Afghan Crisis Shows That Britain Remains the Underdog in the ‘Special Relationship’

Monday, September 13, 2021

Johanna Ross is a journalist based in Edinburgh.

It was British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who coined the phrase ‘special relationship’ when describing the bond his country had with the United States back in 1946. There can be no doubt that it was a high point for Anglo-American relations; the allies had just defeated Nazi Germany in the Second World War, and the taste of victory was sweet.

The relationship has been strong since, fundamentally because Britain and America have a shared linguistic and cultural history; they ‘get’ each other. Geopolitically, they also have a similar desire to export their ‘democratic values’ and promote their way of life as the best one, both in terms of soft power, and through military intervention.

Recently however we have seen cracks appearing in this Transatlantic alliance. The UK always played the role of the underdog in the relationship, following the US’ bidding, but rarely has it been humiliated to the extent it was recently with the allied withdrawal from Afghanistan. In a number of ways this act exposed the true nature of the special relationship – one where Britain is nothing less than submissive.

There may have been some attempt to emulate the previous post-war elation earlier this June at the Biden-Johnson summit, when a new Atlantic Charter was drawn up, mirroring the 1941 treaty signed by Churchill and Roosevelt. The rhetoric at the time was positive, all about the way the special relationship back then ‘shaped the world order’ and the two nations’ ‘shared values’. The new Charter spoke of areas where the allies could work together – ‘defence, trade and combatting the pandemic’. And yet, only a few months down the line, the relationship is on the rocks. Why?

Well first of all it could be said that June’s attempt to ‘reset’ Anglo-American relations was already an indication that there was room for improvement in this area. Biden is not the biggest fan of Britain anyway; he once famously took a dig at a BBC reporter by exclaiming ‘The BBC? I’m Irish!’ – referring to his Irish roots on his mother’s side. But his disdain for the British authorities was likely deepened with Johnson’s Brexit plans. Biden presents himself as a realist, and with this pragmatic approach he will now have placed the UK further back in the queue of powerful nations he could call on. As one former Obama administration official said about the UK post-Brexit:  ‘Britain doesn’t have a seat at the table anymore’.  The US apparently now looks to the power corridors of Brussels, Paris and Berlin instead of London, if it wants to talk to Europe.

Boris Johnson was therefore already not Biden’s favourite person, but the withdrawal from Afghanistan is the biggest indication yet that the US President has little time or respect for British Prime Minister. Not only did Biden take the unilateral decision last April to leave Afghanistan, without proper consultation with the British government, it seems he showed little interest in the concerns of those in Westminster when he announced the withdrawal of the 2500 US troops. It was highly unusual to have Sir Nick Carter, the head of the armed forces, openly criticise the American decision, stating in a BBC interview ‘it was not the decision we hoped for’.

Furthermore, as it became clear that Kabul was falling to the Taliban, it was reported that Joe Biden took 36 hours to respond to Boris Johnson’s phonecall. The situation was made worse when the US rejected Britain’s request to extend the evacuation deadline, to ensure more eligible Afghans could leave the country. As such, questions have been raised as to just how ‘special’ the  ‘special relationship’ now is. After all, the US-UK military intervention in Afghanistan after 9/11 was very much a united effort; it was only right that Britain should have worked closely with America in completing the venture they embarked on together back in 2001.

As such, the atmosphere in Westminster has grown uncannily anti-American of late. Rumours are now circulating that Boris Johnson now refers to Biden using Donald Trump’s favourite nickname for him: ‘Sleepy Joe’.  Apparently the PM has told aides that he considers Biden ‘lightweight and inward-looking’. Other British ministers have branded the President ‘doolally’ and ‘gaga’. Former PM Tony Blair, who pledged his support to George W Bush in the initial Afghan campaign, chided the chaotic exit as ‘imbecilic’.

Britain naturally doesn’t like being in this position. For not only has it taken the huff, but because of its weaker position post-Brexit, BRITAIN is going to have to make amends with the US. Therefore it has hurriedly planned a US visit for the near future – for Boris Johnson and several of his senior cabinet ministers to travel to the US to ‘smooth over’ the relationship. Once again, the UK is playing the role of underdog, desperately trying to get its superior’s attention.  It doesn’t bode well for Johnson’s ideas of ‘Global Britain’ or its future interactions on the world stage if it is already showing such dependency after Brexit. Recent events have shown that despite all the rhetoric about an independent, sovereign Britain, in this era of pragmatic, great power politics, the UK is going to have to work a lot harder to be noticed.

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Source: InfoBrics