Paying Tribute to the New Emperor

One of the odder characteristics of a certain strain of British right-wing thinking is the terror that British Prime Ministers might ever disagree with the American president. It’s almost as if there’s a fear that if Britain takes an different view then Washington will chuck us overboard and find a new european friend with whom to play. (Sometimes that’s the Germans, though at the moment the French might be thought the more likely rivals). Such fears are, I suspect, overdone. Still, here’s Con Coughlin today:

But the quid pro quo for a bigger American military commitment to Afghanistan is that Washington’s European allies – which includes Britain – step up to the plate and commit more resources of their own. But although Britain currently makes the most important contribution in terms of fighting the Taliban, Mr Brown seems strangely reluctant to support the proposed American surge, which could immediately put him on a collision course with the new American president.