America in the World

"When freedom was at stake, the leader of the free world was nowhere to be seen."

Perhaps America cannot win. The world protested at George W Bush's America for being an interventionist superpower. Today, in a powerful editorial, The Times of London attacks Barack Obama's foreign policy for a shirking of responsibility to stand with the people of the Arab world and their yearning for freedom:

Obama's lack of leadership: "Addressing cheering crowds in Berlin in July 2008, Mr Obama declared that the burdens of global citizenship united Europe and America. His Administration is shirking those burdens, and presiding over a disturbing erosion of American influence."

Obama's failure to defend freedom: "The Arab world has been roiled by political dissent and violent attempts to suppress it. And when freedom was at stake, the leader of the free world was nowhere to be seen."

Hillary Clinton's feeble diplomacy: "In language as bloodless as its diplomatic impact is feeble, Hillary Clinton declares: “Absent international authorisation, the United States acting alone would be stepping into a situation the consequences of which would be unforeseeable.”"

Obama's weakness on Iran: "His indifference to protests in Iran against a patently fraudulent presidential election in 2009 gave an ominous sign of the cast of his diplomacy."

Obama's neglect of the transatlantic relationship: "The transatlantic alliance is founded on shared values rather than personalities. It will survive Mr Obama’s feckless disregard for America’s reputation among its allies and admirers."

Read the full leader in The Times.

A Times leader does not equate to protestors in the streets but if, under Obama's watch, the Arab uprising is crushed, Iran takes decisive steps towards becoming a nuclear power and the special US/UK relationship is broken, who is to say that non-interventionism is at least as deadly?

The BBC's world affairs correspondent presents a one-sided account of the UK-US relationship

Paul Reynolds, the BBC World Affairs correspondent, has written a very one-sided article on the BBC website about the US-UK relationship.

Mr Reynolds swallows the lines put out by Sir Christopher Meyer, former British Ambassador to Washington, in his evidence to the Iraq war inquiry. He quotes Sir Christopher Meyer without qualification:

"During the lead-up to the war on Iraq in 2003, Britain failed to make its influence felt on two fronts. First, it did not insist, as the conditions for its support, on progress in the Middle East peace process and on better planning for post-war Iraq. Second, it did not get a commercial trade-off. Its demands for changes to an air services agreement and steel tariffs were ignored."

In reality, Britain's influence on Washington was enormous at the time. Tony Blair insisted on getting approval from the United Nations for the war. The UN route forced Britain and America to focus on the issue of WMD rather than the odious nature of the Saddam Hussein regime. Regime change is not permissible under 'international law'.  The failure to then win UN approval undermined global support for the war from the off.

Reynolds goes on to conclude that "History, in fact, warns us not to expect too much from this transatlantic relationship." He then lists various of the disappointments in the US-UK relationship, only offering this throwaway effort at balance at the end of his piece: "What still counts is a security sharing arrangement and trust, which involves the US giving the UK a nuclear missile."  "A nuclear missile?"  Margaret Thatcher would agree that it amounted to a lot more than "a" nuclear missile.

I don't want to defend some of the 'downs' in the UK-US relationship.  The current White House's behaviour towards Britain on Afghanistan, for example, is unacceptable.  But there are 'ups', too, that Mr Reynolds chooses not to mention. Considerable 'ups'.

The whole western world shelters under the umbrella of America's huge investment in defence and intelligence.  Without US naval power we would all be paying a great deal more to keep the high seas free of piracy, for example.  Without US intervention in the Middle East, despotic regimes would probably be unchallenged and world oil prices would be much, much higher.

During the Falklands War - after a hesitant start - America helped enormously with the conflict against Argentina - especially with submarine detectors, missiles and aircraft fuel. The intervention on Britain's side soured US relations with much of Latin America for many years.

No two nations share more intelligence than Britain and America.

America remains the number one destination for UK overseas investment and the US remains the number one investor in the UK.

It's true that the relationship isn't as special as it once was but a public service broadcaster - like the BBC's Paul Reynolds - should have offered a much more balanced account of it.

Tim Montgomerie

Obama's America 'is the worst kind of ally'

A little while ago I commissioned the drawing on the right to accompany this piece on Barack Obama's 'disarming' foreign policy. I feared that Obama has decided that it is more important that the world's policeman is popular than it is strong. In a withering cover piece for this week's Spectator (above) Con Coughlin accuses President Obama of mistreating Britain in the much delayed decision about strategy in Afghanistan:

"The astonishing disregard with which Mr Obama treats Britain has been made clear by his deliberations over the Afghan issue. As he decides how many more troops to send to Afghanistan — a decision which will fundamentally affect the scope of the mission — Britain is reduced to guesswork. The White House does not even pretend to portray this as a joint decision. It is a diplomatic cold-shouldering that stands in contrast not just to the Blair–Bush era, but to the togetherness of the soldiers on the ground... There will, though, inevitably come a time when Obama discovers who America’s true friends really are. Sooner or later he will have to deal with the considerably more taxing issues of Islamist militancy, rogue nuclear states and other tangible threats to the West’s security. At that point, Obama will discover a simple but essential truth. The world divides between those who support American values of freedom and democracy, and those who seek to destroy them. Few nations have been more committed to supporting those values with both blood and treasure than Britain. This country, and especially those British troops fighting alongside their American counterparts, deserve far better than this president’s disregard."

