Oil prices realize bin Laden's dreams

Osama bin Laden once explained that during the reign of King Faisal, the United States paid only 70 cents per barrel of oil.

In the 1973 oil crisis, the Muslim nations exerted their economic power using oil as a weapon, and prices began to rise to $40 per barrel.

When the oil prices leveled off to $36, the United States pressured Gulf countries to increase their production to lower prices.

Bin laden labeled this "the great swindle."

Doing basic math, bin Laden explained that from $36, the price was lowered to $9 per barrel. He related the retail price at $144 per barrel, or a loss of $135.

He multiplied $135 by the 30 million barrels produced in the Islamic world daily, totaling a loss of $4.5 billion per day for Muslim nations.

He broke down the loss over 25 years to $30,000 for every Muslim man, woman, and child.

Back in the late '90s, retail gas prices were around $1 per gallon in the U.S., but roughly $1 per liter (about $4 per gallon) in Europe, i.e., close to that $144 per barrel price quoted by Bin Laden.

Back then, the French government made more money from gas taxes than Saudi Arabia made in oil income, and the same held true for Germany, the U.K. or Italy. Most of the money paid for gas in Europe went to taxes.

Today, we still pay taxes, but the share going to the oil-producing countries has skyrocketed, and bin Laden's dream has come true: Oil does cost $144 per barrel.

So bin Laden's mission was accomplished beyond his wildest expectations.

It is as if his second attack of the World Trade Center was delayed until the United States elected (in this case SCOTUS appointed) an idiot president who would overreact.

McCain is cut from the same cloth as Bush and is already echoing the same poor judgment.

John D. Morgan

Arlington Heights