In the letter, "Is the war designed to steal oil?" from Mr. Kopf, the holes in his argument are large enough to drive the Exxon Valdez through with a drunken skipper.

If we are stealing oil why arent we getting it free or nearly so at the pump? As far as America using its fair share, the vibrancy of the economy determines that, not how many million folks live in mud huts fighting locusts for a pound of corn a month.The concept he espouses that since America has 5 percent of the world's population, we should use that amount of oil is ridiculous.

Oil production may have peaked in this country in the 1970s, but so did the start of the ascendancy of the extreme environmental political group's power. Its sole purpose is to dry up the economy of America, get us back on track with the rest of the world and use less than 5 percent of the world's oil. If you want to live in a mud hut, beating locusts all day, be my guest. Buy a ticket to the Sudan and move in.

We have huge known reserves in Alaska and in the deep Gulf, yet for the sake of the political power of the Left, we are forced to buy on the international market. By the way, we get far more oil from Canada, Mexico, Nigeria and unfortunately Venezuela than the Middle East.

No one knows how many innocents have died in Iraq since the beginning of this theater in the global war on terrorism, but the letter seems to imply that America is responsible for them all. The number keeps going up exponentially each time the lie is told. Our military is the most politically correct in history and many of them have died because we try to limit innocent casualties. Under our rules of engagement Gengus Kahn couldn't have conquered his mother-in-law.

Stephen Cady

North Franklin Township

Check the facts on oil imports

In response to the letter, "Is the war designed to steal oil?" in 2000 the top oil producers were Saudi Arabia, the United States, Russia, Iran and Venezuela. Iraq was number 10. Notice, this was prior to the war in Iraq and Sept. 11, 2001.

At the end of 2006, the top oil producers were Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United States and Iran. Iraq was number 15. So much for stealing oil when it dropped five positions.

Now for the facts. The top five countries that the U.S. Imports oil from are Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Nigeria. Iraq by the way is number 6. But hey, George Bush and the Republicans are all about oil.

See www.eia.doe.gov, where the facts can be found.

Michael W. Elliott

Washington

Sleepless nights

in Washington

Every weekend I lie trying to go to sleep but am awakened by the commotion that comes across my scanner. The dispatcher calls out to police saying there's a fight in downtown Washington. This is at 1:30 or 2 in the morning.

Our police force has a very dangerous job. Once they are dispatched they don't know what they're getting into until they arrive on the scene. The young adults don't have anything better to do on a Friday or Saturday night. Instead of seeing who can out-drink whom or who will be the first one to get trashed, they should be concerned about the safety of others, especially our officers. It is the job of every bartender to see they don't get intoxicated. If every bartender did his or her job there would be fewer DUI accidents. So the next time you take your first drink, say to yourself that you're going to save your own life or someone else's.

Our officers are just trying to protect us. We should respect our officers and our community.

Marty L. Mowl

Washington

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