Niall Ferguson comments on the divergence of UK & US National Interests

Niall Ferguson in Britain First asks, "What was in it for us? To put it more precisely: in what respect, if any, was and is Britain’s support for American policy in our national interest?"

What exactly have we gained or do we stand to gain — besides applause in Washington and opprobrium everywhere else — from our uncritical support of the Bush administration’s Middle Eastern policy? After all, as Donald Rumsfeld so tactlessly noted, they could easily have got rid of Saddam without us.

Ultimately his enquiry draws a blank, he concludes the 'special relationship' is on its last legs, for the partnership to be viable

It requires a congruence of national interests. It also needs some convergence of popular attitudes. By both those criteria, the Anglo-American alliance is surely living on borrowed time.

Posted by Paul in UK-USA Relations Politics at September 28, 2004 02:50 AM | 0 Comments