Me sounding like a broken record...

hmmm... I'm showing my age.
Does anyone under age 45 know what it means to "sound like a broken record"???

Look at the counter to the right. Estimated cost-to-date of W's Iraq fiasco > $668Bn.

Today's headline:

Oil climbs to near $60 on falling US inventories

Long-time readers will recognize the following:

Suppose that 6 years ago, on 2 Jan 2003, the Congress had voted to strike a deal with Saddam:
We'll buy all Iraq's oil for $60/bbl, starting immediately, first payment on 3 Jan 2003.

The going price was ~$30/bbl.
This proposal would have represented about a 100% mark-up over then-current market price.

Would Saddam have accepted the offer?
For a 100% mark-up over market, I'm betting, "yes".
We might even have been able to throw in a couple of provisions:
- Give U.N. weapons inspectors full access.
- Devote at least 1/3 of the $$ to improving infrastructure.
- Act bellicose towards Iran.

Iraq's pre-war production was about 2.5Mn bbl/day. Let's be generous and say it was 3Mn bbl/day.

To date we would have paid (3 Jan 2003 - 12 May 2009):
$417,780,000,000.

... AND: We'd have the oil! - paid for by U.S. taxpayers!!!
We could simply GIVE it to Exxon - their cost would then be limited to transport & refining.
I'm betting this would have some impact on price of gas at the pump.

I'm betting this deal would also have prevented the oil-price bubble of 2007/8 - Iraq's oil would NEVER have been in a war-zone.

Compare & contrast:
- cost of W's Iraq fiasco to date: $668Bn.
- cost of my proposal: $418Bn.

Quite a savings! - We could use that $250Bn difference to help finance the stimulus!