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| The Alliance |
| Varadarajan: US and Britain, still partners |
| 2001-10-09 |
The U.S. and Britain are joined again in military purpose. Consistent partners in arms, they have stood alongside before--in the Gulf War, in the attritional Cold War, and in the two most destructive modern wars of all, the World Wars. In the latest pursuit of shared goals, Britain's unwavering political companionship is not merely a source of comfort for Washington: It also confers clear diplomatic and military benefits on the U.S. In diplomatic terms, Mr. Bush has found an augmentative voice of support in Tony Blair, not merely the echo of a sidekick. And while there have been no signs of the president going "wobbly" on us--to use Margaret Thatcher's pithy description of Bush Sr.'s infirmity of resolve in the run-up to the Gulf War--Mr. Blair's blunt words on Sunday ensured that the West's aims were not understated by even a fraction. If anything, the British prime minister, not Mr. Bush, struck the truly Churchillian note. Traditionally, Britain has regarded its diplomatic role as one of interpreting the world to America. However, in the buildup to the punitive assault on Afghanistan, Mr. Blair and his team took on the role of explaining America to world--or at least to those parts of the world which, by virtue of their contiguity to Afghanistan, needed a clear tutorial in the aims of the campaign, or a stiffening of resolve. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |