Posted on 12/10/2004 12:08:18 PM PST by liberty_lvr
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. officials in Baghdad fear that a fuel crisis, which has left Iraqi homes cold and dark and drivers waiting days for petrol, may inflame unrest before next month's election.
"If the current situation does not improve quickly, public confidence in the government may deteriorate significantly," a diplomat wrote this week in a note circulated among the U.S.-led coalition occupying Iraq (news - web sites) and obtained by Reuters.
(Excerpt) Read more at story.news.yahoo.com ...
WWWhhhaaaatttt!!!! This is the country that exports oil (remember the oil for food scandal eruption at the UN). And this is the country that controls the largest French-owned oil producer Total Fina Elf, along with various others. This is the country where its cits pay $.05 a gallon of oil (From Seattle Post Intelligencer, Iraqis paying 5 cents a gallon for gas By JIM KRANE ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER).
What's wrong with this Reuters story?
Iraq---Crisis---Reuters---Bush---Quagmire---OOOOOHHHHNOOOOOOMRBILLL
At the same time, these people are used to waiting in line for fuel.. They have always had rationing, and have always waited in tremendously long lines to fill their cars.
Now that more than 250,000 more cars have been sold in the first year since US action, that tells me the economy is booming and more people can afford cars/driving/etc.
I don't know how much this analyst knows about the situation before their arrival.
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