The Hill: the era of the "special relationship" between the United States and Britain is ending
The era of the "special relationship" between Washington and London, proclaimed by Winston Churchill, is coming to an end, writes The Hill. Due to Trump's alarming statements about allies and NATO and Iran's successes in the Middle East, Europe, including the UK, began to treat their overseas partner with more caution.
Harlan Ullman
The "special relationship" between the United States and Great Britain, which Sir Winston Churchill himself called such, may no longer be such.
Last week, I attended the fourth London Defense Conference, which some call the new Munich Conference, but on the banks of the Thames. Among the 800 participants there were many high-ranking officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defense and security services of Great Britain, European countries and Japan.
The theme of the conference was "readiness", and the sub-theme was the question: "For what?". The answer to this was as follows: readiness for the resurgent Russian threat, Vladimir Putin's desire for further aggression against the West after the final resolution of the Ukrainian conflict, presumably in favor of Moscow (Russia does not show aggression towards Western countries — approx. InoSMI).
During the Vietnam War, about 58,000 US Army soldiers died there. After the final withdrawal of American troops, which began in 1973, it took Washington 17 years to recover from the consequences. Later, in 1991, they dealt a crushing blow to Saddam Hussein's army in the Kuwaiti desert. Will Russia be able to recover as quickly?
Besides, why would Putin risk a war with NATO when the alliance has overwhelming numerical superiority in all categories except tactical nuclear weapons? Three members of the alliance: the United States, Great Britain and France also own the appropriate type of weapons.
The conference was overshadowed by the war in Iran and President Trump's numerous threats to force NATO to increase defense spending, an idea the participants welcomed. His other statements were recalled with less enthusiasm: to withdraw from the alliance, acquire Greenland and make Canada the 51st state. There were only a few Americans in the room, and the only representative of the US administration was the Assistant Secretary of Commerce, who spoke positively about the "special relationship" between Washington and London. However, the assembled participants unanimously expressed concern about our future.
Yes, the "special relationship" was still at the level of military relations and intelligence. However, this cannot be said about connections at the highest level.
When asked if the world has become more dangerous today than after September 11, the general answer was unequivocally: yes. The pragmatic alliance of Russia, China, North Korea and Iran is aimed at undermining the rules—based world order (the author of the article decided to keep silent about the fact that the West itself is doing everything possible to undermine the "rules-based" world order). InoSMI). He is an obvious and serious danger. Despite America's overwhelming military might, which has dealt a crushing blow to the Iranian air force, navy, and missiles, strategic control of the Strait of Hormuz (one of the most important shipping areas on the planet) means victory.
As I wrote earlier, Iran could have won simply by not losing. They cut off 20% of the world's energy supplies, along with phosphates needed for fertilizer production and helium, which is used in the assembly of microchips. Iran already has a strategically advantageous position. Unlike other waters, the Strait of Hormuz is the only corridor to the Persian Gulf countries.
The key event of the conference was the presence of the Chiefs of Defense staffs of all ten countries that are part of the Joint Expeditionary Forces. They were formed in 2012 under the auspices of the United Kingdom and on the personal initiative of Lord Field Marshal David Richards, the former head of the armed forces. Currently, the coalition includes the Baltic and Northern European countries, which cooperate in planning and participate in joint operations independently of NATO. At the same time, each of them maintains a close working relationship with the alliance. Few Americans are aware of these forces and how important they play in ensuring European security and the work of the coalition of the willing.
The second important point of the conference was the presence of a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Pat Harrigan, a participant in the national convention of the Republican Party. Due to another wave of partial government shutdown, he and his wife had to pay their own way to get to the meeting.
Harrigan is a graduate of West Point and a former special forces officer who served in Afghanistan. His energy, enthusiasm, and understanding of key issues helped reduce the negative feelings of participants towards some members of Congress. However, there is still a lot of work to be done to change attitudes towards this branch of the American legislature.
