THE FRUITS OF GOP "DIPLOMACY"

After six years of your ineptitude and blustering, don't be surprised if your main allies in the Conservative Party decide the time has come to cultivate friends elsewhere:

William Hague has urged the government to do more to improve relations with countries in the Asia-Pacific region and not focus so heavily on the US. In a keynote speech on foreign policy, the Conservative shadow foreign secretary will call on the government to "recover the art of managing the [US-UK] relationship well".

Mr Hague will refer to Britain under Tony Blair's government as the "junior partner" in the relationship with Washington and questioned the influence London has on its neighbour. He will suggest that the fact that it "has taken so long to secure American commitment" over technology sharing for the development of the Joint-Strike Fighter plane, coupled with Britain's apparent lack of influence on the US strategy in Iraq, bears such a position out.

Comments

[Martin Adamson]

And how does William Hague think Britain will have the most influence on US policy? To be one of four or five countries who refuse to criticise it in public, or to be one of the the 195 that do?

[timmyhawk]

William Hague never caeses to amaze: Where does he get these ideas from? Britain is the junior partner to the US? Well I never! Are there actually people who think it's a relationship of equals? Or ever could be?
As for Iraq-strategy, I have seen very little indication that Britain has made any serious attempt to change Iraq strategy. Surely the failing British approach in the south is noe big negotiating chip (relative British casualty rates are now almost equivalent to those of the US, and that in area with no sectarian strife).
And as for the JSF technology, I can simply not believe that Hague would be so ignorant of the reasons for US reluctance to hand over the source codes. This is due to European military integration. To put it polemically, the US gives techology to the UK, which then shares it with France, which then sells it to China. I wonder why the US might be critical about this?
It is true that our relations to the US need to be rebalanced, but such a rebalancing has to be a little more reality-based than would Hague is presumeably going to say.

[Tara]

Maybe it's time for the US to pull out of NATO and allow Britain to regain its status as an "equal ".

[George Bush, King of the Western World]

Go back to eating your bangers and mash and leave running the world to us grownups in the states.

What the hell does the UK have to contribute anyway? Posh Spice? Benny Hill?

YOu're all a bunch of fruity, backwards-ass, socialist, layabouts. I'd take 1 Canadian over 1 Brit any day, and Lord knows the Canadians make the Irish look smart by comparison.

[Gatchaman]

To put it polemically, the US gives techology to the UK, which then shares it with France, which then sells it to China.

Right! Why give to the UK who give to France who give to China when we can just continue giving to Israel who gives to China. Much easier that way, don't have to involve the French at all!

[timmyhawk]

Well I had written "a little more reality-based" in my above post and it seems from the later comments here that would well be worth consideration (ahem!). Unless some of the posts here are satirical in which case I apologise for my thickness at this early hour in the day.
Btw, Gatchaman, you're right about the basic problem and Israel was consequently faced with the same restrictions as the UK. Can't remember now, but I think the leak was fixed somehow.