The Special Relationship

Wikipedia - Special Relationship

The Special Relationship is an unofficial term often used to describe the political, diplomatic, cultural, economic, military, and historical relations between the United Kingdom and the United States. The term first came into popular usage after it was used in a 1946 speech by Winston Churchill. The two nations have been close allies during many conflicts in the 20th and 21st centuries, including World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and the War on Terror.

Although both governments also have close relationships with many other nations, the level of cooperation between the UK and the U.S. in trade and commerce, military planning, execution of military operations, nuclear weapons technology, and intelligence sharing has been described as "unparalleled" among major world powers. The close relationships between British and American heads of government such as Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, as well as between Tony Blair and both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush have been noted. At the diplomatic level, characteristics include recurring public representations of the relationship as “special”, frequent and high-profile political visits and extensive information exchange at the diplomatic working level. The UK was the only European country to contribute troops to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

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I will never forget what the United Kingdom did the day after 3,000 Americans were murdered by Muslim assholes on September 11, 2001.

Wikipedia - United Kingdom - United States relations

United Kingdom–United States relations, also referred to as British–American relations or Anglo-American relations, is the bilateral relations between the United Kingdom and the United States. Relations encompass many complex relations ranging from two early wars to competition for world markets. Since 1940 they have been close military allies enjoying the Special Relationship built as wartime allies and NATO partners.

The two nations are bound together by shared history, an overlap in religion and a common language and legal system, and kinship ties that reach back hundreds of years, including kindred, ancestral lines among English Americans, Scottish Americans, Welsh Americans, Scotch-Irish Americans, Irish Americans, and American Britons, respectively. Today, large numbers of expatriates live in both countries.

Through times of war and rebellion, peace and estrangement, as well as becoming friends and allies, Britain and the US cemented these deeply rooted links during World War II into what is known as the "Special Relationship". In long-term perspective, the historian Paul Johnson has called it the "cornerstone of the modern, democratic world order".

In the early 20th century, the United Kingdom affirmed its relationship with the United States as its "most important bilateral partnership" in the current British foreign policy,[2] and the American foreign policy also affirms its relationship with Britain as its most important relationship,[3][4] as evidenced in aligned political affairs, mutual cooperation in the areas of trade, commerce, finance, technology, academics, as well as the arts and sciences; the sharing of government and military intelligence, and joint combat operations and peacekeeping missions carried out between the United States Armed Forces and the British Armed Forces. Canada has historically been the largest importer of U.S. goods and the principal exporter of goods to the United States. As of January 2015 the UK was fifth in terms of exports and seventh in terms of import of goods.

The two countries also have had a significant impact of the cultures of many other countries. They are the two main nodes of the Anglosphere, with a combined population of just under 400 million in 2019. Together, they have given the English language a dominant role in many sectors of the modern world.