Nine people, including five American soldiers were killed today in and around Fallujah, a town near Baghdad that has been the source of terrorism from the beginning of the occupation.
So why is Fallujah (search) still a problem?
Thugs actually dragged bodies through the streets there in scenes similar to Somalia. This town is in the Sunni triangle and was a Saddam stronghold.
U.S. Marines are now in charge of the area and it is time for drastic action. All citizens of Fallujah must be evacuated and every building searched for weapons. If there is resistance, no more Fallujah ... it must be neutralized one way or the other.
Sometimes I wonder about the American will to win. This area is dangerous to U.S. soldiers. Everybody knows it. Why isn't harsh action being taken? Why isn't a message being sent? We'll analyze the situation with our military experts in a moment.
On the OPEC (search) front ... once again America and the world is getting hosed by this greedy outfit. We never seem to learn with these people and it's our own fault.
Saudi Arabia is nobody's friend. It is one of the richest kingdoms on earth, but is cutting back oil production so it can make even more money at the expense of the world economy.
I mean, enough is enough. The Bush administration and the Clinton administration before it did absolutely nothing to develop a sane energy policy. We do not conserve fuel in America. We buy big gas guzzlers and guzzle all day long.
We have lagged on developing fuel cells that could power vehicles, because the big oil companies don't want that. We have failed to impose fuel standards on vehicles because the auto companies don't want that.
So your wallet is lighter and the economy suffers. We remain hostage to OPEC. How dumb is this?
Drilling in the Arctic is a stopgap. High-tech development and conserving fossil fuels are the most effective weapons against the OPEC crowd.
"Talking Points" wants America to get tougher and smarter. When a town unites in killing U.S. soldiers, that town should pay a price.
When an oil cartel unites in hosing the world, that cartel should pay a price.
But we don't do it. And that's our fault.
And that's "The Memo."
The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day
As part of our election coverage, we are going to tell you which powerful and famous people are rooting for whom.
John Kerry collected some big money last night in Hollywood, more than three million dollars from people like James Taylor, Larry David, Leonardo DiCaprio (search), Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner, Meg Ryan and of course ... Barbra Streisand.
Nothing wrong with supporting your guy. It's not ridiculous at all... and we can't wait to tell you about the big Hollywood-for-Bush fundraiser.
But we may have to wait ... a loooong time.
--You can watch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 & 11p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com
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