Remember how some folks thought we could use Iraqi oil profits to fund the war? Must’ve been a swell proposition because that’s how it’s being funded — by crooks funneling profits to the insurgents. From this morning’s New York Times:

The sea of oil under Iraq is supposed to rebuild the nation, then make it prosper. But at least one-third, and possibly much more, of the fuel from Iraq’s largest refinery here is diverted to the black market, according to American military officials. Tankers are hijacked, drivers are bribed, papers are forged and meters are manipulated — and some of the earnings go to insurgents who are still killing more than 100 Iraqis a week.

“It’s the money pit of the insurgency,” said Capt. Joe Da Silva, who commands several platoons stationed at the refinery.

You know how the saying goes, there’s no power on earth stronger than a bad idea whose time has come.