Frissons of disapproval shook the State Division final 12 months when British International Secretary Liz Truss first met Secretary of State Antony Blinken. She was “blunt” and “assertive” and took “maximalist positions,” nameless U.S. sources asserted. The horror: a British official as plainspoken as an American!
As prime minister, an assertive Ms. Truss might be a drive multiplier for the U.S. Boris Johnson, in his farewell to Parliament, suggested colleagues to “keep near the Individuals.” These phrases are unusual to American ears as a result of we seldom hear them, even from our closest associates. However Mr. Johnson meant it, and there’s no doubt Ms. Truss agrees. Within the crises and conflicts forward, her reward for pro-U.S. inclinations might be criticism that, like Tony Blair in the course of the publish 9/11 Iraq conflict, she is Washington’s “poodle.” Critics don’t grasp that Washington appreciates London’s unvarnished recommendation and candid criticism as proof of the alliance’s energy. In addition to, I’ve by no means encountered a British poodle.
