Galloway's furious defence
Updated on 17 May 2005
The former Labour MP George Galloway launched a barnstorming defence against charges by the US congress that he profited from the Iraq oil-for food programme. Jonathan Rugman reports.
Galloway furiously denied the Iraq oil allegations.
He said: "The real sanctions busters were your own companies, with the connivance of your own government."
The new Respect MP told a Senate Committee in Washington that its evidence against him was false, condemned its investigation and demanded to know why it hadn't checked with him before making its allegations.
George Galloway in Washington. In his own words "Daniel in the Lion's Den" - but who was Daniel and who was the lion? It was hard to tell as the MP angrily dismissed what he calls a "schoolboy dossier" of allegations against him as based on forgery and lies.
It was a hearing charged with acrimony the Republican chairman of this committee accusing Galloway of owning the rights to 20m barrels of Iraqi oil and of paying kickbacks to Saddam in return.
He told the committee: "It is actually surreal to here in this room that I being accused of This is utterly preposterous. I have never seen a barrel of oil, owned one bought one, sold one and neither has anybody on my behalf."
The MP had said he would give American lawmakers "both barrels" and verbally at least he did not disappoint. This his withering response when accused of meeting Iraq's dictator many times.
"As a matter of fact I have met Saddam Hussein exactly the same number of times as Donald Rumsfeld met him. The difference is that Donald Rumsfeld met him to sell him guns and to give him maps the better to target those guns, I met him to try and bring an end to sanctions, suffering and war."
Mr Galloway produced his own dossier which he said showed he'd long criticised Iraq's regime when the Americans were busy selling to it.
And he blamed Ahmad Chalabi, the former Iraqi exile today appointed overseer of Iraq's oil policy, of giving the Americans a false list of those who profited from Saddam.
Galloway's harranging eloquence broadcast live on television here and it was phenomenal to watch; a Westminster bruiser taking on America's political establishment.
The MP looked a tad uncomfortable only once, when it was put to him that his Iraqi friend Fawaz Zuracat had chaired Galloway's children?s charity and done oil deals with Saddam.
Above all this was Galloway's chance to lecture somewhat astonished lawmakers about the Iraq war right here in the halls of American power.
"You launched an illegal war that killed hundreds of thousands of people," he added.
And afterwards Mr Galloway seemed to think he'd emerged the winner. Claiming he'd taken the wind out of his accusers sails, allowing America to see beyond what he called "the right wing neo-conservative bubble".
