Sarkozy Signs Deals To Build Nuclear Power Stations In The Gulf

It appears that the cheese-eating surrender monkeys are now getting better at capitalism than the Americans… Maybe someone should tell the greatest power in the world that business and politics don’t mix.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy toured the Middle East just a few days after George W Bush. However, while Mr Bush was obsessed with trying to counter Iran’s influence, Mr Sarkozy was there to strike deals that would enrich mother France… and he was very successful.

The French president has signed an agreement to build nuclear power stations in the Gulf – and this deal is expected to secure revenues of around £3 billion for French businesses. This follows a recent £6 billion deal with the Chinese.

Of course, the American trip also had some business involved. During the trip it was agreed to sell to Saudi Arabia £10 billion pounds of guns, tanks, missiles and other hardware which can be used to kill people … It’s all in the name of counteracting the influence of Iran, you see.

Now, of course, you could argue the US weapons deal is great business… but I think it is not. It is more of a high-political decision, with business consequences. Now, political decisions to sell weapons of war have a tendency to backfire. Just look at the history of Afghanistan…

Population growth is going nuclear

I have been talking about the Middle East going nuclear for quite some time – so it’s good to see it actually happening. At first thought this could be like selling sand to the Arabs, but it is not. It is a logical move. Let me explain why…

The population of the Middle East is very young. They have the opposite demographic issues that are seen in countries in the west. Indeed, here are some population figures for Saudi Arabia from the CIA World Factbook (they may be a couple of years out of date, but they still make the point):

0-14 years: 42.3% (male 5,245,413; female 5,028,595)
15-64 years: 54.8% (male 7,700,121; female 5,622,099)
65 years and over: 2.9% (male 393,173; female 304,443)

Compare this with the age structure of the UK from the same source:

0-14 years: 18.3% (male 5,621,590; female 5,350,319)
15-64 years: 66.1% (male 20,067,529; female 19,626,123)
65 years and over: 15.6% (male 3,987,457; female 5,441,630)

The population in the Middle East is very, very young. Imagine what is going to happen when these youngsters grow up and start having families… the population is going to explode. And this situation is going to be repeated across the whole Middle East…

Now, I don’t know if any of you have ever been to a desert, but the most important thing is water… YOU CAN’T DRINK OIL…

Water is more important than oil

In order to provide enough drinking water for their population these countries are going to have to decide now how they are going to do it… That’s where nuclear power comes in.

Nuclear plants can be used to both desalinate water and generate electricity. It is an elegant solution. But what makes it even more attractive, with the oil price set to remain high, is that each country would then be able to export a greater proportion of its oil and generate that important foreign currency.

The big story with nuclear in the Middle East is Iran. It is obvious why the country wants a nuclear programme. In June, the government was forced to withdraw its petrol subsidy and introduced fuel rationing – which didn’t go down very well at all. The subsidy was basically threatening to bankrupt the government.

The problem was refining capacity. Iran does not have enough and it has been forced to import refined product. As we all know, this is very expensive… The argument to go nuclear is compelling…

The problem is that the country is run by a power-thirsty nut job who adores the limelight. He postures for the international media like Abby Titmuss postures for low-brow magazines. US vested interests would have us believe that Iran is well down the line with a nuclear weapons programme, but I am not sure I believe that is the case. The American establishment has always needed a bogeyman to sell its policies at home. However, I understand the need for caution on this issue because I would not like to see nuclear weapons in this nut job’s hands.

Notwithstanding the Iranian issue, which is undoubtedly complex, I really believe the Middle East is going to be one of the major places that nuclear business will be done. Unfortunately, the UK will not really be in the position to take part in this petrodollar gravy train - whereas France looks set to benefit big time. Marianne must be heaving her ample bosom and giving a wry Gallic smile. Oh la la…

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