The visit of President Obama on Tuesday has not yet inspired rapid British soul
searching about the ‘special relationship’, not by comparison to David Cameron’s trip to America last
July at any rate. After an awkward beginning, the Obama administration has been at pains to stress that America’s alliance with Britain is inviolable even in a changing world. The
administration’s deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, said “there’s no closer ally for the US than the
UK” last week.
But like all close alliances, the two parties have their differences. The Sunday Telegraph reports on a strategic divergence in Libya, where Britain apparently wants greater American leadership and the US is frustrated by the British vetoing targets.
Generalship aside, there are potential diplomatic disagreements also. The Obama administration was very keen for Britain to become more involved in the European Union; Vice-President Biden once described Brussels as the “capital of the Free World”. Those sentiments have quietened but it will be intriguing to see if they re-emerge, especially as Obama appears to have become more assertive since the assassination of Osama bin Laden.
Obama’s sudden confidence was in evidence during his recent speech on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which was remarkable for the boldness of its delivery: David Frum told broadcasters it was a speech that George W Bush might have given, but with the excesses edited out. The Observer says that Obama will urge Cameron to back his policy of brokering a peace based on the 1967 borders with land-swaps. William Hague has done so, lending his support earlier today.
Indeed, Hague said that he had been pushing the United States to make this their position for some time. He does not seem to be exaggerating. Foreign Office officials I’ve spoken to gave the impression that Britain’s policy had always been for a two state solution based on the 1967 borders, with land-swaps. And Former Foreign Secretary David Miliband added to that sense when speaking to Andrew Marr this morning, saying that Obama’s position now reflects the international consensus.
Above all though, reports suggest that Cameron and Obama’s private discussions will be dominated by economic issues.
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