Now, under the new leadership of Gordon Brown, the British International Development Secretary, Douglas Alexander, gave a speech in the United States yesterday suggesting that Britain was no longer going to give the U.S. its automatic support on every foreign policy initiative.
Alexander spent a large part of his speech praising the United States for its powerful influence in keeping peace in the world and then, as is the manner of diplomatic addresses, delivered the criticism in a 'coded' form.
He suggested that powerful countries often measure their might by how much they can destroy rather than how much they can construct. He called on the United States to develop new 'imaginative' policies which reach out to the rest of the world rather than isolate it. American politicos present took this to be a criticism of George Bush's unilateral stances on Iraq and 'The axis of evil' which pays little heed to the UN or other world bodies.
Despite 'happy' public signals, it has become clear that the antennae of the White House has been acutely aware over recent weeks of the change in the tone of the British Government. There was, apparently, some concern in the US Administration over the appointment of Lord Malloch-Brown, a fierce critic of Bush when British delegate to the UN, to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Americans clearly see Gordon Brown (no relation!) as staffing his Foreign Office with people who, though of course not anti-American, are certainly anti Bush and anti Iraq War.
It is rumoured, despite the 'special relationship' supposedly with Britain, that Bush aides are putting out 'nicey-nicey' feelers to the new French Government of Nicolas Sarkozy, who has expressed admiration for the US and its policies. The Bush camp is almost desperate to find support from any quarter as the influence of the President crumbles.
Gordon Brown, when interviewed, has steadfastly refused to use the rhetoric of 'war on terror' nor will he endorse Tony Blair's oft expressed fears about 'the dangers of radical Islam'. Brown has always been a man who has shunned sound-bytes and attention grabbing, and this is one reason why the Blair style of leadership,which he accommodated back in 1994 as necessary to put the Labour Party back on the map, became more and more wearing on his patience as time went by.
I don't believe Brown is any more complacent or any less concerned about the threat of militant Islam than was his predecessor, but I also think he believes in working away to deal with the problem, as a government should, putting the right steps in place but without 'pumping up the volume'....and I think he is absolutely right.
Meanwhile the British have reduced their troop numbers in Basra to virtually the size of a garrison.The government is taking soundings from the military on how long such a garrison force can assist the Iraqi forces without becoming more of a problem than a solution. I suspect they will say 'not very long'.
It would not surprise me greatly if the British broke ranks with the United States fairly soon and announced a deadline date by which all British troops will be brought home. If that happens the pressure on George Bush will be even greater than it already is..for the symbolic effect of that decision if nothing else.
It looks as though Bush may end his Presidency as a complete hostage to outside factors, the lamest of lame ducks unable to carry any foreign policy of significance. Its a far cry from the heady days of the first administration and the wonderful opportunity granted to his advisors from the far right of the Republican Party to use 911 as a pretext to stamp American military influence across the globe.
Maybe he should have listened more to the caution of his old man rather than to Cheney, Pearle and Wolfowitz. He has only himself to blame.
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