Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: goldworldnet who wrote (403447)	1/11/2011 12:40:46 PM
From: FJB	3 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793964

France is our biggest ally, declares Obama: President's blow to Special Relationship with Britain By Tim Shipman (posted by lorne) 11th January 2011 dailymail.co.uk <span style='font-size:19px;color:blue'> Barack Obama has declared that France is America’s greatest ally, undermining Britain’s Special Relationship with the U.S. The President risked offending British troops in Afghanistan by saying that French president Nicolas Sarkozy is a ‘stronger friend’ than David Cameron. The remarks, during a White House appearance with Mr Sarkozy, will reinforce the widely-held view in British diplomatic circles that Mr Obama has less interest in the Special Relationship than any other recent American leader. Mr Obama said: 'We don’t have a stronger friend and stronger ally than Nicolas Sarkozy, and the French people.'</span> The comments follow a pattern of coldness towards the UK. When Gordon Brown was prime minister, Mr Obama snubbed his requests for meetings in the U.S. Fed up: MP Patrick Mercer He also denounced Britain during his inauguration speech. The UK has lost nearly 350 troops in the war against the Taliban – seven times as many as France. And there are more than 10,000 British soldiers serving in Helmand province, compared with just 3,850 Frenchmen. Mr Obama's stance was swiftly condemned in Westminster. Tory MP Patrick Mercer, a former commander of the Sherwood Foresters regiment, said: 'I’m getting a bit fed up with the American President using terms like "best ally" so loosely. 'It’s Britain that has had more than 300 servicemen killed in Afghanistan, not France. 'That to my mind is a lot more powerful than any political gesture making.' The remarks also angered conservatives in Washington. Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Centre For Freedom at the Heritage Foundation think-tank, said: 'Quite what the French have done to merit this kind of high praise from the U.S. President is difficult to fathom, and if the White House means what it says this represents an extraordinary sea change in foreign policy.' Dr Gardiner, a former aide to Lady Thatcher, added: 'To suggest that Paris and not London is Washington’s strongest partner is simply ludicrous. 'Such a remark is not only factually wrong but insulting to Britain, not least coming just a few years after the French knifed Washington in the back over the war in Iraq.