UNSCAM UPDATE:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Saddam Hussein’s regime reaped over $21 billion from kickbacks and smuggling before and during the now-defunct U.N. oil-for-food program, twice as much as previous estimates, according to a U.S. Senate probe on Monday.

The monies flowed between 1991 and 2003 through oil surcharges, kickbacks on civilian goods and smuggling directly to willing governments, Senate investigators said at a hearing.

“How was the world so blind to this massive amount of influence-peddling?” asked Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, head of the investigations

I think the answer is that they were not so much blind, as in for a cut.

The record for today’s hearings can be found here. I suspect it contains quite a few gems.