Commentary

Britain - America's New Best Friend

Some used to brag that the sun never set on the British Empire. Now it barely rises. When Tony Blair was elected as Prime Minister of Britain, he pledged to restore the country's lost glory and it is beginning to become clear just how he intends to do so.

In the two decades following the second World War, Britain lost its colonial empire throughout Africa and Asia and its influence in the region was pushed aside by U.S. neo-colonialism. British politics since that time has been divided on how to restore Britain's lost empire. The Tories generally sought to use an alliance with U.S. imperialism, while British Labour as traditionally looked more towards the continent and alliances with France and Germany.

Tony Blair's 'New Labour", however, has appeared to be somewhat of an enigma. On the one hand it has striven to strengthen its position within the European Union (EU) and has supported EU measures which are decidedly anti-American. One such example was the proposal for a European Rapid Deployment Force which would replace NATO as the main defender of Europe, a proposal which was initiated by Britain with support from Germany and France.

At the same time, as was seen in the case of Iraq, Kosovo and now again with Afghanistan, Blair has responded in exactly the same way as Thatcher and Major in scrambling to be the first to jump on board the U.S. war chariot.

This contradictory behaviour cannot be explained by theories that British imperialism has simply become a junior partner of U.S. imperialism. It can only be explained if we accept Tony Blair at his word, that his main aim as Prime Minister is to restore Britain as a major imperialist power in its own right. In so far as an alliance with continental Europe facilitates the achievement of that goal Blair is clearly prepared to pursue that course. However, if participating in U.S. military adventures provides Britain with a toehold in regions where it has lost its influence (such as the Middle East and the Balkans), then Blair obviously has no hesitation about following that course as well.