] The U.N. Security Council yesterday voted unanimously to
] free billions of dollars in Iraqi oil revenues to
] purchase food and medicine for Iraq's people who face a
] possible humanitarian crisis in the war.
]
]
] After a week of acrimonious negotiations, the council
] approved a resolution by 15-0 to give U.N.
] Secretary-General Kofi Annan control of humanitarian
] goods in the oil-for-food program over the next 45 days.
] Some 60 percent of Iraq's 26 million people depend on the
] program for food.
]
]
] Germany, also opposed to the war, helped forge a
] compromise as the chief negotiator for the resolution,
] although the talks showed that bitterness over the war
] could hamper U.S. efforts to rally support in rebuilding
] Iraq.