Like many Americans I have a high regard for the British people, arising in part from our shared history and culture and also from a study abroad stint during my undergraduate years. Living in London was a great experience that left me with a fond nostalgia for all things British. So, naturally, I took special note this week as President Obama was given the privilege of addressing both houses of the British Parliament during his trip to Europe. I found his speech at Westminster Hall to be a grand affirmation of the U.S. role in the world. In his speech, Obama noted the many common values and goals underpinning both the role of the U.S. and the United Kingdom in world affairs and in history. I thought this part was particularly moving:
We are the allies who landed at Omaha and Gold, who sacrificed side by side to free a continent from the march of tyranny, and help prosperity flourish from the ruins of war. And with the founding of NATO — a British idea — we joined a transatlantic alliance that has ensured our security for over half a century. Together with our allies, we forged a lasting peace from a cold war. When the Iron Curtain lifted, we expanded our alliance to include the nations of Central and Eastern Europe, and built new bridges to Russia and the former states of the Soviet Union. And when there was strife in the Balkans, we worked together to keep the peace. Today, after a difficult decade that began with war and ended in recession, our nations have arrived at a pivotal moment once more.
I was also glad to see that despite a few gaffes (that awkward toast to the Queen and getting the date wrong when signing a visitor’s book at Westminster Abbey) President Obama’s visit to the UK has been well received across the pond. Atlantic Council analyst Professor Julian Lindley-French praises President Obama not only for honoring the special relationship between the U.S. and the United Kingdom but for challenging the UK to assert a more active role in world affairs:
President Obama has done Britain and Europe a huge favor. By recasting the ‘special’ relationship as an essential relationship the president has released London from the shackles of an increasingly hollow ‘specialness.’ London must now seize this moment to re-balance Britain’s foreign and security policy so that British influence can be re-established where it matters for America – in Europe and with key members of a resurgent Commonwealth. Obama is inviting Britain to become a better ally and Britain must meet that challenge. […] Above all, Britain must re-discover the global ambition to foster the Commonwealth into a new security partnership. The West is an idea rather than a place and such groupings are firmly anchored in the idea for which America and Britain fought . It is an idea that is as compelling and attractive today as it was in the dark days of disaster in 1940 and 1941. The Empire may have indeed become a Commonwealth and Britain but one equal member of it, but as a vehicle for stabilising influence the Commonwealth can play a vital role.
The Anglo-British alliance is one of the most unique and important alliances in our history and as we approach the anniversary of D-Day on June 6th it’s nice to see that relationship honored and strengthened.
Photo Credit: MSNBC
