What is Blair really getting for being in bed with Bush?

What I want to know is what is the real benefit for this country (uk) for being allies with Bush, helping out in the middle east etc... I dont see any Benefits so far we still have crazy fuel prices and our forces seem to be finding it pretty tough out there what is it all for what is the bigger picture?

Try the search engine, it's what it's for.

Have a good look around the threads.

If you go back down this page alone and take a look at a few others you'll see that this issue has been debated many many times here already.

I bet my title is the best though haha anyway I will have a look
thanks

Both sides do get quite a lot out of the 'special relationship'.

For example, the United States gets £148.3 billion of investment from the United Kingdom, and roughly one million US jobs rely on British investment in the States.

Similarly, the United Kingdom gets £133.7 billion of investment from America.

And then you have the tens of billions in trade between the nations. And, hell, a lot of British tourists enjoy going to the States - to Florida, or New York, or Las Vegas and so forth. A lot of US tourists come to the UK each year also, to areas such as London, Edinburgh and the Lake District. Again, more money.

And those are just the economic benefits. The US and UK share military technology (the UK's nuclear deterrent is based on US-built Trident missiles, and the armour the US uses on their tanks [Chobham armour] is a British invention). They share intelligence - the ECHELON system and so forth. So there's the security issues too.

Culture too - both nations speak English. How many Hollywood movies have you seen this year? How many British musicians do the Americans love, and how many American musicians do the British love?

Quite honestly, I'm astonished that people in the UK can be anti-American when both sides have enjoyed such a close relationship over the past 60 years or so. You might not agree with their politics or their actions, but still... the Americans do a lot for the UK, just as the UK does a lot for the USA. It is perhaps the most fruitful relationship ever in the history of foreign affairs, and I would be very disappointed (perhaps worried) if the British and American governments didn't make the effort to stay on good terms. Now I'm no spineless, pro-American guy... there are elements about the US I don't like, and I fully support an independent British foreign policy, but let's be sensible. The US is a good friend to have, and I can see why Blair and Bush want to maintain the relationship - especially in the difficult times we live in.

[edit on 1-11-2006 by Ste2652]