British Civil Servant

v2 Chapter 982: Take advantage of strength

It is not that Charles de Gaulle or Georges Piedule were uncomfortable with the presence of the US military in France.

It's the fact that all classes from top to bottom in France have quite a few criticisms. This is not a rhetoric, and the unity of the free world can be overwhelmed.

If the U.S. troops in France are not expelled, the Algerian issue will be handicapped. A group of independent leaders of Algeria can enter the United States without restrictions. This is not only known to the United Kingdom, but France also has its own intelligence department, which is clear.

France knows more about suspicious allies than the United Kingdom. Since Charles de Gaulle came to power, he has already expelled foreign troops from the country as a must.

"Send a memorandum to London and Washington," de Gaulle said to his old friend Georges Pidour, "so to speak, now that NATO is no longer adapted to the basic security needs of the whole free world, and France's responsibilities have expanded to all parts of the world, so It is proposed to establish a council composed of the United States, Britain and France in the NATO organization to hold the decision-making power on world political and strategic issues."

This memorandum was immediately sent from Paris, but at this time the British Foreign Secretary was in the Middle East. Although it has been judged that there is little hope of resolving the Iranian issue, it is still necessary to discuss it after a long visit.

Because the Foreign Secretary was meeting with Iranian Prime Minister Mossadegh, this memorandum from London was first seen by Alan Wilson, the Permanent Undersecretary, and at a glance he understood what was going on, "Oh, to withdraw from NATO already."

Since Charles de Gaulle came to power, this is a certainty. France at least thinks that it is no worse than the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is the deputy commander of NATO and the secretary general of NATO. Then France is treated the same as Belgium and the Netherlands? There are indeed some that are unacceptable to the French.

"Secretary, what did this telegram say?" Dixon didn't hear the muttering of his immediate boss, his voice was too low.

"Oh, it's nothing major. A memorandum. After the minister has finished talking, we will inform the minister of the memorandum." Alan Wilson looked indifferent and tried to describe the matter as lightly as possible.

In fact, he is still calculating how much of the world's oil reserves the Persian Gulf countries that the United Kingdom can still control will still occupy the world's oil reserves after losing Iran. The big powers in the Middle East are, of course, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

But now Saudi Arabia does not have the status of future generations, and the gold standard to stabilize the petrodollar has not appeared. All countries are on the gold standard. To put it simply, Saudi Arabia is currently in a situation where there is no way to betray the country.

At present, the United States chooses to support the target, because of the factors of the gold standard, not only must it have oil, but also its own strength is not too bad.

Saudi Arabia is a weak chicken in the eyes of the United States. On the contrary, as the successor of the ancient Persian country, Iran has a population of more than 20 million, which is more powerful than Saudi Arabia, which has less than 4 million people. Iran not only has a lot of oil, but also has self-sufficiency. It is a good helper to support.

With such a small population, Saudi Arabia's military strength is not very good, and the area is large but it is all desert, which greatly reduces its value in the eyes of the United States.

And because of the Israeli factor, the weighty countries in the Arab countries, whether it is Syria, which is pro-Soviet in the form of a republic, or Egypt and Iraq, whose monarchy is inclined to the United Kingdom, have in common that they are hostile to Israel.

Even if the United States supports Saudi Arabia, it has no say in the Arab world. Instead, it is better to support Iran, which has a large land area, good basic conditions and a population of more than 20 million.

Compared with Iran, even Saudi Arabia, which has a low status in the Arab world, is really of little value in the eyes of the United States.

But Saudi Arabia is unimportant compared to Iran. It does not mean that Saudi Arabia can arbitrarily choose from the United Kingdom. Saudi Arabia has already voted for the United States. If the United Kingdom wants to keep its existing interests, the United States may not find the opportunity, and the United States will absolutely not do anything against Saudi Arabia.

If Iran cannot turn back this time, the two largest countries in the Middle East, the UK, will all lose their influence.

But even so, Alan Wilson, who has powerful key political reserves in later generations, almost immediately remembered the oil reserves and proportions of countries in the Middle East, which are among the largest oil depots in the world in the Persian Gulf. Saudi Arabia is, of course, the unquestioned No. 1, and Iran is the shaky No. 2.

In fact, Iran's oil reserves are not far behind other countries, not much larger than Iraq, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

Why did Saddam annex Kuwait later? On the one hand, Iraq was really overwhelmed by its foreign debt.

Another aspect is a bigger goal. Iraq plus Kuwait has oil reserves on par with Saudi Arabia. Iraq also occupies two river basins with much better natural conditions than Saudi Arabia. After annexing Kuwait, Iraq, which is already a power in the Arab world , waving the big stick of oil, much more powerful than Saudi Arabia.

Plus the pocket emirates of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain that do not yet exist but are all under British protection.

