NBC Reports on UN Oil-for-Food Kickbacks from Russia & France, Ignored by ABC, CBS

Unlike ABC and CBS, on Thursday night, NBC informed viewers of a report on the United Nations Oil-for-Food scandal, as NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams stated that "2,000 companies paid nearly $2 billion in kickbacks directly to Saddam Hussein" and that "the country with the most companies involved in this was Russia, followed by France." A complete transcript of the story from the October 27 NBC Nightly News follows:

Brian Williams: "Scathing criticism today of the way the U.N. managed the Oil-for-Food program in Iraq. That program, you may recall, was set up during the U.N. trade embargo. Iraq was allowed to sell its oil, but it had to use those proceeds only to buy food and medicine. But today, after an extensive investigation, a report said the U.N. mismanaged the program so badly that more than 2,000 companies paid nearly $2 billion in kickbacks directly to Saddam Hussein. The kickbacks, by the way, came from 66 different nations. The country with the most companies involved in this was Russia, followed by France."