Hello Pete,

Of course I know Truthout doesn't exactly support the Bush Administration.
<"Clinton didn't hide the surplus - the surplus went into paying off the national debt."

Well, be that as it may, we are already in the red again (another Republican administration) and our kids' will be paying for Iraq. Maybe their kids too.

>The "Nazi alumni" is pure hogwash. George Herbert Walker repudiated Prescott Bush's anti-Semitism and pro-Nazi sympathies."

You may have me there. I said OSS & SS = CIA. I didn't mention Bush in that, but perhaps I inferred it? It's the IDEALOGY behind it.

>"I think Bush is setting up to deal with the Saudis...... 2005 is probably the earliest time we can collapse the House of Saud and not be too damaged ourselves.

Interesting, I didn't think of this as a possibility. I can see where some think tank would see it as a good move, but personally, it would stir up the WHOLE Middle East, and it would lead to world wide chaos. We just can't keep pissing on people. As for Iraq and Russia producing oil, well, we'll just have to wait and see if they sabotage everything that we do. US troops will be terrorist magnets. The fundamentalist won't care if their own countrymen get caught in the cross-fire.

>"The Saudis don't make anything else. If they're suddenly not getting income from selling oil, the House of Saud might lose control."

Nah, there will be other markets. How could these large amounts of oil go anywhere else? There's not enough man-power to take it away from them.

>"Failing that, all of the refineries in eastern Saudi might mysteriously catch fire and unknown parties might mine the ports - and the Russians and Iraqis will pick up the slack, without disruption of the oil supply to the industrialized nations of the world. "

Are you sure your name isn't Paul Wolfiwitz or Dick Cheney?
Certainly you're pulling my leg. If you think this is already part of an American plan to take over all the Middle East oil, I'd think you'd be over-reaching somewhat.
Sounds good on paper, but it's a disgusting thought.
If you think it's moral or righteous to steal anothers' goods by force, then you're the type of man I'm certainly not interested in having a dialogue with.