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Partnership for the Ages (Op-Ed by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown)
Washington Post ^ | July 30, 2007 | Prime Minister Gordon Brown

Posted on 07/30/2007 12:00:22 AM PDT by RWR8189

Within a few weeks of becoming prime minister of Great Britain, I have come to the United States to affirm the historic partnership of shared purpose that unites our two countries.

Outside observers may think of even great alliances only in narrow, 19th-century terms: treaties of convenience driven forward by nothing more than mutual needs and current interests.

Yet I believe our Atlantic partnership is rooted in something far more fundamental and lasting than common interests or even common history: It is anchored in shared ideals that have for two centuries linked the destinies of our two countries. Winston Churchill spoke of what he called "the joint inheritance" of Britain and America. But he was thinking of more than just the dates, places and institutions of our shared historical experience. The joint inheritance he wrote of was a shared belief in what he called "the great principles of 'freedom and the rights of man.' " Values that started with the British idea of liberty -- from our bill of rights to English common law -- found their most famous expression in the American Declaration of Independence. It led President Ronald Reagan to say that for someone going from Britain to America or from America to Britain it is like "a moment of kinship and homecoming."

It is because ours is a partnership of purpose founded on values that it has lasted.

And when today, at my meeting with President Bush, I speak of a joint inheritance not just of shared history but shared values

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Government; News/Current Events; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: allies; allyuk; britain; gordonbrown; specialrelationship; transcript

1 posted on 07/30/2007 12:00:26 AM PDT by RWR8189
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To: RWR8189

Well, I’ll be.....


2 posted on 07/30/2007 12:24:26 AM PDT by wildcatf4f3 (Hey, this aint like the 1960s, this is like the 1860s.)
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To: RWR8189

What a load.


3 posted on 07/30/2007 12:27:50 AM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (~~~Jihad Fever -- Catch It !~~~ (Backup tag: "Live Fred or Die"))
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To: RWR8189
...the biggest single and immediate challenge the world has to defeat: global terrorism that is hostile and hateful to all the values we share.

Well said!

4 posted on 07/30/2007 2:31:13 AM PDT by Puzzleman ("All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing." -- Edmund Burke)
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To: RWR8189
Separated -- yes -- by an ocean, we are still united by the streams of history and the strengths of our ideals. Standing together on this foundation we will prevail in the greatest struggles of our times.

Well said.

5 posted on 07/30/2007 3:14:10 AM PDT by agere_contra
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To: RWR8189

I don’t trust this extreme socialist. Big Brother has taken
over in the U.K. and Brown wants even more government
involvement.


6 posted on 07/30/2007 8:11:01 AM PDT by upcountryhorseman (An old fashioned conservative)
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