The abuse of U.S. taxpayers' and Iraqi oil revenues witnessed in recent years has undermined the Iraq reconstruction project and put American troops at risk.

Other than taxpayers, we might be one of the few winners in the recent unpleasantness.

What you have just witnessed is the official breakdown of bipartisanship,

We are not utilizing the Iraqi oil for U.S. purposes. We are not asking that the Iraqi oil be used to pay our military expenses. We are asking only that the Iraqi oil be used to rebuild Iraq - that is, to rebuild Iraq for the Iraqi people.

The situations in Nigeria, Iran and Iraq remain uncertain. Fears of supply disruptions from these oil-producing nations remain.

It has been estimated that 80 percent of the oil illegally smuggled out of Iraq under 'oil for food' ended up in the United States,