Manners and tradition are an important part of British culture. America tends to be a little looser on both, but in the past we have worked well with the British. Tony Blair and George W. Bush probably didn't share a lot of political views, but they worked together very well to fight the war on terror. They were on the same page. Barack Obama, however, seems to have a habit of alienating America from its traditional allies. This became obvious this week.
John Hinderaker at Power Line reported yesterday that the British Prime Minister's Office has disclosed publicly that MI5 (British Intelligence) had warned the United States about Umar Abdulmutallab (the Christmas Day bomber). According to the Prime Minister's Office, the file on Abdulmutallab was sent to the US in 2008.
The article states:
"Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was named in a file of people based in Britain who had made contact with radical Muslim preachers."
I am willing to bet that the British would have neglected to mention this fact publicly if George W. Bush were still in the White House. Admittedly, mentioning or not mentioning the fact that America was alerted doesn't really change anything that happened (it sure does raise questions about the effectiveness of our anti-terrorism policies, however), but I suspect that this fact would have not been made public had President Obama been more polite and respectful to the British.
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