russia - $8 billion (so, Iraq granted one third of the Oil for Food contracts to Russian firms which generated about $4 billion a year. Russia was Iraq's greatest supplier of arms), and China at least $1.1 billion. France controlled 22.5% of Iraq's imports, while Russia and China had nearly 6% each. More was in store once sanctions were lifted making it very profitable for these 3 nations; hence their anti-American stance and moral posturing on going to war.
Under interrogation, the former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister, Tariq Aziz, said French and Russian intermediaries assured Hussein repeatedly between 2002 and 2003 that they would block a U.S. led war through delays and vetoes at the U.N. Security Council.
France, along with Russia and China abstained from Security Council resolution 1134 condemning Iraq for impeding U.N. weapons inspectors. Meanwhile, the French diplomatic corps helped French businessmen skirt U.N. sanctions.
The following U.N. resolution 1441 could have prevented the war in Iraq had it been enforced:
1) That Iraq was in material breach of the ceasefire terms presented under the terms of Resolution 687. Iraq's breaches related not only to Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs), but also the known construction of prohibited types of missiles, the purchase and import of prohibited armaments, and the continuing refusal of Iraq to compensate Kuwait for the widespread looting conducted by its troops in 1991.
2) That 1441, and its deadline, represented Iraq's final opportunity to comply with disarmament requirements. In accordance with the previous resolutions, this meant Iraq not only had to verify the existence or destruction of its remaining unaccounted-for WMD stockpiles, but also had to ensure that all equipment, plans, and materials useful for the resumption of WMD programs was likewise turned over or verified as destroyed.
3) That "...false statements or omissions in the declarations submitted by Iraq pursuant to this resolution and failure by Iraq at any time to comply with, and co-operate fully in the implementation of, this resolution shall constitute a further material breach of Iraq’s obligations".
Money Saddam obtained from the Oil for Food program went into the hands of Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Arab Liberation Front. Abu Abbas, mastermind of the Achille Lauro cruise ship hijacking, and Abu Nidal, of Black September, were harboured by Saddam.
The northern provinces where the Kurds reside were entitled to $8.4 billion of the Oil for Food revenue. Hussein took $2 billion of that and the U.N. kept $1.6 billion for itself. The Kurds claimed only 20% of the medical supplies arrived.
U.S. Senate investigations found U.N. lack of quality control led to importation of tainted blood which infected Iraqi children with HIV/AIDs. Useless medicine with short shelf life, inedible food, items with essential components missing, equipment delivered unassembled, vehicles, machinery and spare parts delivered damaged, and intentional distribution delays were common. U.N. officials were quoted as saying "If you eat it and don't die, it passes the test". Because lesser than specified quality goods went into Iraq, Saddam could pocket the difference. According to congressional testimony, the U.N. knew about it and let unapproved food enter Iraq. Of 38,000 humanitarian contracts only 986 were inspected by the U.N.
Benon Sevan, the Cypriot Oil for Food program director (and Undersecretary-General), was charged with preventing Iraq's government from using the proceeds from oil exports for anything but food, medicine and other items to benefit the civilian population. He even personally ordered bribes. U.N. investigators discovered Saddam diverted 14,300,000 barrels of oil allocations in connection with Sevan, giving Sevan's friend, Fahkry Abdelnour of AMEP, a profit of $1,500,310. After the Volcker Committee exposed all this, Kofi Annan refused to lift Sevan's diplomatic immunity; although, he suspended him along with fellow Cypriot U.N. executive Joseph Stephanides who, it turned out, Kofi mistook for another culprit. Kofi agreed to rescind his decision but refused to apologise to Stephanides.
Here's a list of Saddam's requests from the U.N.:
1) 22,000 tons of chewing gum machines
2) 12,000 tons of mobile phones
3) 36,000 dishwashers
4) 750,000 television sets
If the U.S. Third Mechanised Division hadn't rolled into Baghdad, we would never have known about the fraud and lack of accountability that the U.N. engendered and profited from.