Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown is doing the rounds of oil-producing states, cap-in-hand, although he refuses to acknowledge as much. Today is the last leg. He wants money, lots of it, to inject into the International Monetary Fund (IMF), whose reserves are fast depleting. This is due to a growing number of struggling economies - including the Ukraine, Iceland and Hungary - requesting urgent cash bailouts totaling $30 billion thus far. Pakistan is reportedly next in line.

At the same time he is urging Gulf-based sovereign wealth funds to invest in British companies and encouraging oil producers to maintain or increase output in order to keep prices stable and thus alleviate the burden of ordinary consumers trying to survive during a recession.

In recent months Brown has become the West's self-appointed financial wizard and, in truth, Europe and the US have recognized the important role his ideas have played in stabilizing the tottering banking system.

Given Britain's long relationship with the region, Brown and his delegation consisting of Cabinet ministers and business leaders are being warmly received. And it's more than likely countries on his four-day itinerary, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE will be open to helping out. They always are. But the question is what do they get in return for their generosity of spirit?

In the past, the US and Britain have been unhappy about the inflow of Arab investment. The Dubai Ports debacle is one example and not everyone in Britain is celebrating Abu Dhabi's swoop on the Manchester City football club or Barclay's Bank, which was criticized for snubbing government money preferring to tout for investors from the Gulf.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has even suggested that foreign raiders should be pushed out of the game by European wealth funds.

There is such arrogance about these people, don't you think? They don't really like Arabs buying up bits of London or Paris or New York but when their economies have gone down the tubes, they turn up in this region with a begging bowl and pretend they're doing the Gulf a favor by accepting its money.

In the meantime, they are proudly and openly doing everything in their power to diminish Gulf economies by developing alternative energy supplies such as nuclear and wind (Britain) while if George W. Bush or Sarah Palin had their way it would be "drill baby drill" in Alaska.

Staying on the subject of oil, Gordon Brown had the temerity to tick off OPEC for cutting production after prices dove due to falling demand caused by the economic crisis. On second thoughts, "ticking off" is too mild a term. He went ballistic calling OPEC's decision "absolutely scandalous". When one remembers that Britain's tax on petrol is arguably the highest in the world, Brown's outrage sounds hollow.

Referring to OPEC as a manipulative cartel, he stressed that Britain should not be dependent on unstable regimes and said he was willing to "challenge the power of the cartels by our ability to diversify" by moving to a low-carbon economy reliant on nuclear power stations. In other words, he is telling OPEC "while we have no option to buy from you we expect you to keep prices low but we can't wait for the day when we can tell you bye-bye".

As is evident from Brown's tour, Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbors wield an incredible amount of global clout. This area can literally make or break economies, yet what does it do with this powerful leverage? As far as we know, not much.

In January 1985, the wealthy Egyptian-born owner of Harrods and the Paris Ritz, Mohamed Al-Fayed helped Britain's former Prime Minister 'Iron Lady' Margaret Thatcher by persuading his friend the Sultan of Brunei to prevent sterling from sinking. But, in the end, all he received in return was to be treated by the establishment as a pariah who didn't even deserve the British passport he had long coveted.

As the saying goes, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Western countries certainly follow that diktat. Every time they hand out money it comes with strings. Isn't it time that Arabs followed suit? If they don't use their current wealth and power to further their political influence around the world, now down the road, there may be less and less opportunity to do so.

If the West wants massive Arab investment, cash loans and cheap oil then these benefits should come at a price. Expanding Israeli settlements, serious movements toward a Palestinian state, withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq, the cessation of illegal US and Israeli incursions into Syria as well as a nuclear-free region are just a few of the topics that should be on the table.

Arabs may not have a nuclear deterrent but they do possess black gold and cash reserves in abundance, which if withdrawn would have a greater global effect than almost any bomb.

These precious commodities should be given only in exchange for justice, an end to double standards as well as Western arrogance, neoimperialism, and exceptionalism. Arab leaders should grasp their rightful place in the international power hierarchy and start asking for what they want. If they don't ask they won't get. Western powers should be taught that they can't take whatever they want on their own terms forever and now is the time to pay up.

(Sierra12th@yahoo.co.uk)