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The Reagan Hymn Book, UK edition

Several days after the July 4 unveiling of the Ronald Reagan statue in London’s Grosvenor Square, hyperbole continues to truckle in — not only about the man who defeated communism “without firing a shot,” but about the “special relationship” between the U.S. and Britain, of which the Reagan Presidency is claimed to have marked the […]

Several days after the July 4 unveiling of the Ronald Reagan statue in London’s Grosvenor Square, hyperbole continues to truckle in — not only about the man who defeated communism “without firing a shot,” but about the “special relationship” between the U.S. and Britain, of which the Reagan Presidency is claimed to have marked the golden age of mutual interest, cooperation and brotherly goodwill. Another hymn arrived today courtesy of the The American Spectator‘s R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., who remarked wistfully on the statue’s unveiling:

It also seemed to me to be an acknowledgement of the vast achievements of America and Great Britain’s “special relationship,” and of what great things those two resolute powers have achieved since the dawn of the 20th century. July 4, 2011 was a great day of American and British friendship.

That America and Britain have cooperated extensively over the last thirty years — in the last ten years especially within counter-terrorism intelligence and military strategy — cannot be denied. But what really jumps out from Tyrrell’s words is his invocation of the “vast achievements” of the special relationship. Reagan and Thatcher’s joint efforts in hastening communism’s collapse must not be passed over, as the left is fond to do; but that was a long time ago in the shifting theatre of international politics, and much has happened since. A cursory survey of America and Britain’s adventures since 9/11 reveals, not “vast achievements,” but vast failures.

The Iraq War may have been declared won (after many expensive years of intransigence), but security in the country remains tenuous and minorities, most notably Iraq’s Christians, continue to flee in droves. Meanwhile in Afghanistan, some kind of settlement with the “moderate” wing of the Taliban is widely considered inevitable, and the earnest project of nation building has been all but wiped from the table. None of this resembles an “achievement,” let alone a “vast” one, and least of all victory. Whether or not Britain and America’s friendship is sincere, and many doubt it under the Obama administration, their shared efforts over the last ten years resembles mostly an ineffectual brotherly misadventure.

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