Immaculate Preemption

IN the course of the last 40 years, France has done more damage to the Middle East than any other country, with the possible exception of the Soviet Union. Successive French governments have had no scruples of any kind in their effort to extract political clout and petrodollars from the Arabs.

French policy toward Saddam Hussein is a perfect case in point. The moment he began his ascent to absolute power in Iraq in the 1970s, the ingratiation and the profiteering began. Saddam wanted a nuclear bomb and made no secret of it. In 1975, he visited Paris. Jacques Chirac, then French prime minister, was a man after his own heart, sharing the view that power and money have nothing to do with moral considerations. Chirac happily agreed to build Saddam a nuclear reactor at al-Tuwaitha, not far from Baghdad. In view of Iraq’s huge oil deposits it was absurd for the French to pretend that the reactor was for civil purposes. In any case, they made sure to provide the materials for a bomb. It was of no concern that they were certain to be disturbing the peace. After all, it was only the lives of Arabs, Iranians, and Israelis that they were putting at risk.

About the Author

David Pryce-Jones

David Pryce-Jones (1936–2025) was a British author and commentator and served as a senior editor of National Review.

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IN the course of the last 40 years, France has done more damage to the Middle East than any other country, with the possible exception of the Soviet Union. Successive French governments have had no scruples of any kind in their effort to extract political clout and petrodollars from the Arabs.

French policy toward Saddam Hussein is a perfect case in point. The moment he began his ascent to absolute power in Iraq in the 1970s, the ingratiation and the profiteering began. Saddam wanted a nuclear bomb and made no secret of it. In 1975, he visited Paris. Jacques Chirac, then French prime minister, was a man after his own heart, sharing the view that power and money have nothing to do with moral considerations. Chirac happily agreed to build Saddam a nuclear reactor at al-Tuwaitha, not far from Baghdad. In view of Iraq’s huge oil deposits it was absurd for the French to pretend that the reactor was for civil purposes. In any case, they made sure to provide the materials for a bomb. It was of no concern that they were certain to be disturbing the peace. After all, it was only the lives of Arabs, Iranians, and Israelis that they were putting at risk.