Fraser Nelson, The Spectator's new Editor, bigs up the piece: "Obama is simply not there. And in this respect he is, as we say on the cover, the worst kind of ally."

The BBC's outgoing North America Editor writes a fond farewell to the USA

AmericaInTheWorld.com has featured the writings of the BBC's Justin Webb on a number of occasions.  He also addressed a gathering of journalists, politicians and other opinion formers hosted by AITW.

Mr Webb has now left America and will soon become one of the principal presenters of the BBC's flagship currents affairs programmes; Radio 4's Today programme.

Before he left he wrote a goodbye reflection.  You can read it all here but this was his conclusion:

"I deplore the superstition and the eating competitions and the tatty dreariness of so much of America, and I note that the new president is also unimpressed by the infrastructure and not a fan of fat but, after more than seven years living here, I am increasingly convinced that these elements of the nation are not the flip side of the greatness of America, they are part of that greatness.

There is something about the carelessness of America that gives space for greatness.

Out on route 17 in South Carolina, you can do very well or very badly. You can crash and burn, or you can fill up with cheap petrol and ride off into the sunset. If you do not like yourself in South Carolina, you can hire a self-drive hire truck and take it to Seattle. If you do not like your life and you have drive and luck, you can change it because - being American - you believe you can change it.

Sitting in a dingy apartment in New York watching Perry Mason on the TV, you can decide to make it big in law as eight-year-old Sonia Sotomayor once did.  This summer, now in her fifties, she becomes a Supreme Court justice and the latest American story to send shivers down the spines of dreamers of the American dream.  But if Sonia Sotomayor is to make it big, there must be something creating the drive, and part of that something is the poverty of the alternative, the discomfort of the ordinary lives that most Americans endure and the freedom that Americans have to go to hell if that is the decision they take...

More than 300 million people live here now, settlers from all over the world. From Ho Chi Minh City, from Timbuktu, from Vilnius, from Tehran, from every last corner of the earth, they have made America their home and they are still streaming in.  I feel crazy going back to the old world. My five-year-old daughter Clara, who is the proud owner of an American passport, agrees.  She says she intends to leave home, at around 12-years-old, and return to her native land. I do not blame her.

If you are willing to chance your arm, if you back yourself, if you want to live the life, America is still the place to be. Drive out on Route 17 and take a chance!  So that's it from me, I am checking out. But part of me can never leave…"

Obama unhappy at release of Lockerbie bomber

Earlier today Barack Obama - echoing Hillary Clinton's earlier remarks - expressed his unhappiness at the decision of the Scottish government to release the Lockerbie bomber on 'compassionate grounds':

For Janet Daley of The Daily Telegraph the release is another proof that Obama has made America more likeable but not necessarily more influential:

"The rehabilitation of America’s standing in the world was going to be one of the great gains, if you remember, of the Obama election victory. No more was the voice of the US to be held in contempt by its old allies. The Obama White House would restore the moral authority of the nation, and thus its influence in the world. So much for that. As the Scottish Justice Secretary intoned his ruling that Megrahi was to be permitted to go free because he was “a dying man”,  most Americans (even of the liberal Obama persuasion) would be wondering what a life sentence meant if it did not involve dying in prison. But the important political lesson will have gone home. The President and his Secretary of State could do nothing - for all their administration’s  supposed global prestige - to prevent what they considered to be an outrage. On yet another score, Mr Obama could not deliver the goods."

Barack Obama's Press Secretary Robert Gibbs questions honesty of British press

Talking about the British media, Mr Gibbs said: "If I was looking for something that bordered on truthful news, I'm not entirely sure it'd be the first pack of clips I'd pick up."

Nile Gardiner of the Thatcher Center in Washington DC commented:

"Robert Gibbs' completely unwarranted rant against the British press is an absolute disgrace, and the President should disown his views. An unreserved apology by Gibbs is also in order.

For all its talk of "raising America's standing" in the world after the Bush years, the Obama administration is doing a spectacularly bad job of reaching out to its allies. Unfortunately this is the new face of America's public diplomacy, which will only serve to alienate public opinion across the Atlantic. Congratulations Gibbs - you've just made an enemy out of the entire British media, quite an achievement for the man in charge of selling the President's message."

Bush has gone, Obama is here, but Europe still says no

"And so it was that Barack Hussein Obama visited Europe. In London, he rescued the world economy. In Strasbourg, he healed the Nato alliance. In Prague, he rid the world of nuclear weapons. In Ankara, he reconciled Islam and the west. And on the seventh day, he got back on to Air Force One and disappeared into a cloudless sky. Was it all a dream? I fear so."

- Gideon Rachman in the Financial Times

"Europe listens with shining eyes, it mobs him in its thousands and claps and cheers – but when he says it's time they shared a bit more of the burden, they stare at their shoes."

