Brown: World indebted to US
Monday, 30 Jul 2007 07:41
Will Gordon Brown's relationship with George Bush be as cosy as Tony Blair's?
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Prime minister Gordon Brown has said that the world is indebted to the United States for its "leadership in this fight against international terrorism".
Mr Brown arrived at the Andrews airbase near Washington on Sunday evening and headed straight to Camp David for a private dinner hosted by president George Bush.
Speaking to reporters traveling with him to the US, the prime minister said that London and Washington were focused on "the biggest single and immediate challenge the world has to defeat: global terrorism".
"And we should acknowledge the debt the world owes to the United States for its leadership in this fight against international terrorism," he added.
The prime minister said he hoped to strengthen "even further our relationship with the US". Foreign secretary David Miliband and US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice are also scheduled to meet during the visit.
"It is firmly in the British national interest that we have a strong relationship with the US, our single most important bilateral relationship," Mr Brown added.
Besides individual interests, the prime minister said "shared ideals…have linked the destinies of our two countries together".
"In this century it has fallen to America to take center stage.
"America has shown by the resilience and bravery of its people from September 11 that while buildings can be destroyed, values are indestructible."
A spokesman for Mr Brown said the crises in Iraq and Darfur as well as the confrontation over Iran's nuclear programme would be discussed during the meeting. Climate change and trade are other items likely to be on the agenda.
Mr Brown will meet members of Congress and UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon this week. The prime minister will also travel to New York to address the United Nations general assembly, according to British officials.
Analysts are looking for signs of a gulf between the two leaders in light of Tony Blair's image of being subservient to the US and Gordon
Brown's hopes to distinguish himself from his predecessor.
Commentators have pointed out that the visit comes in different circumstances to Mr Blair's own first visit to Camp David ten years ago.
Mr Brown has already visited France and Germany and his trip across the Atlantic is multi-purposed – he is also due to deliver a speech to the UN.
Furthermore the appointment of Foreign Office minister Lord Malloch Brown, who has not flinched from openly criticising the Bush administration, has raised eyebrows in Washington. He told the Daily Telegraph earlier this month that the two countries would no longer be "joined at the hip".
Comments by international development secretary Douglas Alexander have also taken their toll. He emphasised the benefits of a multilateralist, internationalist approach to foreign policy in a speech in Washington and said Britain should "form new alliances… to reach out to the world".
White House press secretary Tony Snow played down speculation that Mr Brown might struggle to create the same rapport as his predecessor enjoyed with Mr Bush, however.
He sought to emphasise the close historical relationship between the two countries in his own briefing to the press on Friday.
"When George Bush came to office, people said, how can there possibly be a close relationship, concerning how close Tony Blair was to Bill Clinton? You've got to keep in mind, the things that draw the Americans and Brits together are the personalities of their leaders, but also deep affection and shared interests between the two nations," he said.