The U.S. Army burned 12 times more fuel per soldier in Iraq than it did in France in 1944 -- nine gallons of fuel per soldier per day in 2004. Another problem is that truck fuel tankers are easy to identify and destroy by enemy guerrillas.

In 2005, the Department of Defense had about 27,000 vehicles in Iraq, and every one of them had poor gas mileage.

Why Iraq Has No Army,

U.S.-France military ties have always been good, except for a brief period when Rumsfeld sought payback over Iraq. And more generally, there's even an effort to mend fences at a political level.

Maybe the ultimate wound is the one that makes you miss the war you got it in.

France and Russia have oil companies and interests in Iraq. They should be told that if they are of assistance in moving Iraq toward decent government, we'll do the best we can to ensure that the new government and American companies work closely with them. If they throw in their lot with Saddam, it will be difficult to the point of impossible to persuade the new Iraqi government to work with them.