Since President Barack Obama took office, the U.S.-U.K. “special relationship” has been in free fall. The first manifestation of this decline, shortly after the President’s inauguration, was Obama’s sudden return of the Winston Churchill bust from the Oval Office, loaned to the U.S. by the British people as a gesture of solidarity after 9/11. A series of incidents followed. Now, the British even see the Obama administration’s treatment of BP in the wake of the Gulf oil spill in this light. Rough periods in the relationship are nothing new, but this one is different and likely will prove very difficult to undo, if it isn’t already too late. (More)
Filed under: National Security, The Presidency, BP, breech of protocol, British people, Bush's invasion of Iraq, David Brown, Guff oil spill, Harold Macmillan, HMS Resolute, involvement in Afghanistan, John F. Kennedy, Margaret Thatcher, nuclear weapons development, Oval Office, Prime Minister, relic, Resolute Desk, Robert MacNamara, Ronald Reagan, Skybold crisis, Tony Blair, U.S.-U.K. cooperation, U.S.-U.K. special relationship, United Kingdom, Winston Churchill bust
This deterioration of a very long term relationship with our strongest ally (The UK) was started long before the BP oil spill. As horrible as that disaster is, it is not a good reason in itself to distort it as being an attack on America. Since Obama has taken office, our country has also chose to turn our back on Israel. I too believe that the presidents roots (wherever they are?)possibly plays into the picture. Obama took full advantage of a poor economy under a republican presidency to mesmerize the people with the full help and support of the liberal media, hollywood, other countries (some that hate us), and a blame Bush campaign that bought him enough time following his inaugeration to take our country on a spending spree that our great grandchildren won’t be able to pay for. The war in Afganistan is now Obama’s war, but its losses and failures are hardly mentioned in the media compared to the way it was played up daily under Bush. I think there is a definate effort to shun our allys, drive us deeper into debt, control every aspect of our lives, take over our large private industries, and divide the classes into upper/lower and eliminate the middle. Call it what you want, but I know what I call it and it begins with an “S”. The only bright spot is that a lot of the liberal sheep are now feeling the pain of their vote, even though they are to proud to admit it, and it will show in the next election. Hopfully it will 2012.
Great perspective and not a topic that really hit my radar. It is critical that we point out the sometimes subtle – sometimes not so subtle nuances of diplomacy and the consequences of this presidential “statement.” At this point, the US needs to carefully nuture the relationships with all of the friends that we can muster. It can certainly be a tough balancing act but true to physics, “A body set in motion will stay in motion” – until interdicted by another force. It was not necessary that this be put in motion at this time – it was shortsighted. Lord knows how we struggle to communicate between our own agencies and when the doors start to close on information and intelligence exchange with our closest allies and friends – God help us. Trust is built over time and quite fragile. Now is not the time, to make political statements that can create a personal affront that diminish our time proven friendships and relationships. I am all for building new relationships on a global basis – it is absolutely necessary and critical to bust out of our sometimes ignorant and arrogant ways on the global stage but not by excluding our golden friends.