Dear Editor,

Yes, the war is personal for the Bush family. According to Library of Congress Country Studies (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html), when Saddam Hussein reconsolidated the Iraqi monarchy in 1972-4, he nationalized the natural resources of his country and ousted Standard Oil and Shell Oil.

According to “George Bush: the unauthorized biography,” by Webster G. Tarpley and Anton Chaitkin (http://www. tarpley.net/bushb.htm), in 1980 as Bush senior became vice president, he handed the family fortune, in a blind trust, over to William Stamps Farish III, an heir and CEO of Standard Oil. (The Ten Richest People in Houston, in Houston Post Magazine, March 11, 1984.) Standard soon changed to Exxon, then Exxon Mobil.

I would think that previous ownership of record in Iraqi oil would hold sway when the oil concessions are redistributed after occupation. What might the value of three-quarters of the world’s known petroleum reserves be? Plenty, though the oil isn’t nearly as valuable as the control of the resource is.

This was demonstrated by Enron in 2001 when power-traders in Oregon congested the power grid in California (Wired Magazine 3-03, Skunk works). According to a suit brought forward by the state of California against former Enron traders, this cost the state over $3 billion.

Imagine what can be done with control of three-quarters of the world’s oil on a worldwide market. The Bushes of the world will be fabulously wealthy, beyond anyone’s imagination.

Once the United States is entrenched in Iraq, Iran will be practically surrounded and the next “greatest threat” will be identified.

Thank you for your attention.

John Hoffmann

Carbondale