Posted on 03/17/2005 3:43:29 PM PST by Kaslin
KUWAIT CITY (AP) - The days when a U.S. Army truck could fill up for free at a gas station in this oil-rich state are coming to an end. Kuwait's energy minister said Thursday that U.S. troops are going to have to start paying for fuel.
In a gift that must have saved the Pentagon a fortune, Kuwait has not charged the U.S. military for fuel since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Tens of thousands of American Humvees, trucks and armored vehicles have rolled through the country and across the desert border into Iraq during the past two years.
"But now after the Iraqi elections ... we have to create a mechanism for payment," the energy minister, Sheik Ahmed Fahd Al Ahmed Al Sabah, told reporters.
Kuwait and the United States have agreed in principle on the matter, but the prices and other aspects are still to be worked out, he said.
The minister did not say when the new system would start and he did not give other details.
There was no reaction from the U.S. Embassy on Thursday.
Kuwait has been a major ally of Washington since a U.S.-led coalition liberated it from a seven-month Iraqi occupation in the 1991 Gulf War.
The country was the launch pad for the war that toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in April 2003, and it is still a logistics station for the U.S. troops serving there.
Some 18,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Kuwait, and thousands more are regularly rotated in and out of Iraq.
Iraq's 275-seat National Assembly, which was elected Jan. 30, was sworn in on Wednesday.
That was an extremely generious gift while it lasted.
Perhaps we should send them a bill for liberating their country from Saddam's invasion in 1991.
We should leave and invite Iran to take it. Watch how quickly the ingrates change their mind. Most would be dead after the first Gulf War if it wasn't for the U.S.
Fair enough.
This mentality sends me over the top. I'd re-ignite their drilling systems and tell 'em to call John Effin Kerry to tell the to F-off.
I don't see a problem.
It can't be free forever I guess. The free gas must have saved us billions.
Actually, we did.
The Kuwait and Saudi governments paid 100% of the actual dollar cost of Desert Storm in cash. In fact, as an enterprise, the U.S. actually made a margin (not necessarily a profit) on the cash outlay of that war. Just a little FYI for the uninformed.
I agree and nothing is free forever
You got that right. Ungrateful SOB's. They wouldn't have a country, much less oil if not for the US.
According to Yo-Yo's link, they're still $7B short.
"Perhaps we should send them a bill for liberating their country from Saddam's invasion in 1991."
My thought exactly.
"The Kuwait and Saudi governments paid 100% of the actual dollar cost of Desert Storm in cash."
Do you have a source for this? I find it hard to believe.
Good find
Thanks for the link, I didn't know that myself.
What is wrong with the US paying for the oil we use?
It was a wonderful gesture, but yes, it needs to come to an end. The USA should always pay it's way. Kuwait owes us no more than we owe them, and that is friendship.
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