Price controls can be funny - Gertzfile
Dateline: December 26, 2003

Quoting: Getting gasoline in Baghdad is a game of waiting and conniving. And once again, it's up to the American soldier to maintain order as thousands of Iraqis stand or sit in line at various pumps. A couple of anecdotes we received from the field.

•At one station this week, hundreds of Iraqis lined up for fuel in one of the gas shortage's worst days. Everyone carried some kind of container. A soldier observed one guy cutting in line and motioned for him to go to the back. The man retreated, only to re-emerge at another point and jump in front again. The soldier intercepted him and he walked away. When it happened a third time, in this instance in front of elderly people, the soldier took away his 5-gallon can and drove his bayonet through it several times. The crowd loved it. Unquote.

[...For more funny anecdotes, continue reading "Tales from the Pump."]