"WHAT TAINTED THE WHOLE DEAL was that in order to win it from the Iraqis the Australians accept to make secret payments to whoever signed the contract on behalf of the Iraqis."
Not at all. What tainted the deal was that they were found out.
Nobody would win that contract without a back-hander. That's the way it works in all ME, African and many other countries. We just had the right combination of price, quality, delivery and bribe, until some self-righteous prat who couldn't care less about the people of Iraq and Australian wheat farmers decided to blow the whistle.
There are some questions that must never be asked, because you don't want confirmation that you already know the answer.
