Oil Spill Strains US-UK 'Special Relationship'

Despite what was described two weeks ago as a candid, but cordial, conversation between President Obama and new British PM David Cameron, I found this interesting article in the CSM this weekend that I thought was worth expounding upon.  And in the context of John Colbert’s prescient satirical skewering of Lord Tibbit in the video clip below, the issue comes nicely into focus.  

It appears that the Brits, typically cool and cynical, don’t appreciate what they consider a prejudicial American tone and increasingly harsh criticism of their proud, once nationalized oil company – formerly known as ‘British Petroleum.’

With the British press and even some officials increasingly seeing attacks on Britain itself in President Obama and his Administration’s criticisms of BP, PM Cameron has sought to calm the waters. During a visit to Afghanistan two weeks ago, he said the gulf oil spill was just one item in what was described by his spinmeisters as a “routine” phone conversation with President Obama, but he dodged direct questions about any perception of an “anti-British” side to the criticisms of BP.  Cameron added, “I completely understand the US government’s frustration because it’s an environmental catastrophe,” however, “[t]he most important thing is to mitigate the effects of the leak and get to the root of the problem.”

INTERACTIVE MEDIA: The Gulf oil spill’s impact on nature

Many considered Cameron’s response reminiscent of a passionless response worthy of his erstwhile contemporary, Obama, the king of “cool.” But as Obama’s rhetoric has ratcheted up as the leak continues unabated – and as BP’s stock price continues its downward slide – more British voices have sounded alarms over what they consider to be growing anti-British sentiment in the White House.  But just why should it be o.k. for your friend and neighbor — even a really good one — to contaminate your backyard garden without the expectation of vociferous objections..??  Americans have every right to be pissed-off when 100,000 gallons of crude oil is gushing into our shrimp and oyster beds, and our marshlands and estuaries at the hands of a British multi-national corporation that risked our coastlines to cut corners in order to maximize profits with neary a clue of how to fix a worse-case, mile deep oil spill. It seems to me the real question is, why shouldn’t we be pissed-off..??  That is precisely the nature of Economic Nationalism — also known alternatively as ‘Protectionism.’  Furthermore, the Nieman Journalism Watchdog Project out of Harvard’s School of Journalism, has a terrific piece adding perspective on how conservative deregulatory policies and  regulatory capture — the tendency of corporations and government regulatory agencies to become too cozy and career revolving doors for regulatory staffs — have had an impact on the Guld oil spill.

‘It is a matter of national concern this anti-British rhetoric that seems to be permeating from America. When you consider the huge exposure of British pension funds to BP stock, it starts to become a matter of national economic concern if a great British company is being continually beaten up by our closest ally’  –  Mayor Boris Johnson, City of London

Many  Transatlantic experts say, “This is a relationship with a plate of issues that’s already running over, with everything from Afghanistan and plans for British defense cuts to financial regulation,” says Heather Conley of the Center for Strategic and International Studies  (CSIS) in Washington. “You don’t want this disaster and its implications to become a distraction, but that can happen if some of the emotions aren’t held in check.  As the pictures and reports of the impact [of the leak] pour in, it’s going to be all the more difficult for Obama to keep things on an even keel,” Conley added.

The most alarmist remarks, however, are emanating from London’s city hall, where that city’s Mayor, Boris Johnson, cited as a “matter of national concern” the “anti-British rhetoric that seems to be permeating from America.” Johnson went on to note, correctly, that “[w]hen you consider the huge exposure of British pension funds to BP it starts to become a matter of national concern if a great British company is being continually beaten up,” said Mr. Johnson, a member of PM Cameron’s Conservative party. BP is a British oil company which is also the third largest global oil company, and the fourth largest  corporation in the world. A multinational oil company, BP is the UK‘s largest corporation.  Financial analysts estimate that BP dividends payments account for as much as 16% of all stock payouts that Brit pensioners (retirees) receive.  Stay tuned. . .

Source:  Christian Science Monitor      Image:  British Petroleum ad, 1922