Britain and America

[Empierium]

Should Britain and America Work more closely with each other?

[Cerb]

That's a board question

I think they are as close as they are ever likely to get.

Do you have specifics that have lead you to ask the question?

[Empierium]

I was mostly meanig millitary wise (Also im new and i was seeing what i could do which is why its a rubbish question)

[Inutoland]

As far as I can see, our two militaries already work pretty hand-in-glove where they are deployed in the same theatre. This seems to have been the case ever since WW2.

[Pompadoodle]

Jul 16, 2010 7:17:36 GMT -5 Inutoland said:

As far as I can see, our two militaries already work pretty hand-in-glove where they are deployed in the same theatre. This seems to have been the case ever since WW2.

Yeah- we're allies, we end up fighting in some of the same wars, and when we do, we co operate well together. What more d'ya want?

I'd tend to think that Britain should be rather less willing than it has been to follow the US into military adventures in the Middle East. So in that sense, I suppose I'm for less co operation.

But that still leaves NATO, joint exercises, intelligence sharing and so on. Anglo-American military co operation isn't just about the wars of Bush Jr. And anyway- once we're in a war together, we obviously need to co operate as closely as possible.

[Bigfist]

This is a stupid question because they're about as close as can be without melding into a single nation. Of course that will never happen but hey it sure would be cool.

[Kranusilika]

I think that we work closely together, but I would like to see the relationship between the two nations get even better.
The US and the UK are like brothers...we are no closer, nor do we have more in common with any other nation in the world. We have a unique relationship for sure.
The beauty of it all is we do tend to disagree with each other, but we always remain friends...we agree to disagree. Again, we do not have that with any other nation.

[Pompadoodle]

Jul 22, 2010 12:55:51 GMT -5 Kranusilika said:

I think that we work closely together, but I would like to see the relationship between the two nations get even better.
The US and the UK are like brothers...we are no closer, nor do we have more in common with any other nation in the world. We have a unique relationship for sure.
The beauty of it all is we do tend to disagree with each other, but we always remain friends...we agree to disagree. Again, we do not have that with any other nation.

There are good reasons for the UK and US being so close. We speak a common language, and our economic institutions are very similar- whats often called the Anglo-American model of capitalism. Many Americans have British ancestry. There are substantial foreign investments in both directions.

But theres a lot more to it than that.

The twentieth century was a troubled time. Civilization was threatened by totalitarianism in two forms- from the left there was Communism, from the right Fascism. Victory for either of these ideologies would have been unimaginably catastrophic for the entire world.

In the face of these terrible evils, nations crumbled. Some succumbed to revolutions from within, bringing brutal dictators into power. Others were conquered and subjugated.

But throughout this time of darkness, there were 2 great nations that did not crumble. They were, and are, proud democracies whose peoples maintained their faith in freedom and dignity. And they were, if necessary, willing and able to fight, and fight well.

And they stood their ground. They did not compromise their values. They were never fooled by the lies of the totalitarians. They were never conquered or cowed. Never gave up or gave in. Never surrendered.

And in the end they won.

Britain and America.

Of course we're friends and allies. How could we not be?

[Enigmatic]

Did anyone else see Old Glory and the Union Jack waving in the breeze?

[Lakenburgh]

At least it was cute in it's patriotic narrowly focused glorification of both nations *nods*.

[Pompadoodle]

Well, I suppose it was patriotic, and of course there was a great deal of history that I ignored. History is a lot more complicated than that.

Still, the fact remains that the US and Britain were the only 2 major powers never to succumb to totalitarianism. That doesn't mean that the defeat of Nazi Germany and the collapse of the Soviet empire were entirely down to them, but its undeniable that they had a great deal to do with both. To be crude: if the UK and US had stayed on the sidelines, then they might well have survived, but pretty much everywhere else would be screwed.

We live in a different sort of world now. Sometimes its hard to realise quite how bad the totalitarian dictatorships were, or how close they came to success.

[Lakenburgh]

Oh I would never doubt the part they played especially in the German downfall, I'm just a bit more cynical about the motives and higher ideals countries like to let's say advertise as the reason for their actions. But that's another discussion for another topic. So *wavesthebristishflag* at least a hurray from me for a beautiful country with some of the nicest people I had the pleasure to meet during my travels. Oh and without whom I couldn't watch Dr. Who .

[Pompadoodle]

As far as their reasons for opposing totalitarianism, that is as you say another issue. Self-interest was involved, for sure- but it wasn't just about self-interest.

For example: Britain could almost certainly have had peace with Germany in 1940 or 1941, and kept its empire pretty much intact. Bear in mind that it was fighting alone, and that by an objective standard the war was lost. If it had made peace, then the empire might well have lasted longer- the vast expenditure of lives and money that continuing the war required left post-war Britain an exhausted nation.

Why didn't Britain make peace? Thats a whole topic in itself, but I'd suggest that the answer has more to do with revulsion towards the nazis and belief in democracy than self-interest.

Another factor is that the British are exceptionally bloody-minded. ;D

[Enigmatic]

Jul 23, 2010 5:27:33 GMT -5 Lakenburgh said:

Oh and without whom I couldn't watch Dr. Who .

Hear, hear! Allons-y, geronimo, reverse the polarity, and all that!