An alliance the world can count on
By Barack Obama and David Cameron (*) - Seven decades ago, as our forces began to turn the tide of World War II, Prime Minister Winston Churchill traveled to Washington to coordinate our joint efforts. Our victories on the battlefield proved “what can be achieved by British and Americans working together heart and hand,” he said. “In fact, one might almost feel that if they could keep it up, there is hardly anything they could not do, either in the field of war or in the not less tangled problems of peace.”
Keep it up we have — not only winning that war for our survival but also building the institutions that under gird international peace and security. The alliance between the United States and Great Britain is a partnership of the heart, bound by the history, traditions and values we share. But what makes our relationship special — a unique and essential asset — is that we join hands across so many endeavors. Put simply, we count on each other and the world counts on our alliance.
As leading world economies, we are coordinating closely with our G 8 and G-20 partners to put people back to work, sustain the global recovery, stand with our European friends as they resolve their debt crisis and curb the reckless financial practices that have cost our taxpayers dearly. We’re committed to expanding the trade and investment that support millions of jobs in our two countries.
As the two largest contributors to the international mission in Afghanistan, we’re proud of the progress our troops have made in dismantling al-Qaeda, breaking the Taliban’s momentum and training Afghan forces. But as recent events underscore, this remains a difficult mission. We honor the profound sacrifices of our forces, and in their name we’ll carry on the mission.
Over the next few days, we will consult about preparations for the NATO summit in Chicago, where our alliance will determine the next phase of the transition that we agreed to in Lisbon. This includes shifting to a support role in advance of Afghans taking full responsibility for security in 2014 and ensuring that NATO maintains an enduring commitment so that Afghanistan is never again a haven for al-Qaeda to launch attacks against our citizens.
As members of the international community, we have been united in imposing tough sanctions on the Iranian regime for failing to meet its international obligations. We believe there is time and space to pursue a diplomatic solution, and we are coordinating our diplomatic approach with China, France, Germany and Russia, our P5+1 partners. Meanwhile, as the United States imposes its strongest sanctions to date and the European Union prepares to impose an embargo on Iranian oil, the choice for Tehran will be sharpened — meet your international obligations or face the consequences.
As two nations that support the human rights and dignity of all people, we continue to stand with those brave citizens across the Middle East and North Africa who are demanding their universal rights. Having joined in the mission to protect the Libyan people last year, we support Libyan efforts to build democratic institutions and hold free and fair elections this year. We condemn the Syrian regime’s horrific violence against innocent civilians, and we are focused on the urgent humanitarian task of getting food and medicine to those in need. With our international partners, we’ll continue to tighten the noose around Bashar al-Assad and his cohorts, and we’ll work with the opposition and the United Nations-Arab League envoy Kifi Annan to plan for the transition that will follow Assad’s departure from power.
As two of the world’s wealthiest nations, we embrace our responsibility as leaders in the development that enables people to live in dignity, health and prosperity. Even as we redouble our efforts to save lives in Somalia, we’re investing in agriculture to promote food security across the developing world. We’re working to improve maternal health and end preventable deaths of children. With a renewed commitment to the lifesaving work of the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria, we see the beginning of the end of the AIDS pandemic. Through our Open Government Partnership, we’re striving to make governments more transparent and accountable.
Finally, as two peoples who live free because of the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, we’re working together like never before to care for them when they come home. With new long-term collaborations to help our wounded warriors recover, assist in veterans’ transition back to civilian life and support military families, we recognize that our obligations to troops and veterans endure long after today’s battles end.
Our troops and citizens have long shown what can be achieved when British and Americans work together, heart and hand, and why this remains an essential relationship — to our nations and the world. So like generations before us, we’re going to keep it up. Because with confidence in our cause and faith in each other, we still believe that there is hardly anything we cannot do.
(*) Published in The Washington Times
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Let's not forget Libya and those “friendly rebels”.
Libya: Cementary of british war victims destroyed by the “friendly rebeles” ....supported by us tax payers for “humanitarian” reasons..remember?
youtu.be/IXZmakPif2w
I you are part of the problem than by all means keep doing what you have been doing....nothing.
If you are willing to take side than by all means help us help you by keeping the truth following to all of those who wish to know what is happening now,why it is happening and how they can protect themselves from whatever comes.
Your continued failure to help us has brought us to brink of collapse.Never before have we been as near collapse as we are know not becouse we don't tell the truth ,but rather becouse many of you fail to see its value.
“Libya: Cementary of british war victims destroyed by the “friendly rebeles””
As anyone with brain can tell it was only done by a few Islamic extremist trouble makers.
We get Argentinians on this blog moaning about British jingoism, I will in future direct them to your sick and distasteful post, to let them see what causes it.
the British(English) are not jingoist ,are just Royalist.
I’m a Royalist and patriotic (loyal) but not jingoistic (absurd pride and contempt for foreigners). I keep pointing out how nationalist the Argentinians on here are, an argument that wouldn’t much water if I was a hypocrite, however I can understand why some of our side are incensed enough to be so.
@8 Idlehands
I think I have got it right
I know !
And being brainwashed into loyaly.
Being loyal, will understand right and wrong,
Being brainwashed, is believing what you are told, without question.
.
And Argentina's contribution to the neo-liberal globalist train wreak has been and is? Ah has been to offer yourselves up to complete ownership by American corporations and to keep the people happy offer them national socialism and keep them talking about the “Malvinas”.
lol Argies are the least qualified to accuse any nation of jingoism because their form of jingoism is nationalism taken to the extreme, the classic examples being fanatical military governments, a dirty war that seen tens of thousands of their own children brutally raped and tortured before being murdered and dumped in unmarked graves, a war of aggression against a small group of islands occupied by a people who want nothing to do with them, a fascistic government offering up nationalism, socialism and corporatism, while issuing decrees and a constant barrage of rhetoric aimed at claiming foreign territory for nationalist expansion.
Yeah the Argies can talk about jingoism, they make jingoism look good by comparison.
And those Islamic extremist trouble makers are the same junkies who were funded by taxpayers from the Netherlands, France, UK, US (all who pitched in the Libya debacle), but a trendy imbecile as you can't figure that out, since you're braindead.
Well you really are putting yourself forward as a good example of jingoism aren’t you.
I think you need to actually read what Idlehands @3 wrote and absorb it before calling someone braindead:
“A government can never prevent all criminal activity - it is how it responds to it that matters.”
There is a power struggle going on in Libra and our taxpayers are supporting their Interim Government, who has condemned this desecration
You don't seem to be able to process what has happened, so I think you should look at yourself for someone that is actually braindead.
You'll thank us one day :-)
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