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The price of gas?

Dear Editor:I know that I shouldn’t beat a dead horse like the Patrick Hasburghs of the world, but doggone it’s just too much fun.Guess what? I’m going throw old Pat a bone. President Reagan did support Saddam in the Iran-Iraq war and Donald Rumsfeld probably likes goat. President Reagan as several other 20th-century presidents have warmed up to the Middle East for one reason, oil. It’s the same old story. The United States has an insatiable appetite for gasoline that drives the vicious circle of hate. Our oil dollars go to Saudi Arabia and they in turn funnel money to the Pakistani madras’ah that teach hatred for the Western world and an extreme Islamic rule.As to Pat’s mention of President George H.W. Bush, the elder Mr. Bush had Saddam by the throat. But he listened to the United Nations (U.N.) and several Arab leaders, who begged him not to invade Baghdad and leave Saddam in power. This of course led to the “oil-for-food” program, which lined the pockets of Saddam, Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the United Nations (and his son), President Jacques Chirac of France, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, President Gerhard Schroeder of Germany and a multitude of greedy people at the U.N. Why do you suppose they all objected to the current war in Iraq? Because the United States was killing their golden goose. Of course if you listen to the New Dogpatch Times (New York Times) and the Pravda Today (USA Today), they would have told you different.As for the 400,000 that Saddam slaughtered, Pat, this number included Kurds and Shia (Shiites). The U.S. troops have uncovered several killing fields across Iraq. Their discoveries allowed a multitude of Iraqis to put to rest their family members, some missing for decades.Pat’s mention of the 200,000 Iraqis that he says G.W.’s war has killed: Most of this number has been Muslim killing Muslim, Sunni killing Shia and vice versa, and in some cases Shia killing Shia.As for the new government, the Iraqis are responsible for their form of democracy. At least these people can openly discuss politics and vote freely. If the Iraqis join Iran in a war against the USA, it is because we as a nation can’t get off our gasoline jones.So Pat, as you drive your Ford Subdivision across two ZIP codes at the same time, you have to ask yourself, where does the madness end? Maybe, if we all saved 10 percent in our fuel consumption per year for the next five years, we would be able to make a big statement to the Arab world. We, as a nation, do not need you anymore. We could bring our men and women in the military home. Jim “J.P.” PerryAspen