I wish I could say none of the events in this story ever happened. Unfortunately, they now form part of our collective history. Information pertaining to wrongdoing by particular individuals named herein is drawn from the publicly available findings of the Independent Inquiry Committee into the Oil-for-Food Program (www.iic-offp.org). It is important for the reader to understand that none of the persons referred to in this story should be considered guilty of criminal behavior unless they have been sentenced in a court of law.
Some names have been changed in order to protect the privacy of individuals who were not already in the public sphere. I took the liberty to describe the events and the attitudes that defined this critical era in world affairs without the pretense of cold objectivity. I was an emotional participant in this story. As I recall certain events from memory, I am also aware that others may disagree with details of how these unfolded. The characters who appear herein cannot be defined only by their mistakes, or by their portrayal in this or other written works. I too made mistakes, and had ample opportunity to change my mind about important issues throughout this story. And thus I hope that our collective misadventures, our moments of ridicule or tragedy, will not be judged too harshly, for we were merely ordinary, flawed individuals faced with extraordinary circumstances.