Posted on 04/03/2010 6:23:01 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
New report shows England's growing disillusionment with its once greatest ally.
British parliamentarians have finally realized that the "special relationship" between London and Washington no longer exists--if it ever did. The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee has published an unexpectedly lively report urging British diplomats and ministers to be "less deferential" to the U.S.
No more groveling, then. Not that it will stop Prime Minister Gordon Brown from being starry-eyed in the presence of President Obama when he visits the U.S. in a few days' time.
The committee, whose members are about to disband before the general election campaign, is hardly staffed by anti-American hotheads and student rabble-rousers. It is chaired by a stodgy Labour backbencher named Mike Gapes, an Establishment man who is pro-Israel and has never done anything naughty or daring in his political life. It is possible to cast one's eyes on Gapes and feel great, rolling waves of ennui, simply by dint of his predictability. For old Gapes to put his name to a report questioning out biggest diplomatic and military alliance is quite something.
Gapes' senior committee members include Sir Menzies Campbell, who once led Britain's third party, the Liberal Democrats, and was long opposed to the Iraq invasion. Sir Menzies, however, is no Yanqui-bashing Hugo Chávez. His skepticism about the U.S. is put with courtly Caledonian politeness, qualifying phrases and regretful tweaking of the neck. His doubts about the State Department are more than balanced by a Thatcherite member of the committee, Heathcoat-Amory, a keen opponent of the mushrooming bureaucracy of the unelected European Commission. "Eurosceptics" are often the most enthusiastic supporters of the transatlantic alliance because they sense that a strong U.K.-U.S. bond reduces the possibility of us being glurped into a United States of Europe.
In recent months, however, the so-called
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Wonderful photo!
Saving. Thank you.
LOL!!! That was my first thoughts, too, BradyLS!
Reagan and Queen Elizabeth II?
If it ever did?
Sounds like they doubted the relationship before Obama, which means maybe these aren't the pro-American Brits we're looking for.
Or they just can't' bring themselves to blame the O when they had such high hopes for the guy. When your messiah stabs you in the back, who do you blame?
They had an American president who was good for his word, and now they have one who has his own agenda and won't hesitate to sell you out to get it... and in the case of the Brits, he'll positively enjoy selling you out.
He isn't really an American president, after all. He is masquerading as an American president, but he has his own set of loyalties that he has never declared openly but which we are starting to see. He is the visible front man of a larger conspiracy. He has a special relationship, but it isn't with the Brits and it isn't with us either.
You got it.
In this case the improvement will be with Argentina.
For almost a decade I experienced anti-Americanism in the UK. I’ve always wondered why THEY didn’t break off relations with the US.
Forbes is part of the problem. They employ one of Obama’s closest advisors, a money manager. Forbes helped make him rich and he was the seed money for Obama’s campaign. He is very close to Obama. I cancelled Forbes and will never subscribe again.
That's British PM Margaret Thatcher with Reagan.
It does not really matter any more. The left and Labour Party Islamified the UK - it is over. The UK means very little going forward. Sold out by Blair and their newsmedia including Murdoch. The only good guys are the Barclays (Telegrapha & Daily Mail).
Obama is using the same playbook here taht was used in the UK.
Just because there was such a relationship, it's demolition is all the more saddening.
That’s right! Your now groveling to your islamic masters.
Those pix are great. I was recalling Bush throwing baseballs, carrier landings and these great Reagan shots but we have this guy that wobbles around on a flat-tire bicycle with a hitch still attached, he can’t do anything manly at all.
Just the ones that already hated us.
He’s referring to post #22.
That’s the Queen, not Maggie.
Thatcher is with Reagan in #17. In #22, it’s Queen Elizabeth II — or, as we know her here in Canada: Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.
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