Wrinkles in the special relationship
November 30th 2006 06:11
How special is the special relationship between the US and Britain? Two views from different ends of political spectrum.
The issue came to the fore when a State Department official with a loose mouth said that Britain had no influence in the US. Kendall Myers, a British policy expert in the US said that he was a little ashamed at Mr.Bush's treatment of Mr.Blair and "we typically ignore them and take no notice — it’s a sad business”.
The comments drew howls from The Times which thought it was fit for an editorial and declared the special relationship to be very very special.
The State Department has been fragging US leaders recently. What with a State Department official declaring that US has been arrogant in Iraq and being nominated for an award by the Department for the same remarks. This could be another example in what is becoming a trend. The TImes itself says that it's symbol of a department that's losing heavily in influence over White House.
It's kind of ironic to claim that Britain itself has no influence on the US during a time when both the allies have displaced a bonding uncommon in modern times. The heartburn comes from the fact that a necoconservative Republican president could get a neo-liberal Labour Prime Minister to agree with him on Iraq but there's been no further quid pro quo. Tony Blair has been trying to impose a lot of suicidal ideas from global warming, Kyoto protocol and aid to Africa and use his leverage to influence a person who doesn't believe in any of them.
Actually, this "Tony Blair has no influence" is a trope that's been used to pressurise Bush to accept an unspeakably idiotic agenda. After all, Bush is adopting this Iraq Study Group advice to talk to Syria and Iran is coming from Britain.
Coming back to Myers remarks that Britain's bridge between Europe and America is falling, who the hell needs that bridge? A lot of Americans have given up on Europe. For the South-East side of Asia and Australia, Europe is a bully which is threatening trade.For Africa, it is place to immigrate illegally. For South American sundry leftists, it is like a coffee bar to hang out with your latest intellectual glorifier. It would be a good thing if Britain gave up it's futile attempt to lead Europe.
On the other hand, there are the likes of Melanie Phillips who on the other hand are warning America not to believe that Britain is on their side uncritically. Except for Tony Blair, Britian is going on a suicidal drive that has resulted in a death of national values and the rise of Islamism and that it is America which should be concerned about Britain's downward slide.
The issue came to the fore when a State Department official with a loose mouth said that Britain had no influence in the US. Kendall Myers, a British policy expert in the US said that he was a little ashamed at Mr.Bush's treatment of Mr.Blair and "we typically ignore them and take no notice — it’s a sad business”.
The comments drew howls from The Times which thought it was fit for an editorial and declared the special relationship to be very very special.
The State Department has been fragging US leaders recently. What with a State Department official declaring that US has been arrogant in Iraq and being nominated for an award by the Department for the same remarks. This could be another example in what is becoming a trend. The TImes itself says that it's symbol of a department that's losing heavily in influence over White House.
It's kind of ironic to claim that Britain itself has no influence on the US during a time when both the allies have displaced a bonding uncommon in modern times. The heartburn comes from the fact that a necoconservative Republican president could get a neo-liberal Labour Prime Minister to agree with him on Iraq but there's been no further quid pro quo. Tony Blair has been trying to impose a lot of suicidal ideas from global warming, Kyoto protocol and aid to Africa and use his leverage to influence a person who doesn't believe in any of them.
Actually, this "Tony Blair has no influence" is a trope that's been used to pressurise Bush to accept an unspeakably idiotic agenda. After all, Bush is adopting this Iraq Study Group advice to talk to Syria and Iran is coming from Britain.
Coming back to Myers remarks that Britain's bridge between Europe and America is falling, who the hell needs that bridge? A lot of Americans have given up on Europe. For the South-East side of Asia and Australia, Europe is a bully which is threatening trade.For Africa, it is place to immigrate illegally. For South American sundry leftists, it is like a coffee bar to hang out with your latest intellectual glorifier. It would be a good thing if Britain gave up it's futile attempt to lead Europe.
On the other hand, there are the likes of Melanie Phillips who on the other hand are warning America not to believe that Britain is on their side uncritically. Except for Tony Blair, Britian is going on a suicidal drive that has resulted in a death of national values and the rise of Islamism and that it is America which should be concerned about Britain's downward slide.
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