The Special Relationship 22/2/01

TOUR GUIDE:
The British came here to Washington, set fire to Washington, burnt the White House. They scorched it. The people decided we had to hide the scorches, so they painted the White House white.

MARTHA KEARNEY:
As modern tour guides make clear, the special relationship has had its rocky patches. This time when the British invade Washington, they're on a charm offensive, led by Tony Blair. His mission, which he already started in Ottawa, is to reassure the new President that Britain doesn't have to choose between Europe and the States.

TONY BLAIR:
There are those in my country who say it is not possible to be all those things, you can have Europe or you can have North America, but you cannot have both, and that Britain has to choose. It is an article of my political faith that I refuse to do so. We will have the best of both worlds, we will give up neither relationship, we will make them both work, not just for Britain but for the transatlantic alliance.

KEARNEY:
Tony Blair's meeting tomorrow with President Bush is a vital one. As both men try to establish a rapport, there's one name that's unlikely to come up.

ANNOUNCER:
The President of the United States, accompanied by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

KEARNEY:
Throughout all the turbulence of the Clinton years, there was one man Bill could count on, Tony Blair.

TONY BLAIR:
I'm pleased to call you a good colleague and I'm proud to call you a good friend.

KEARNEY:
Sidney Blumenthal is a friend of both men, and saw them develop a shared political philosophy, "the third way".

SIDNEY BLUMENTHAL:
FORMER CLINTON ADVISER
I first introduced Tony Blair to Bill Clinton. Tony Blair could rely upon him to be personally involved in foreign policy questions, including the Irish question. Clinton was deeply knowledgeable. Blair could call on him in the middle of the night to make a key phone call to this one or that one, whenever he needed it. Clinton was always there for him. That's irreplaceable.

KEARNEY:
It's highly unlikely that President Bush and Tony Blair will enjoy the same close relationship, despite all the talk of bonding we'll hear over the next few days. Much more important than personal rapport is how Tony Blair is going to reconcile conflicting pressures between United States and Europe, especially over defence. This monument to World War II stands as witness to America's military might in the past. Now the US is seeking modern ways to defend its territory, a new system of missile defence, nicknamed "Son of Star Wars". It's designed to protect the country against the threat of weapons launched by so-called rogue nations like North Korea and Iraq. The US would launch its missiles to shoot down the hostile ones.

WILLIAM COHEN:
FORMER US DEFENCE SECRETARY
This was a very important moment at the Washington summit, where Prime Minister Blair and President Clinton and Secretary Albright and myself were having a discussion.

KEARNEY:
William Cohen, himself a Republican, was Defence Secretary under Bill Clinton. He discussed missile defence with Britain and was hopeful of enlisting its support.

WILLIAM COHEN:
I would hope that the British would support the United States in this. We've had constructive talks about it in the past. We will need the support of European allies for the proper deployment of a defensive system. But it's important for our British friends to understand that they stand at risk as well. This is not something that would only contribute to our security, it would contribute to British security and indeed to our allies throughout Europe.

KEARNEY:
But other European countries, in particular France, would be critical of British support. They are opposed to the system, supporting Russian claims that it would escalate the arms race. President Chirac recently called it "an incitement to proliferation". It's not just on missile defence where Tony Blair faces antagonism. At Quantico military base, marine training prepares them for instant deployment in trouble spots right around the world, rapid reaction. European plans for a force with similar goals have been treated with suspicion here in the States, another potential point of conflict in the special relationship. Here there's no confusion over the role of the marines.

CAPT. HANK PRESECAN:
US MARINES
We are "America's 911 force". We accomplish that through the use of the marine expeditionary units, as well as rapid air combat forces.

REPORTER:
You're like a rapid reaction force?

CAPT. HANK PRESECAN That's exactly what we do, ma'am.

KEARNEY:
This base sent soldiers to Kosovo. But will America still be as keen to deploy its 911 troops in Europe, now plans for a new EU rapid reaction force are under way? The worry in the States is that it could be a rival to NATO, if not under its command or planning. Bush's new Defence Secretary has expressed his concerns publicly. His predecessor too is worried about the new force.

KEARNEY:
Wouldn't it have been better for you if the relevant EU countries had put more resources into NATO?

WILLIAM COHEN:
That would be the preferable option. I also understand that European countries must respond to the European constituencies. It's important for European leaders to be able to persuade constituents that these expenditures must be made in order to promote defence. If it's important for them to call it a European defence initiative, as opposed to a NATO commitment, I have no problem with that, provided it's not seen as something separate and independent from NATO. That would cause a break in the transatlantic link, it would weaken NATO and ultimately destroy it.

KEARNEY:
Tony Blair made it clear in Ottawa today how he intends to allay those American fears about NATO.

TONY BLAIR:
First, it allows Europe, for example in crises on or within Europe's border, to act, where for example the US does not wish to. Bosnia from 1992-1995 is an example. Second, it puts pressure on Europe to increase its defence capability, something long desired by our allies in North America. Done right, it will strengthen NATO, and it will remain the cornerstone of our collective security.

KEARNEY:
When President Bush was asked about the rapid reaction force by the BBC, he avoided answering the question.

GEORGE W BUSH:
Britain and the United States have a special relationship, we'll keep it that way. I look forward to talking to the rime Minister about the importance of NATO.

KEARNEY:
Fellow Republicans were taking an overtly isolationist line.

SENATOR GEORGE SMITH:
CHAIR, SENATE COMMITTEE ON EUROPE
My generation and yours did not know World War II and we have to begin saying, "Do we care? Do we want to say an invasion of Britain is an invasion of America? Is an invasion of Poland an invasion of the United States? Would we send our sons and daughters to die for that?" The predicate of NATO is yes, we will. If we set up a new structure that calls that into question, maybe the answer then is no.

KEARNEY:
These military discussions have become symbolic of a much bigger political question. For both the US and the EU, defence has become a litmus test of British allegiance. Tony Blair says there's no question of having to decide between the two. It's, in effect, a false choice. But there are many Republicans who believe that Europe and America are moving in different directions.

JEFFREY GEDMIN:
DIRECTOR, NEW ATLANTIC INITIATIVE
If we're looking over time, meaning the next decade and beyond, the things that linked us together, dependency through the Cold War, generational factors, networks we'd knitted together, they are gone. The EU is changing, the transatlantic relationship is being renegotiated. The relationship will be different. But whether we stick together on major strategic questions over the next two and three decades, on that the jury is still out.

KEARNEY:
On one major strategic question, Washington has seen Britain prove itself to be an important ally, supporting today's bombing of Iraq. But here, once again, the rest of Europe has taken a very different line from the States. It remains to be seen whether Tony Blair will risk isolation in Europe on other issues, to boost his new relationship with George Bush.