Some British MPs want to get rid of the phrase ”special relationship" in reference to Anglo-American ties, because they say it has lost its meaning, and because it suggests that Britain is the subservient poodle of superpower America.
Asked to respond to this at the White House press briefing on Monday, press secretary Robert Gibbs hesitated to use the phrase in his initial answer.
After being pressed on this by a journalist, he also seemed to suggest that the phrase is a bit of diplo-speak that has no deep meaning: “I don’t have a special relationship with the phrase ‘special relationship.’ We have a special relationship with Britain.”
“I’d have the report forwarded in and around to the media and you guys can banter back and forth on the banner that we use it with,” he added.
Here’s some banter: No one tell the Israelis that there’s nothing special about “special relationships.”
Because as Gibbs spoke, President Obama issued his message to Israelis on their Independence Day, saying, “I am confident that our special relationship will only be strengthened in the months and years to come."
