However, this New York Times article reports on a Congressional investigation that suggests that there was, in fact, a coalition of countries -- including France, Russia, and China -- bribed by Saddam Hussein through the U.N.'s Oil for Food program.
As far as the "coerced", I recall that at least one news organization -- memory tells me that it was CNN, but I can't find a citation at the moment -- would not report a number of negative stories about pre-war Iraq because they feared for the safety of their reporters in the country.
I suppose I have a point here, but I'll leave it to you to connect the dots.
