BBC NEWS: BROWN ENCOURAGES THE RENEWAL OF “SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP”

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke to both houses of the US Congress today about the need for the US and the UK to cooperate on issues concerning the global financial crisis.  To do this, there would need to be agreed-upon rules and standards for accountability, transparency and reward in banking between the two countries.  Addressing the historical “special relationship” that has existed between the United States and her former colonizer, Brown also asked leaders of the United States to think differently about Europe:  “There is no old Europe, no new Europe. There is only your friend Europe.”

Question to the Blogosphere:  Is it necessary to create common ground and build friendship between Great Britain and the US in order to attack the financial crisis?  Are issues so interlinked within the problem of the financial crisis that cooperative negotiations on economic policy across countries arenecessary?  Does the fact that the US and the UK have similar histories, national cultures, and historical friendships help this search for common ground?  What is the difference between the relationship between President Obama and Prime Minister Brown and that between President Bush and Prime Minister Blair?