Barack Obama has called for the "special relationship" between the US and Britain to be "recalibrated" to make it a fairer, more equal partnership, the Guardian has learned. Senator Obama, who leads the race to be the Democratic candidate for the US presidency, made the remarks in a telephone address to a fundraising event attended by American expatriates in London.He has long been seen by British officials as the most anglophile of the three remaining presidential candidates, but these latest comments are his first public suggestion that the relationship is unequal and ripe for change.
| Is there any part of our foreign relations he won't upset? |
| The UK has been more than a full partner: that's the point of the 'special relationship'! It means we listened to the Brits more than we listened to anyone else. |
The general opinion among the Obama foreign policy team is that Tony Blair got very little in return for his support of the Iraq invasion, in terms of promoting his agenda for multilateral action on global issues and for a Washington-led push towards forging a settlement to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Prime minister Gordon Brown's foreign policy team agrees with that assessment, arguing Blair put too much emphasis on Britain being a bridge between the US and Europe.
| First, the Israeli-Paleo conflict is constantly sabotaged by the Paleos. They want one thing: Israel destroyed. Does Obama propose to deliver that? Second, what in the world does 'multilateral action on global issues' mean? I'm just guessing, bu I think it means global warming and a reach by international organizations into our wallets. |
The event in Notting Hill brought together some of the most prominent and wealthiest American expatriates in Britain, particularly from the arts and media, who were served miniature hot dogs and pecan pies before the telephone linkup with the candidate. Co-hosting the event alongside Murdoch were Kay Saatchi, an art collector and former wife of Charles Saatchi, and Josh Berger, the head of Warner Bros in the UK and Ireland.
Gwyneth Paltrow was due to attend but opted instead to appear on a New York television talk show. She sent a message that was read out at the event explaining that one of the main reasons she was supporting Obama was that he had a multiracial background, "a name like Barack Obama", and had lived outside the US. He therefore had "experience of other cultures" and was aware that the US could not operate as a lone global policeman, Paltrow said, according to guests at the event.
| We don't pay entertainers to think, Gwyneth ... |
"He has created an enormous amount of interest among Americans here, because he represents real change," said Berger. "I have not organised one of these events before, but I took it upon myself to get involved because I feel strongly about change and about Barack." He said Obama had far more support among US expatriates in Britain than Hillary Clinton. "He is someone who is going to be much more mindful about the rest of the world - certainly more than the current administration, which is not hard."