In his State of the Union address, President Bush proclaimed that our country is "...addicted to oil." His background of family ties to the petroleum industry underlines the truth of that statement.

Admitting the addiction is the first step in the program. So what should our country do next?

There has been talk of a program on proportion of the Manhattan Project, a WWII all-out effort to develop the atomic bomb before the enemy did.

Back in the 50s, in order to provide emergency evacuation routes in case of a nuclear attack, the Department of Defense funded our Interstate Highway System, and its funding to this day remains mostly federal.

In a similar program, the Pentagon could today employ our vast military resources, materiel and personnel, in an all-out effort to defeat our newly-discovered enemy; our addiction to oil.

Americans who commute to work could be given huge tax breaks for buying 100% electric cars which could be recharged during a day's work, or overnight. Such cars could have easy-access batteries, so that one could be at home charging while the other was in use. Or on the highway, there could be these 'battery stations' where you could swap out your battery for a freshly recharged one. Your cost is then computed by a meter built into the battery.

But it's the old 'Chicken or the Egg Dilemma. Such cars would not sell unless there were thousands of the above-described battery stations at strategic points throughout the highway system. And no gas station is going to go into the battery-swapping business unless there is a profitable market demand.

Our government is currently throwing a billion dollars a day into fighting a war that we arguably would not be in, but for our demand for oil. Far better that that same money go to a less morbid undertaking.

One that would create millions of new jobs.

In view of the President's State of the Union remark, the Country has officially and publicly admitted to its addiction.

Some of the rest of the steps could include:

1. Fund the development of lowest possible cost retrofit conversion of all military and other government vehicles to deep-cycle battery operation.

2. Convert all government vehicles to battery operation - by retrofit and/or new prototype design.

3. Loans and tax breaks to establish battery exchange stations at strategic locations, with an eye toward using solar or wind power for recharging. Existing gasoline outlets could be updated to serve both the government and private vehicles.

3. With battery stations projected to be in operation, encourage the mass-production of battery retrofit kits for existing models; also civilian versions of the newly-designed Hummers, postal vehicles, etc., with low-interest guaranteed loans and/or tax breaks to manufacturers of passenger autos as well as trucks, and other commercial vehicles. And loans or tax-breaks to those who purchase the above.

The technology to implement the above steps exists today. Even if only a part of one of the ideas I have 'run up the flagpole' here gets a salute, it will be a step in the right direction for our Country.

We desperately need to break this addiction -- at all costs. I admit that it'll take some will power -- an effort of Manhattan Project proportion.