Even if it loses Iranian control, the remaining Persian Gulf oil controlled by the United Kingdom can still satisfy its imperial strategy.

Alan Wilson is even calculating the cost of mining. It is well known that Saudi Arabia's mining cost is extremely low. If it wants to form a competition, ordinary countries are not Saudi Arabia's opponents. Taking into account the distance issue, in fact, Libya can compete with Saudi Arabia. The direct mining cost is not Saudi Arabia's opponent, but Libya is close to Europe, and there is no need to pay the toll of the Suez Canal.

Kuwait and the UAE can compete with Saudi Arabia, but Iraq cannot compete with Saudi Arabia in terms of cost. As for the cost of mining in Iran, it is still above these countries.

After all, the heritage of the British Empire is rich, and Alan Wilson supported his wife and discovered oil reserves in Libya. After calculating the cards in his hand, as long as he can keep the remaining existing achievements, even if he loses Iran, he can still implement the strategy in his mind.

"If you use this as an excuse to kidnap the European market and connect it with Iraq, Kuwait, and the emirate to build markets and energy sources? That's not a bad thing."

In the eyes of other diplomats, the corners of his boss's mouth twitched, he paced back and forth in a dignified manner, and his face was solemn, as if he was thinking hard about the future of the British Empire.

Use the Iranian oil crisis as an excuse to push for the creation of a small OPEC, and he already has a plausible reason to offer advice whenever the foreign secretary asks.

Time passed little by little, and Harold Wilson finally ended the meeting and walked out of the conference room. Iranian Prime Minister Mossadegh followed closely with a solemn expression on his face. Obviously, the talks did not go well.

"We have lost Iran," Harold Wilson said in a low voice. "This is contempt for Britain."

Alan Wilson looked at Mossadegh, the Iranian Prime Minister did not refute, apparently tacitly tacitly acquiesced in Harold Wilson's words as the truth, and said, "Prime Minister Mossadegh, maybe you think this is a good thing for Iran .But it's not that easy, the humiliation of the UK this time, you will know the consequences in the future."

"Sir, is it a mistake for Iran to take back its own interests?" Mosaddegh asked rhetorically after listening.

"We already know who is supporting Iran. It goes without saying that Alan Wilson is not trying to cheat Mosaddegh. MI6 has already made a judgment that behind Iran is a grown-up white-eyed wolf. .

At this point, no matter what Pahlavi or Mosaddegh thought, since Iran has made up its mind, Alan Wilson has become less polite.

Although the loss was the competitor of his wife's industry, BP, it was also the property of the British Empire. From the perspective of safeguarding the interests of the United Kingdom, he always had to say two words.

"Do the British still think it's the age of imperialism?"

"It now appears that King Pahlavi presided over the prime minister's decision to reset the oil allocation, which is a wise move."

"You have to think so, and I don't deny it." Alan Wilson looked at the Iranian diplomat who showed patriotism and said condescendingly, "It will never be the case, and Iran don't think it will get anything, Britain After all, there are only 50 million people, and the United States and the Soviet Union are three times the population of the United Kingdom. The Iranians feel that they have suffered a big loss in supporting the United Kingdom, and they will be better off with a fart caregiver?"

"If you give less, it will not make a country with a larger population feel the benefits. If you give too much, can you bear it in Iran? The population is constantly growing~lightnovelpub.net~ Countries with a population of several million can sell their resources. Well done, but definitely not Iran."

"After you go back, think about it carefully. Is this the truth? Can a country with a population of tens of millions give everything to oil? How much benefit are you going to give to your so-called allies?"

Alan Wilson always spoke with data, and it was impossible to refute for a while. Mossadegh stopped the argument and said, "I have explained Iran's attitude. Of course, we do not want to be hostile to the United Kingdom, but it involves Iran. In the national interest of the country, there should be more competitors, rather than a monopoly of one country. Iran’s withdrawal of oil will be a public call for cooperation, and any country can sign a contract with Iran.”

"The UK has made Iran's attitude clear." Harold Wilson nodded deeply and stopped talking.

The talks between the UK and Iran broke up unhappily. After the Iranians left, Harold Wilson sat down and said that he would take tough measures to safeguard the interests of the British Empire. The election was coming soon, and the Labour Party could not back down.

Alan Wilson, who had already counted the cards in his hand in the past few days, said in a timely manner, "Dear Minister, a telegram has just been transferred from London, maybe it can help us, because there has been a change in France. "

"Oh?" Harold Wilson frowned, read the memo about France sharing NATO leadership, and finally shook his head, "How is that possible?"

"How is it impossible, even if we don't stop it, Washington is not willing. Why does the UK want to be this villain? MI6 has determined that the troublemaker this time is our suspicious ally."

Alan Wilson folded his hands and whispered in an irrelevant attitude, "It would not be better for the United States to say no."