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Readers Respond to Russ Still

I finished 'The Unbroken Chain' a few weeks back and wanted to say that it is the best story about the US space program I have ever read. Mr. Wendt sounds like a fantastic guy and I really enjoyed getting to know him through your book. I have also been following your Reports from Kuwait and want to thank you for posting them.

Sincerely, Nick Trice

Russell, Saw your website listing on writers.net as it pointed to the reports from Kuwait. Very interesting stuff. Thanks for posting it.

As far as your editorial goes with respect to the war being about oil -- you dismiss this notion very easily. I'm still not sure. You assert that even if we win the war, we would still not own the oil. True. But, I heard on the radio (and have no verification for this fact) that American oil companies have already had meetings with the man that the U.S. plans to put in power once Saddam is overthrown. If true, there is no doubt that they are cooking up a sweet deal. It would be a win-win situation -- they would be giving the new regime a way to pay for reconstruction, and the oil companies would be getting a much better deal on oil.

If that turns out to be true, don't you suppose that the oil companies, with proven ties to the entire Bush administration, are putting heavy pressure on Bush to go in and make it happen? I don't discount the possibility.

Nice photos of planes on your website. How long have you been flying? I used to be an engineer doing flight test at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Mojave. Best job in the world. If it hadn't been for the fact that I became a parent, and the desert isn't the best place in the world to raise a family, I'd still be there.

Cheers, Lura Vernon

Hello Russell Still, I am enjoying your website and the news from Kuwait and other writings. I will probably be ordering a book soon too.

Reading your notes on oil in relation to our conflict with Iraq I had become curious about the current effect on world prices. Just wondering what has been the economic impact of the rise of oil prices worldwide to our American oil investors. Never mind the oil in the Middle East or Venezuela for that matter - some have reaped profits with rising prices and I wonder if some of those people the "oil men" that backed Bush in the election. Is our President getting very rich from the crude oil price rise?

I don't believe this war, if it comes, will be fought for the oil but I think you'll find that while markets suffer and the American economy is troubled there are some sectors that benefit from the situation in the world today. There is an "appearance of impropriety" in those that are profiting on war materials or commodities such as oil if they have some direct link to world events and indirect links to the price rises at the pump in America.

Paul Gilbert

Dear Russ,

Thank you for the wonderful article about us in AutoPILOT magazine. Lots and lots of people we know have called or spoken about it when they've seen us. We really appreciate the good job and nearly everyone commented on how well you wrote. I have read other articles by you too and in every case it strikes me how gifted you are and how easy and flowing your style of writing is. I hope you never tire of writing. We need writer's like you who are careful to report accurately and have an obvious interest in what they are writing about.

Thanks, Rick Urash