The Telegraph - One of France's most distinguished diplomats has confessed to an investigating judge that he accepted oil allocations from Saddam Hussein, it emerged yesterday.

The Frenchman, who holds the title "ambassador for life", told authorities that he regretted taking payments amounting to $156,000 (then worth about £108,000) in 2002...

At the time, Mr Mérimée was a special adviser to Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general...

But he also said that the payments were made in recompense for work he had done on Iraq's behalf...

The ambassador said the French authorities had known of his every move.

But...the sanctions were working, right? Saddam wasn't a threat. He was only bribing his way toward a nuclear weapon using money pilfered from a humanitarian program with the help of an army of international and UN bureaucrats.

/sarcasm

Really, though, how can anyone say the war was a mistake now that we know what we know about the oil-for-food scandal? There are people who have told me that they did not think Iraq was a threat to the U.S. prior to invasion even after they heard Bush's case for war. I think that's an honest opinion. Not one I agree with, but one I can at least understand. What I don't understand is people who still think Saddam wasn't a threat even after the spider web of oil-for-food bribery has come to light.

Had we not invaded Iraq this corrupt gravy train would have kept right on rolling. And to what end, do you think? More Mercedes and swimming pools for Saddam and his boys? Or do you think that madman could have had something more sinister in mind?

Because, frankly, I'm thinking he probably had something more sinister in mine. Like maybe wiping Israel off the map. Or a briefcase nuke in front of the White House.