From Times Online:
Never mind our colonial past. Confidence in the Armed Forces is the biggest threat to the special relationship.
Tony Blair used to say that the British voters wanted him to have a Love Actually moment - and tell the President of the United States to get lost, as the Prime Minister played by Hugh Grant does in the film. As Barack Obama prepares to move into the White House, Gordon Brown is more likely to find himself in a Mamma Mia! situation. He is one of several people competing to be the political equivalent of the father of the bride.
Read more ....
My Comment: The British failure in Basra, Iraq .... coupled with their inability to control their part of Southern Afghanistan .... has resulted in having the British military lose respect and reliability in the eyes of their allies.
Robert Gates is only voicing what many are not saying in public.