A "Special Relationship" Indeed
Ursula Hennessey ·
Feb 4, 2011 at 3:25pm
From the Daily Telegraph:
WikiLeaks cables: US agrees to tell Russia Britain's nuclear secrets
The US secretly agreed to give the Russians sensitive information on Britain's nuclear deterrent to persuade them to sign a key treaty, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
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May '10
Re: A "Special Relationship" Indeed
As Jonathan Lynn wrote for Yes, Minister, ""The Letters JB in capitals are one of the highest Commonwealth honours. They stand for Jailed by the British. The order includes Gandhi, Nkrumah, Makarios, Ben Gurion, Kenyatta, Nheru, Mugabe and many other world leaders."
Barack's revenge for grandpa Hussein Onyango Obama.
Dec '10
Re: A "Special Relationship" Indeed
pathetic
Jul '10
Re: A "Special Relationship" Indeed
Come on, Ursula. It was a fair trade.
We sent them Britain's nuclear secrets and they sent us photographs of Gordon Brown in diapers, being disciplined by a Swiss nanny.
Naughty boy. Very naughty boy.
May '10
Re: A "Special Relationship" Indeed
As shameful as it is that we sold out one of our closest allies, it may be even more pathetic that we let the Russian strong arm us into a position where such a trade was even conceivable.
Jul '10
Re: A "Special Relationship" Indeed
Is it deliberate betrayal of an old friend or just more incompetence? It makes a difference, I suppose.
Aug '10
Re: A "Special Relationship" Indeed
There are alot of reasons to look back into the legacy of Reagan.
And there are some flaws in an admin that would rat out Britain, unless they failed to understand their greatness. Reagan got Maggie (luckily), but before them, Winston held itall up. We got snookered by the Russkies too....how embarrassing. The Persians were bad enough. Our State Dept certainly has it's share of naivete, but I guess we're young ? Looking around for some stability to engender some history is a challenge. Forfeiture of sovereignty is the newest Euro fad. Literal or figurative (Steyn warned us).
This is so sad, worse part is that it washes over now like a slight breeze. Sticky, smelly , and slight.
Dec '10
Re: A "Special Relationship" Indeed
I take your point, Pat, but strong arm is assumptive, in this context. It remains to be seen if we even bothered to get anything. This doesn't sound like hard-nosed negotiating, to me. This sounds like adolescent gossip. The kids are running the candy store.
For once, I am proud that we returned the bust of Churchill to Britain. We don't deserve it.
Jun '10
Re: A "Special Relationship" Indeed
If this is true, count me among the thoroughly disgusted. "Smart diplomacy" indeed.
Aug '10
Re: A "Special Relationship" Indeed
Didn't Obama recently say France was the US's closest friend/ally? At some point one gets the message.
Sep '10
Re: A "Special Relationship" Indeed
Words can barely express my incandescent rage.
May '10
Re: A "Special Relationship" Indeed
This angers me more than any news I've read in a long time. Obama is destroying our real alliances while cozying up to false ones.
New leadership in 2012 is not enough to undo damage like this. If any of our leaders prove so callously untrustworthy, other nations cannot share intelligence with us without worrying that a future politician will similarly leak or sell the information. Obama and Wikileaks have set our diplomacy back by decades.
Sep '10
Re: A "Special Relationship" Indeed
But remember folks, all the anti-colonial talk is all overheated, VRWC rhetoric.
The conclusion that Barack Obama is anti-colonial, or anti-British colonial is laughable, considering that his policies push war for American military colonies in Iraq and Afghanistan. His policies are pulled right out of unfulfilled British Empire doctrine.
Beware the Irish eyes that are smiling.
Dec '10
Re: A "Special Relationship" Indeed
It's even worse if it is both.
That said, as much as I despise Obama and how he has handled our relationship with Britain, I'm very skeptical we, or Wikileaks, know the whole story (and Wikileaks doesn't care).
What if we are working with the Brits on this? Who is to say what the Russians are getting is good, current, and complete information?
Aug '10
Re: A "Special Relationship" Indeed
Like most Irish people of my age (not far off Obama's) I grew up on antipathy to the Brits( meaning the English, really). Also like most but not all, my views have mellowed, although I still rejoice at their defeats in football ( "soccer" as you call it).Apart from anything else you can't deny what they did for humankind in the Second World War.Or their stubborn defence of their currency in the Euro-age.Or their contribution to literature. They surely have done some terrible things in the past,but as former colonial powers go, they're not the worst.And when compared to contemporary Russia they're angelic.
Jul '10
Re: A "Special Relationship" Indeed
Having this come to light almost makes me feel that Wikileaks really does provide a valuable service to the public.
Sep '10
Re: A "Special Relationship" Indeed
If nothing else, this shows what a terrible negotiator Obama is. I would have at least held out for 30 pieces of silver.
Nov '10
Re: A "Special Relationship" Indeed
In addition to GB, let's add the Czech Republic, Poland, Columbia and Israel. (And even Angela Merkel is annoyed)! I agree that the damage his administration has incurred may be irreparable.
Jan '11
Re: A "Special Relationship" Indeed
Man, even *I* know the Russians were probably trying to suppress guffaws whilst negotiating this. I bet they also had to concede to not use nuclear weapons against the United States (well, unless absolutely necessary).
Oct '10
Re: A "Special Relationship" Indeed
I wonder if this is part of Obama's effort to enlist Russia in helping us deal with Iran and whatever other issues come up in regions where Russia's influence is helpful. I doubt it's doing any good but just to understand the plan the administration is pursuing.
Jan '11
Re: A "Special Relationship" Indeed
My natural skepticism forces me to question the report. Before I get too upset, I'm going to wait for Round Two, in which someone argues that Obama was only following a standard practice, or that telling the Russians what the serial numbers of our Trident subs is our business anyway, or why the reporters are misrepresenting the episode. So far as I can tell, there hasn't been any outraged response from the British government, only speculations in the media.
Oh, don't get me wrong. I completely entertain the possibility that Obama was once again throwing someone under a bus, even our chief ally. He does that a lot, doesn't he? It's almost a flaw worthy of a Greek tragedy.
I need a little more before I buy the story as is. It's not that I give Obama any benefit of doubt ... it's that I give the media even less benefit.