Special relationship

The special relationship is the phrase used to characterize the warm political, diplomatic, historical, and cultural relations between the United States and British Commonwealth nations. (See the article Anglo-American relations for an overview of relations between the two countries in general). The phrase was more frequently used by British commentators to mean the United Kingdom and the United States, of which more below; and it is the chief benefit-in-action of the Anglosphere. It is now used to describe the close relationship between Tony Blair and George W. Bush.

National links

Examples of strong links between the two nations include military/intelligence co-operation as well as significant economic synergies.

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Military and intelligence

The perhaps unparalleled level of military and intelligence co-operation has increased steadily since the Second World War. Examples include:

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• Intelligence Sharing

The special relationship has maintained ties in collecting and sharing intelligence since World War II. This aspect of the relationship originally grew from the common goal of monitoring and countering the threat of communism. Currently, a major example of cooperation is of the UKUSA Community, comprising the USA's National Security Agency (NSA), the UK's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Australia's Defence Signals Directorate (DSD) and Canada's Communications Security Establishment collaborating on ECHELON, a global intelligence gathering system. Moreover, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada are the only countries which the CIA has publicly stated that it does not spy upon. This is generally interpreted as meaning that the CIA does not maintain intelligence agents in these aforementioned countries.

Related Topics:
UKUSA Community - National Security Agency - Government Communications Headquarters - Defence Signals Directorate - Communications Security Establishment - ECHELON - CIA

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• Military Basing

Another legacy of the Cold War, since the Berlin Blockade the United States has maintained substantial forces in Great Britain. The first major American deployment being B-29 bombers in July 1948. Currently, an important base is the radar facility RAF Fylingdales, part of the US Ballistic Missile Early Warning System. Several other bases with a significant US presence include RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall as well as a jointly operated military facility on Diego Garcia in the British Indian Ocean Territory. Following the end of the Cold War, which was the main rationale for their presence, the number of US facilities in the UK has been reduced in number in line with the US military worldwide. Despite this, these bases have been used extensively in support of various peacekeeping and offensive operations of the 1990s and early 21st century.

Related Topics:
Cold War - Berlin Blockade - B-29 bomber - July - 1948 - Radar - RAF Fylingdales - Ballistic Missile Early Warning System - RAF Lakenheath - RAF Mildenhall - Diego Garcia - British Indian Ocean Territory - US military - Peacekeeping - 1990s - 21st century

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Although the UK does not have any military deployments in US territory, testing of British nuclear weapons took place at US testing sites in the Nevada Desert.

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• Nuclear Weapons Development

The Quebec Agreement of 1943 paved the way for the two countries to develop atomic weapons side by side, Britain handing over vital documents from its own Tube Alloys project and sending a delegation to assist in the work of the Manhattan Project. America kept the results of the work to itself but in 1958, when Britain had developed its own thermonuclear weapons, the United States agreed to supply delivery systems for British warheads. Britain purchased first Polaris and then the Trident system which remains in use today. This co-operation has allowed Britiain to establish a more efficient, cost effective (though smaller) nuclear deterrent than France's Force de frappe. British attempts to provide reciprocal technology to the U.S., such as Chevaline, have been largely unsuccessful. The 1958 agreement gave the U.K. access to the facilities at the Nevada Test Site and it would test a total of 25 underground tests until the cessation of testing in 1991. The agreement under which this partnership operates was recently updated, it is argued that US assistance for the UK nuclear deterrent is in breach of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Related Topics:
Quebec Agreement - 1943 - Atomic weapons - Tube Alloys - Manhattan Project - 1958 - Polaris - Trident - Force de frappe - Chevaline - 1991 - Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

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• Military Procurement

The U.K. is the only "level one" international partner in the largest U.S. aircraft procurement project in history, the Joint Strike Fighter programme. The U.K. was involved in writing the specification and selection and its largest defence contractor BAE Systems is a partner of the American prime contractor Lockheed Martin. Other joint developments include the United States Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier II and the US Navy T-45 Goshawk. Both nations also operate several common designs, including the Javelin ani-tank missile, M270 rocket artillery, the Apache gunship, and C-130 transport aircraft.

Related Topics:
Aircraft - Joint Strike Fighter - Contractor - BAE Systems - Lockheed Martin - United States Marine Corps - AV-8B Harrier II - US Navy - T-45 Goshawk - Javelin ani-tank missile - M270 rocket artillery - Apache gunship - C-130 transport aircraft

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Economic

The United States is the largest source of Foreign Direct Investment to the UK economy, likewise the UK is the largest single investor in the US economy.

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