Fuel Me Once, Shame On You...

Bend Over And Insert Nozzle

Published on August 10, 2005 By kingbee In Politics

here's a little math problem for those of you who are into that kinda thing:

given the following:

a. gas in la is close to $3.00 a gallon.

b. gas in iraq is only $.05 a gallon because the government pays a subsidy to keep the price low.

c. the price of gas in kuwait is $.79 a gallon.

d. iraq now imports $240,000,000 to $400,000,000 worth of fuel per month.

e. the combined cost of procuring fuel for iraq and selling it atta loss is estimated to be $6.9 billion this year.

if drivers in baghdad have to wait in line for roughly an hour to get to a fuel pump because so much of the of the fuel iraq buys is being smuggled into kuwait, turkey, iran and the uae faster than it can be pumped into iraqi gas tanks, how long will hell have been frozen over before someone puts a stop to this nonsense?

Comments

kingbee

on Aug 10, 2005

forgot the link dammit http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-smuggle9aug09,1,2938015.story?page=1&coll=la-news-a_section

Dr Guy

on Aug 10, 2005

HOw long does the sun have left?

kingbee

on Aug 10, 2005

HOw long does the sun have left

true

altho i realize now i asked the wrong question. it shoulda been: how much of that 6.9 billion comes from american taxpayers directly or will ultimately be paid by us?

stutefish

on Aug 10, 2005

I figure, two years, with or without the hell freezing over bit.

Once the really important things like, say, a constitution, or significant reduction in "insurgent" activity, have been taken care of, the Iraqi government will be able to focus more resources on reducing corruption and smuggling.

In the mean time, I say yeah, let us subsidize as much as we have to. Keep the country stable enough long enough for the permanent solutions to grow and solidify and become self-sufficient.

If, as you imply, I'm paying more at the pump so that Iraqis can enjoy a minimum standard of living, safety, and predictability, then I say it's money well spent, and I'm happy to do my part.

Patience, grasshopper. This is a major project, the likes of which the world hasn't seen in generations. It'll take time. It will set priorities. It will make compromises. It may not succeed. Demanding half-assed solutions won't make you any happier--it'll just increase the chances of failure.

kingbee

on Aug 10, 2005

actually i asked the wrong question again. i shoulda asked...where is all that money going?

kingbee

on Aug 10, 2005

wait...i finally got the right question.

is that money really goin ultimately to saudi arabia--minus the cut that oil companies always take from both ends as producer and refiner?

and if so, how many americans are making money on this truly deplorable scam?

this is the 2nd proof ive provided that the war really was about oil. not taking iraqs oil. just taking it off the market so all the bush oil industry buddies get wealthy at our expense.

drmiler

on Aug 10, 2005

wait...i finally got the right question.

is that money really goin ultimately to saudi arabia--minus the cut that oil companies always take from both ends as producer and refiner?

and if so, how many americans are making money on this truly deplorable scam?

this is the 2nd proof ive provided that the war really was about oil.

What proof? I see no proof here. Just someones opinions.

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