Tory Leader criticises the White House

[faceless]

Cameron criticises 'simplistic' White House

? Foreign policy has lacked humility and patience
? Tories will be critical friend of US, says leader

Tania Branigan, political correspondent
Tuesday September 12, 2006
The Guardian


David Cameron criticised the Bush administration yesterday, attacking its "unrealistic and simplistic" world view and over-reliance on military action. In a lecture to mark the fifth anniversary of 9/11, the Tory leader said he was a "liberal conservative, rather than a neoconservative" and insisted: "We are not engaged in a clash of civilisations."

But he went on to justify the use of pre-emptive force and intervention for humanitarian purposes. Promising solid, not slavish, backing for the US, he said: "Anti-Americanism represents an intellectual and moral surrender. I and my party are instinctive friends of America, and passionate supporters of the American alliance."

His intervention went some way to aligning the Tories with the US despite public scepticism about the special relationship. According to research released by the BBC last night, most people - 55% - think the government has aligned itself too closely with US foreign policy. The Gfk NOP poll found that 11% thought the UK was not close enough and 19% thought the relationship about right. More than half of voters - 53% - said the government was losing the fight against terrorism in the UK.
Mr Cameron has a difficult balancing act as he attempts to build links with the Republicans while developing a Conservative critique of arguably the prime minister's weakest spot. Mr Bush is increasingly unpopular at home, while the fortunes of John McCain, the Republican seeking his party's candidacy, are rising. Senator McCain is to speak at the Tory conference in Bournemouth this month.

The speech, to the British-American Project in London, was Mr Cameron's first big speech on the subject. He has spent months developing the party's foreign policy and yesterday announced that he had established a group of senior advisers - including Charles Powell, formerly one of Margaret Thatcher's advisers - to work with the shadow foreign secretary, William Hague.

In an attack on US and British foreign policy Mr Cameron said: "In the last five years we have suffered from the absence of two crucial qualities which should always condition foreign policy making - humility and patience. [Those words] are not so glamorous and exciting as the easy soundbites we have grown used to."

He said the soundbites were unrealistic and simplistic. "They represented a view which sees only light and darkness in the world - and which believes that one can be turned to the other as quickly as flicking a switch." The Tory leader said neoconservatism appreciated the scale of the threat posed by terrorism; believed pre-emptive military action was not only necessary but appropriate to tackle it; and saw the promotion of freedom and democracy - including through regime change - as the best guarantee of security.

But he described himself as a liberal conservative and added important caveats. He warned he was "sceptical of grand schemes to remake the world", arguing that democracy could not quickly be imposed from outside. And he suggested intelligence, economic development and the encouragement of civil institutions were useful alternatives to military action.

Mr Cameron also praised multilateralism, arguing that international institutions were essential to answering security challenges. But he warned that legitimacy and effectiveness were often in conflict in the international sphere.

"The United Nations confers the ultimate legitimacy on any multilateral action. But the very process of securing that legitimacy can undermine its effectiveness ... Darfur is at the risk of genocide from the government of Sudan. Yet Sudan has been able to ensure that the UN is effectively unable to act," he said.

Rightwing Tories were broadly supportive of his speech yesterday, suggesting it differed in tone but not substance from remarks made by Lady Thatcher yesterday.

"We had some classic rows [with the Reagan administration]...," Lord Powell said.

"But that was within the confines of the special relationship. As I understand it, that's what Cameron is looking for."

Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: "It is a great pity that Mr Cameron and his party were not prepared to join the Liberal Democrats in making similar comments during the invasion of Iraq or the crisis in Lebanon."

-----------

I'm genuinely surprised that a conservative from the same party as the hated Thatcher would have such an attitude towards america, and I have to say I'm impressed.

The last thing people in Britain want is to feel like some kind of puppy to america's rottweiler and if he manages to convince enough people of his approach then I really think he might have a chance of getting a good few votes.