THE NEW US ambassador to Britain has said Washington wants to create a fresh and frank dialogue with the UK over the full range of diplomatic issues affecting the two states, suggesting that Tony Blair’s former subservience to the Bush administration was “unhealthy”.
Louis Susman, a former banker and financier for the Obama campaign who was appointed ambassador this year, also said the “special relationship” between the US and the UK had not been adversely affected by the recent extradition of the Lockerbie bomber to Libya.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Susman, said: “We are not a dumb power, we are not a bullying power. We want to build partnerships, we want to listen, we want to consult, we want to co-operate, and that’s what I want to do. I think that there have been eight years of difficult times for America abroad and anybody who doesn’t agree with that isn’t looking at reality.”
Mr Susman said US president Barack Obama and British prime minister Gordon Brown got on well and had been working closely on this week’s G20 summit in Pittsburgh. He then added: “To compare it to the previous relationship [between Mr Blair and George W Bush], well, some people might say that relationship wasn’t healthy. Many people here in the UK didn’t think it was healthy because it was without questioning and [without] interaction.”
The recent release by the Scottish authorities of Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi has appeared to damage relations between the UK and US, after Mr Obama told Mr Brown he was disappointed by the extradition.
“We told them we did not think it was appropriate, we continue to feel it was not appropriate, and the British and Scottish governments know that,” said Mr Susman.
But he added: “You have to look at the relationship in totality. We are an incredible partner for the UK in all our intelligence efforts, we are incredible partners in all of our military efforts. It’s almost seamless how well the two countries work together and I have seen that first hand. So when I look at the special relationship I look at the big things.”
He also said he hoped the UK’s relations with the EU would not become strained after next year’s general election. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009)