CASPER WEINBERGER

By Ray Fleming IN this space yesterday I mentioned the “special relationship” between Britain and the United States and the damage that may have been done to it by the Blair-Bush partnership over Iraq. There are, of course, those who believe that since the end of World War Two this “special relationship” has been more a figment of Britain's imagination than a reality. However, the death earlier this week of Caspar Weinberger, the former US Secretary of Defense in President Reagan's administration, provided a reminder of how potent the US/UK relationship can be. Margaret Thatcher's decision in 1982 to go to war to expel Argentinian forces from the Falklands Islands stretched British military resources to the utmost. In Washington not everyone agreed about the correctness or necessity of the British action; Secretary of State Alexander Haig, for instance, believed that America's role should be confined to diplomacy. Caspar Weinberger thought differently and he persuaded President Reagan that the US should help Britain in whatever way it could without becoming involved directly. The result was vital co-operation over intelligence and communications and also help with weapons and military supplies that eased the pressure on the British forces' long supply lines. At one point Weinberger even suggested sending a US aircraft carrier to the South Atlantic for use by British planes. Caspar Weinberger was a true friend of Britain to whom the idea of the “special relationship” came naturally; in 1988, in recognition of his support, 1988 Britain appointed him to an honorary knighthood.