La nervosité britannique devant la déroute US : le “mouvement brownien” accéléré par le retour à la réalité

Dans l’article du Sunday Times que nous décrivons comme si pessimiste et si catastrophique dans la recension qu'il fait de la déroute de l’esprit à Washington, un passage est consacré à l’attitude britannique, à ce qu’on perçoit de plus en plus comme un tournant de la politique britannique. Le passage donne une version avec des précisions, des détails, la description d’intentions, etc. A lire pour notre information, certes.

… Mais on ne peut s’empêcher également d’un très fort sentiment. La dégradation de la situation à Washington agit directement sur la situation à Londres, l’esprit de Washington sur l’esprit de Londres. Ce que nous nommons le “mouvement brownien” va être accéléré par la situation à Washington. Ce que l’histoire retiendra peut-être, outre la fin de la soi-disant “volonté de vaincre” de Washington, c’est combien le départ de l’illusionniste Blair a ouvert les vannes à la marée de la réalité, combien, à Londres également, c’est le retour à la réalité et que cette réalité implique nécessairement une révision peut-être radicale de la politique US du Royaume-Uni.

»While the White House was dealing with its own row over Iraq, the first “wobble” of the new regime in Downing Street broke out. Douglas Alexander, the secretary of state for international development, a close ally of the prime minister, delivered a speech in Washington which was said to “reorder” Britain’s relationship with America.

»Alexander’s call for a “multilateralist, not unilateralist” foreign policy was cast as a dig at Blair’s unquestioning support for Bush. “In the 20th century a country’s might was too often measured by what they could destroy,” he said. “In the 21st century strength should be measured by what we can build together.”

»Had Brown sided with the waverers to win votes back home? The headlines on Friday morning sparked a flurry of panic at No 10. Brown called a meeting with his advisers shortly after lunch, where there was talk of sacking one of Alexander’s aides for spinning the speech – a sin in the supposedly new spin-free zone in Downing Street.

»At the White House and State Department, senior officials went ballistic and demanded explanations from their British counterparts. “It has severely irritated the administration,” said a senior British source. “Douglas Alexander and his team caused a lot more problems for the prime minister than they knew.”

»No 10 tried to play down suggestions of Britain taking a more independent line. Blaming spin, however, is too easy an explanation for the miscommunication. Sources acknowledge that Alexander intended to deliver a “subtle” message in Washington for British consumption – just not with the megaphone that the White House heard loud and clear.

»Besides, 24 hours later, another of Brown’s new ministers stoked the suspicions. Malloch-Brown, former deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, said: “What I really hate is the effort to paint me as antiAmerican, but I am happy to be described as antineocon. If they see me as a villain, I will wear that as a badge of honour.”

»He went on to say that he hoped British foreign policy under Brown would become “much more impartial”.

»Brown is now preparing to fly to Washington in the next couple of weeks to reassure Bush about the strength of the alliance. “He may need to come out quicker than he intended,” a British official said. “He will have to undo some of the damage.”

»David Miliband, the foreign secretary, is also said to be furious and might arrive in Washington before Brown. Simon MacDonald, No 10’s foreign policy adviser, will fly out this week to meet Stephen Hadley, the US national security adviser.»

Mis en ligne le 15 juillet 2007 à 05H46