Philip H Gordon, US Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, has just delivered a speech in Berlin outlining “the state of transatlantic relations”. His remarks, given at the Korber Foundation on January 11, are a scene-setter for the Obama administration’s European policy in “its final year in office before elections this November.” Like most pronouncements on Europe coming from the Obama presidency, it is fixated on Washington’s dealings with the European Union, as well as with Hillary Clinton’s “reset” of relations with Moscow. This is hardly surprising coming from a …
Tony Blair’s interview in yesterday’s Times deserves to be widely read on both sides of the Atlantic. Why? Because it shows that the Eurofederalists’ delusions of grandeur are firmly alive and remain a huge threat not only to British national sovereignty but the future of the transatlantic alliance, especially the Special Relationship. It is also a further demonstration of just how far removed Tony Blair is from political reality and public opinion in the UK, but that’s never stopped him before. Blair has always been a European idealist at heart, …
President Obama’s address to Britain’s Parliament in historic Westminster Hall was of a piece with many of his speeches: a mixture of soaring generalities and devils in the details, with some dubious history thrown in. The President’s entire visit to Britain has delivered a mixed message. Both leaders have evidently been told that they should downplay the fact that a Special Relationship exists between the U.S. and Britain and focus instead on what is now supposedly an “essential” relationship. But both the President and the Prime Minister have—rightly—ignored these promptings …
When President Ronald Reagan stood before the Brandenburg Gate in West Germany and famously demanded that Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev “Tear down this wall!” he brought to Europe—and indeed the world—America’s conviction that freedom and democracy are a powerful liberating force whose time had come for those living under communist oppression. By contrast, as President Barack Obama travels throughout Europe this week and meets with U.S. allies, including the United Kingdom and Poland, he brings with him the baggage of his presidency—more than two years of a foreign policy that …
The Obama administration is not known for its pro-British track record, but this is by far the strongest indication yet that the current White House has little regard for the Special Relationship and its unique role in modern American history. During a White House photo-op with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, President Obama had this to say: We don’t have a stronger friend and stronger ally than Nicolas Sarkozy, and the French people. Quite what the French have done to merit this kind of high praise from the US president is …
David Cameron’s visit to the United States this week offers the prime minister a major opportunity to assert a stronger British presence on the world stage after a period of notable decline under Gordon Brown. On both Afghanistan and Iran, two key issues likely to feature heavily in his White House meeting on Tuesday, his position should be clear: Britain will stand shoulder to shoulder with the United States in defeating the Taliban and standing up to the Iranian nuclear threat. The world needs robust U.S.-British leadership, which has been …
British voters go to the polls on Thursday in the tightest political race in the UK in a generation. Several opinion polls have indicated the strong possibility of a hung parliament, with a Conservative minority government led by David Cameron as prime minister. In order to guarantee passage of legislation under this scenario, the Conservatives would be forced to negotiate with other political parties, significantly weakening the government’s power. Other polls, concentrating on key marginal seats, have pointed to a small Conservative majority, which would give Cameron, if elected, a …
There will be much at stake when the United Kingdom finally goes to the polls on May 6 after months of phony war between the two leading parties: the future course of the British economy, the fifth largest in the world, now submerged under mountains of debt and regulation after 13 years of socialist rule; the state of Britain’s defenses, gutted by more than a decade of vicious cuts, and under threat from a European defense identity; Britain’s relationship with the European Union, which could be renegotiated with a change …
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0Tgl-elpxg[/youtube] President Obama speaks glowingly of ‘inextricable links’ between the world’s countries, forgetting sometimes, however, which links are truly inextricable: America’s alliance with Europe. Commenting last week on this alliance during a visit to Heritage, former Spanish President José Maria Aznar said: It’s necessary in my view to bring forth this Atlantic Alliance, this Atlantic link, and to avoid confusion between the allies in the future. The confusion Mr. Aznar refers to is in particular the result of the Obama administration’s weak stances on Iran and Venezuela.
Member of the European Parliament Daniel Hannan came to Heritage today to remind Americans why and how to avoid Europe’s mistakes. On March 24, 2009, Daniel Hannan became an overnight internet sensation when a YouTube recording of his three-minute speech responding to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s remarks before the European Parliament went viral. As the most viewed video for two days running and with over 2.4 million views to date, Dan Hannan’s speech opposing higher public spending, tax increases and record borrowing in the current economic crisis sparked international …
