The big vote

Is Britain´s relationship with the U.S. that special? I have always had my doubts. Britain and the U.S. have common values but when it comes to foreign policy I wouldn´t say that the relationship is so special. Britain has sided with the U.S. on many occasions over recent years but it was the U.S. who was doing the asking. Iraq and Afghanistan were U.S. led operations which Britain quickly joined. It was not always like that. The U.S. defeated Britain over Suez and then Britain refused to send troops to Vietnam. The U.S. initially didn´t support military action over the Falklands and then invaded a member of the Commonwealth where the Queen was head of state without informing Britain. So Britain and the U.S. have often disagreed over foreign policy and the Syrian vote by parliament was just another example. I sincerely doubt that the so-called vote snub will hit Britain´s relationship with the U.S. but it will certainly make President Obama´s position even more difficult. The U.S. probably understands Prime Minister David Cameron´s woes and also in Washington it will become clear that Britain can´t always be relied on to back the U.S. on everything. The Mother of all Parliaments made its view very clear on Thursday night and in some ways it showed that British democracy is alive and well. Britain was not not going to be rushed into war by anyone, even its main ally. Some will say it was parliament´s finest hour.