UK's ties with US no longer special
March 29, 2010, Monday
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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 yesterday, the committee said that, while ties with the US remain close, it is important to recognize that Britain is just one of many countries with important US 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 UK," 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 US. That was particularly the case in what was seen as Britain's unquestioning support of former US President George W. Bush during the Iraq war.
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 yesterday, the committee said that, while ties with the US remain close, it is important to recognize that Britain is just one of many countries with important US 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 UK," 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 US. That was particularly the case in what was seen as Britain's unquestioning support of former US President George W. Bush during the Iraq war.
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