I'm still looking for the names of *ten* specific members of the oil lobby who are agitating for an American attack on Iran -- to help balance slightly the names of hundreds of neoconservatives and members of the Israel lobby who have been doing so.
How I read this story: weak talking points, delivered weakly and without conviction, designed by the same cabal of neoconservatives who have controlled Bush 43 policy since 2000 and who have fabricated an endless series of lies. I'll bet these talking points came out of Dick Cheney's office, and were developed by Eric Edelman and other neocons who have surrounded Cheney from every side in recent years and spoonfed him his every sentence and phrase. There is absolutely nothing the Bush 43 can do now to fix the damage to American energy interests that was "achieved" by the Iraq War -- damned if we leave, but even more damned if we stay. If we had simply bought the oil from Saddam on the open market, we would have been much better off. The money that was poured down the drain in the Iraq War should have gone into alternative energy research. Alan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Hmmm. Nine bucks a gallon? Enough to crash the dollar and the U.S. economy. Badly. Probably unrecoverably. Can anyone see motive, here? Are Porter, Petraeus, Crocker, al-Hashimi, Saleh, and all the rest, hopelessly in the thrall of Zionist propaganda and LYING about this to scare us? Possible. But I'll bet not. Alan ......................... http://www.lvrj.com/news/9466252.html Aug. 30, 2007 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal CLARIFICATION - 09/01/07 -- A headline in Thursday's Review-Journal attributed to Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., a suggestion that a premature withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq could result in the rise in the price of gasoline to $9 a gallon. In fact, Porter merely was relaying such a suggestion, which originated with officials with whom he spoke during his recent trip to Iraq. Porter ties U.S. withdrawal from Iraq to $9 gasoline Lawmaker reports on his trip to country By TONY BATT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- Gasoline prices could rise to about $9 per gallon if the United States withdraws troops from Iraq prematurely, Rep. Jon Porter said he was told on a trip to Iraq that ended this week. The Nevada Republican, who returned Tuesday from his fourth trip to Iraq, met with U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, Iraqi Deputy President Tariq al-Hashimi and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh. "To a person, they said there would be genocide, gas prices in the U.S. would rise to eight or nine dollars a gallon, al-Qaida would continue its expansion, and Iran would take over that portion of the world if we leave," Porter said Wednesday in a phone interview from Las Vegas. Porter did not elaborate on the assessment that gasoline prices could spike. His spokesman, Matt Leffingwell, said afterward that the scenario "makes sense if Iran moves into Iraq." Porter "can't speculate directly on what is going to happen with gas prices, but the market prices for oil reflect the stability in that region," Leffingwell said. Petraeus and Crocker offered a "blunt" assessment of the situation, Porter said. Although Petraeus did not discuss the much anticipated Iraq status report he plans to release in September, Porter said the general told him the U.S. troop surge was working. But Porter stopped short of saying he would support Petraeus' report. "This was not unlike my trip there in January. I saw a lot of successes, and I noticed substantial improvement in Baghdad," said Porter, who has traveled to Iraq three times in the past 18 months. As lawmakers warm up for a renewal of the Iraq war debate in the fall, Porter accused Democrats of failing to offer solutions to the war and avoiding a debate on the ramifications of withdrawal. He said that some Democratic organizations, including the Searchlight Leadership Fund operated by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., have funded anti-war groups. The Searchlight Leadership Fund made $5,000 donations to VoteVets.Org in 2006 and again earlier this year, according to federal records. "They're entitled to their opinion, but they ought to be honest with Nevadans about where they're getting their money," Porter said of the anti-war organizations. Reid spokesman Jon Summers said Porter is not "fully up to speed" with the Senate's actions on Iraq. "Democrats have put forward a number of solutions to change course in Iraq, but Republican obstructionists continue to throw up roadblocks," Summers said. As for Democrats funding anti-war groups, "did (Porter) happen to mention the Republican organizations that are funding pro-war groups?" Democrats claim that organizations defending President Bush's war strategy, such as Vets for Freedom or the newly formed Freedom's Watch, are fronts linked to the Bush administration whose aim is to attack Democrats and boost GOP fortunes in Congress. Reps. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., and Jim Moran, D-Va., joined Porter on the taxpayer-funded trip, which began Aug. 23 and included stops in Kuwait and Baghdad.
