What kind of foreign policy under "Prime Minister Gordon Brown"?

AuthorRubin, James P.
PositionPolitics in Europe

When the British Foreign Office and the U.S. State Department provide briefing papers for the first working summit between President George Bush and the new Prime Minister Gordon Brown--a pretty good bet to occur sometime next year--the agenda will look very familiar. And despite the change at the top in Britain, the most salient issues and policy choices are likely to be phrased in terms of "we."

With sanctions already in place against Iran, and Western intelligence experts saying Iran continues moving closer to mastering the crucial technology and engineering, is there anything else that "we" can do to stop Tehran's drive for nuclear independence? How do "we" push the Iraqi government to help stop the Shiite-Sunni violence that most describe now as a civil war: indeed, should "we" be looking for new leadership there? Can "we" get any of the other NATO allies to help deliver security, aid and reconstruction to the people of Afghanistan so that they don't turn against NATO troops? Is there anyway to kick start the Middle East peace process despite the chaos in the Palestinian territories? And is there anything at all to be done about President Vladimir Putin's increasingly anti-Western policies?

As the variety of these agenda items demonstrate, the commonality of interests and objectives for London and Washington covers most of the world. Indeed, the "special relationship"--much maligned these days in some quarters but obviously very much alive--is more a function of the permanent bureaucracy than the personalities of the leaders of the two countries. Whether it is the unparalleled sharing of information, sources and analysis between the CIA and the British secret service, the extensive joint training, personal ties and comfort level of the U.S. and UK military establishments, the shared experiences of British and American diplomats all around the world, or just the common language and historical comradeship of the two peoples, there are no two countries in the world that work as more of a team.

The personal relationship between a Prime Minister and a President can affect the style and pace of this teamwork, especially its public presentation, but the fundamentals are deeper than even the biggest personalities of U.S. and British leaders.

Indeed, the personalities of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown couldn't be more different. One is, like Bill Clinton, a great communicator who seems to love the camera. The other is more cerebral and...

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