To the editor:

An article in the Journal-World (July 3) described the number of troops stationed in Iraq to act as peacekeepers. The United States had 150,000 troops there, by far the largest number of all 15 countries on the chart.

To help me understand this statistic, I searched my files and found an editorial from the Kansas City Star dated April 3. This describes the proven oil reserves in 12 countries. At the top of the list was Saudi Arabia with 262 billion barrels. Iraq was in second place with 114 billion barrels. The United States was in 12th place with 22 billion barrels.

This tells me we are now dependent on a large share of our oil to be imported. According to World Watch Institute, the United States makes up less than 5 percent of world population while consuming 25 percent of the world’s oil. Our oil imports amount to 300 million gallons per day.

Now as I study these oil statistics, I wonder if the financial investments of the Bush-Cheney team has anything to do with our military program in the Middle East, especially Iraq.

Lester C. Marsh,

Lawrence