- Janet Daley in The Daily Telegraph

Although Barack Obama has been greeted with adoring crowds in EVERY European capital, the warmth has not translated into tangible policy results.

European nations have made no long-term additional commitments to Afghanistan and very few combat troops.  Only Britain is ready to increase its commitment of frontline forces - a reminder to the American President of the special relationship.

France and Germany vetoed the President's hope for a more expansionary fiscal policy from Europe.

France and Germany also poured cold water on President Obama's hope for a speedy accession of Turkey into the European Union.

In Ankara yesterday Mr Obama set out the case for accession:

"The United States strongly supports Turkey's bid to become a member of the European Union. (Applause.) We speak not as members of the EU, but as close friends of both Turkey and Europe. Turkey has been a resolute ally and a responsible partner in transatlantic and European institutions. Turkey is bound to Europe by more than the bridges over the Bosphorous. Centuries of shared history, culture, and commerce bring you together. Europe gains by the diversity of ethnicity, tradition and faith -- it is not diminished by it. And Turkish membership would broaden and strengthen Europe's foundation once more.

Now, of course, Turkey has its own responsibilities. And you've made important progress towards membership. But I also know that Turkey has pursued difficult political reforms not simply because it's good for EU membership, but because it's right for Turkey.

In the last several years, you've abolished state security courts, you've expanded the right to counsel. You've reformed the penal code and strengthened laws that govern the freedom of the press and assembly. You've lifted bans on teaching and broadcasting Kurdish, and the world noted with respect the important signal sent through a new state Kurdish television station.

These achievements have created new laws that must be implemented, and a momentum that should be sustained. For democracies cannot be static -- they must move forward. Freedom of religion and expression lead to a strong and vibrant civil society that only strengthens the state, which is why steps like reopening Halki Seminary will send such an important signal inside Turkey and beyond. An enduring commitment to the rule of law is the only way to achieve the security that comes from justice for all people. Robust minority rights let societies benefit from the full measure of contributions from all citizens."

President Obama leaves Europe having restored a continent's warmth for America.  His challenge in the remainder of his Presidency is to translate that popular sympathy into practical solidarity.

Max Hastings, writing in the Daily Mail, believes that that will be much easier when the American economy is motoring again: "Once the U.S. is back doing what it does best, providing the engine and inspiration for the world's economic growth, much else will become possible."  We shall have to see if Mr Hastings is right.  Bush was the excuse for European indifference.  Now the excuse is the economy.  At some point Europe will run out of excuses.

Hillary Clinton affirms special relationship with Britain

In Washington DC, UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband and new US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hold first meeting. Mrs Clinton said:

"It's often said that the United States and Great Britain have long enjoyed a special relationship. Well, it's certainly special in my mind and one that has proven very productive. Whoever is in the White House, whichever party in our country, this relationship really stands the test of time."

There have been concerns that the US-UK relationship will be downgraded under America's 44th President.

The 'special US-UK relationship' will survive early tests

Irwin Stelzer in The Daily Telegraph is the latest commentator to worry that the US-UK relationship may be heading for choppier waters.

Last week The Times' Rachel Sylvester reported increasing concerns within the Pentagon about the effectiveness of British troops.  The Sun noted that other European nations headed Hillary Clinton's list of strategic partners.  Many Democrats in the new administration still resent Britain and Labour for the support Tony Blair gave to George W Bush's Iraq policy.  Mr Stelzer adds the following concerns:

• The reputation of Foreign Secretary David Miliband: "Americans who have dealt with David Miliband confirm what many British journalists have long known. The Foreign Secretary is arrogant, given to lecturing veteran American diplomats on policies and regions of which he has only the most superficial knowledge. One would like to be a fly on the wall when Miliband lectures Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about some subject on which she has spent decades accumulating expertise."
• Concern at Labour's criticisms of Israel.  Although it is not certain what Obama's position is on Israel/Hamas.
• An unwillingness to commit many extra British troops to President Obama's 'surge for Afghanistan'.

This is not, of course the first time that the end of special relationship has been predicted.  The first George Bush indicated that Germany would be America's principal European ally.  Relations between Britain and America were difficult when President Clinton was first elected because of the help John Major's Conservative Party had given to the Republican campaign against him.

There are reasons for the persistence of the special relationship.  The common language and shared historical experiences remains important.  The close co-operation of British and American intelligence services.  The willingness of the British government to commit troops alongside America.  Britain's permanent place on the United Nations Security Council.

Gordon Brown may not be the first world or even European leader to meet President Obama.  Britain's serious economic difficulties may mean that London struggles to afford the kind of military burden-sharing that characterised the Reagan-Thatcher and Bush-Blair years but the relationship will remain special.

Condoleezza Rice pays final visit to Britain as Secretary of State, and pays tribute to special UK-US relationship

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband pays tribute to America's outgoing Secretary of State - "you'll be a very hard act to follow". Ms Rice says that the UK-US relationship remains more "special" than ever.

Ms Rice later played the piano for Her Majesty The Queen, during a private recital at Buckingham Palace: