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US, UK drawing near the end of special
relationship
AP, LONDON
Monday, Mar 29, 2010, Page 1
The ˇ§special relationshipˇ¨ is not so special any more.
Thatˇ¦s the word from a committee of lawmakers in Britain who say the phrase
coined by former British prime minister Winston Churchill to describe the
countryˇ¦s close ties with the US should no longer be used because it fails to
reflect a true picture of relations between the two countries.
The British Parliamentˇ¦s Foreign Affairs Select Committee said the government
should be ˇ§less deferentialˇ¨ toward the US and take a more realistic view of the
relationship. In a report published yesterday, the committee said that, while
ties with the US remain close, it is important to recognize that Britain is just
one of many countries with important US links.
ˇ§The overuse of the phrase by some politicians and many in the media serves
simultaneously to devalue its meaning and to raise unrealistic expectations
about the benefits the relationship can deliver to the UK,ˇ¨ the committee said
in its report.
Churchill used the phrase shortly after World War II to describe the shared
cultural, political and historic ties that helped defeat Nazi Germany, and the
fears of the looming Cold War.
In recent years, however, the timeworn expression has often been derided ˇX
suggesting that Britain was subservient to the US.
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