End Nears for 'Special Relationship' of UK and US

[Guest FroggyOne2]

Newsmax - End Nears for 'Special Relationship' of UK and US

The "special relationship" is not so special any more.

That's the word from a committee of lawmakers in Britain who say the phrase coined by Winston Churchill to describe the country's close ties with the United States should no longer be used because it fails to reflect a true picture of relations between the two countries.

Parliament's Foreign Affairs Select Committee said the government should be "less deferential" toward the Americans and take a more realistic view of the relationship. In a report published Sunday, the committee said that, while ties with America remain close, it is important to recognize that Britain is just one of many countries with important U.S. links.

"The overuse of the phrase by some politicians and many in the media serves simultaneously to devalue its meaning and to raise unrealistic expectations about the benefits the relationship can deliver to the U.K.," the committee said in its report.

Churchill used the phrase shortly after World War II to describe the shared cultural, political and historic ties that helped defeat Nazi Germany, and the fears of the looming Cold War.

But in recent years, the timeworn expression has often been derided — suggesting that Britain was subservient to the United States. That was particularly the case in what was seen as Britain's unquestioning support of former President George W. Bush during the Iraq war.

"The perception that the British government was a subservient 'poodle' to the U.S. administration leading up to the period of the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath is widespread both among the British public and overseas," the report said. "This perception, whatever its relation to reality, is deeply damaging to the reputation and interests of the U.K."

The committee suggested Britain should be more pragmatic in U.K.-U.S. relations, and accept it may not enjoy the same sway on Washington as in the past.

"Over the longer-term, the U.K. is unlikely to be able to influence the U.S. to the extent it has in the past," said the committee chairman, lawmaker Mike Gapes.

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I have been waiting for a while now to hear this.. it is not enough that the "O" man has pissed off the French.. I knew it wouldn't be long that GB would be leading to being more aloof with this country..

[Mark@Sea]

Hey, Chavez and Castro love him, so it's not a total loss...

It's worse.

[Guest That Guy]

LMAO!

[TGO David]

Newsmax

[creeky]

Newsmax

BBC News is also reporting it as well.

Snippets worthy to note...

"The use of the phrase 'the special relationship' in its historical sense, to describe the totality of the ever-evolving UK-US relationship, is potentially misleading, and we recommend that its use should be avoided," the committee said.

"A Foreign Office spokeswoman said the British media's "preoccupation" with the state of the relationship was often at the "expense of coverage of the more substantive aspects of the relationship". "It doesn't really matter whether someone calls it 'the special relationship' or not," she said.

"What matters is that the UK's relationship with the US is unique, and uniquely important to protecting our national security and promoting our national interest."

"Over the longer-term, the UK is unlikely to be able to influence the US to the extent it has in the past."

[Defender]

Does being published in Newsmax make an article less valid somehow? The article was actually an AP article that was published in many different venues, both print, online and on TV news.

[Mike.357]

this doesn't really suprise me, the rest of Europe has had a short memory.

[Guest db99wj]

this doesn't really suprise me, the rest of Europe has had a short memory.

No kidding.

[TGO David]

Does being published in Newsmax make an article less valid somehow? The article was actually an AP article that was published in many different venues, both print, online and on TV news.

Typically yes I ignore almost anything published on Newsmax. They tend to be as far right as Air America was far left. Sorry.