Blood Money

Lock up some foreigners and you too can receive nukes. That is the very sad message that French President Nicolas Sarkozy has delivered. I wonder if Chirac would have bent so low. Well…probably, he's French too.

"Sarkozy under fire for nuclear deal to secure nurses’ release" by David Charter and Adam Sage for theTimes Online:

Nicolas Sarkozy faced a barrage of criticism yesterday for agreeing to build a nuclear reactor in Libya as concern grew over the price extracted by Colonel Gaddafi for the release of five Bulgarian nurses this week.

Opponents said that the French President had effectively exchanged the nurses and their colleague, a Palestinian doctor, for nuclear technology.

The European Commission and Bulgarian Government were forced to deny yesterday that a ransom had been paid for the release of the six, who claimed that they had been tortured.

Of course no ransom was paid. Here is a list of what Libya will coincidentally receive from all parties involved.

1 million dollars to each of the 438 families whose children were infected.

3.425 million dollars in training and support to the Benghazi Hospital.

13.7 million dollars in future assistance to the Benghazi Hospital.

Bulgaria may forgive 54 million dollars in Libyan debt.

And of course….al-France to provide nuclear technology.

Of course, it’s not ransom.

Here are the French and Bulgarian statements:

Sergei Stanishev, the Bulgarian Prime Minister, said that his country may write off the $54 million debt owed to it by Libya. He added that this would be a humanitarian gesture, not “paying ransom or admitting guilt”.

Claude Guéant, President Sarkozy’s chief of staff, said that the nuclear co-operation deal meant that “a country that respects international rules can obtain civilian nuclear energy”. The President added: “Nuclear power is the energy of the future. If we do not give the energy of the future to the countries of the southern Mediterranean, how will they develop themselves? And if they do not develop, how will we fight terrorism and fanaticism?”

No shame. Since when did Libya, or any Muslim nation show that it respects international law.

If I was French, I would be outraged. Not only because Sarkozy pays a hefty sum in blood money to ransom Bulgarian citizens in order to make his presence felt in the EU and secure major contracts for French companies, but also because Sarkozy is standing by idly while a French citizen suffers in captivity.

Sorry…I forgot. Gilad Shalit is not only French; he’s Jewish too.