The Special Relationship

Courtesy of the White House: PM Gordon Brown and President George Bush

30/7/07



I wonder did President George W. Bush miss his old friend Tony Blair over the weekend. The Special Relationship has a new start. Brown has seen how getting to close to President Bush hurt the political prospects for Tony Blair, one of the reasons for his early retirement as PM and of course Iraq. On the other hand the Special Relationship between the USA and UK has always had its ups and downs, Roosevelt/ Churchill. Kennedy/MacMillan, Reagan/Thatcher, Bush/Blair worked. On the other hand, Johnson/ Wilson and Clinton/ Major was on the down side, Wilson would not get in to Vietnam, wise move, and Major was a Conservative while Clinton was a Democrat, different views of politics.

It can be argued that Brown and Bush have to much to lose to go different paths, we are in two theatres of War together, Iraq and Afghanistan. It does not matter how they get on in the personal relationship side, what counts is their national interest that will decided Foreign Policy. The UK might want to get out of Iraq but it can not afford to push the Americans away as we might need them as they are the only super power. Europe has the bluster of France but no spine, real trouble and they fold, in the end there is only the USA and the UK that matter, because when the old tea bags hit the fan its the UK and the USA that has to clean up the mess.