Stardate 20030416.2144

(On Screen): It is reported that the attempt to lift the trade sanctions against Iraq is likely to be rocky, primarily because of the nations who have been benefitting most from trade associated with the UN-managed "oil for food" program for the last seven years. (All together now: France! Russia! Germany!)

If the sanctions are lifted, it means that is finished; those deals are done. Given that we're talking about business worth billions of dollars, the nations who are the beneficiaries of this don't want to give it up. They'd like to stretch the process out as far as they can.

The BBC's article about this contains a rather odd point:

It had been expected that sanctions would eventually be lifted, but the BBC's Jon Leyne says it has come as a surprise that Washington wants to move so quickly.

He adds that it sounds like the opening shot of big new fight in the Security Council, which has control over Iraq's oil.

I've got a major piece of news for the BBC's Jon Leyne: We control Iraq's oil. The UN controls nothing.