Reagan and Thatcher All Over Again

The Extra Special Relationship: Thatcher, Reagan, and the 1980s

The "special relationship" between the United states of america and the Britain has served to unite the two nations over the by century. Thanks in function to a shared language, historically common enemies and like political structures, leaders of the two countries have found it easier than well-nigh to achieve common objectives around the globe. Peradventure no relationship between American and British leaders has been stronger than that of President Ronald Reagan and Prime number Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.

Heads of their respective conservative political parties, Reagan and Thatcher shared like views on economics and anti-Communism. In spite of their different approaches to politics, they formed a close bail that allowed them to strengthen the Anglo-American alliance at a time when the international order was undergoing profound change with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the reunification of Germany.

Keith Smith, Lawrence Taylor, Richard Ogden, and Lynne Lambert each worked with the British during the Thatcher's reign and share their perceptions of the Reagan-Thatcher relationship. Ronald Neitzke also served in London during this fourth dimension and gives his view of the relationship between the United States and Britain. Charles Stuart Kennedy interviewed Smith in Feb 2004, Taylor in April 1998, Ogden in June 1999, Lambert in January 2002 and Neitzke in December 2006.

Please follow the links to read more about President Reagan, the United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland or anti-communism.

" Reagan's reaction was, 'Well, that's Maggie.'"

Keith Smith, Desk Officer for United kingdom and Ireland, Washington, D.C., 1981-1982

SMITH:  I believe that their good human relationship (that of President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher) played a positive function in our bilateral dealings. It also contributed to the ability of both sides to foreclose disagreements from getting out of hand – and we did accept serious arguments. Later, I saw how that actually worked later on the Falklands War.

I was caput of the task force in the Land Department in the Operations Center during the whole war. While the public blamed the states for being "neutral" on the side of the Argentines, Mrs. Thatcher recognized that we had to announced to be neutral in club to maintain some influence with the Argentine military machine junta.

After the war, however, we had some serious conflicts with the Brits over military bug, particularly U.Southward. weapons sales to Argentina. Of class, the British were opposed to any sale of spare parts for Argentine aircraft. We went ahead and made the sale, and Margaret Thatcher sent a tough note to President Reagan, ane strong plenty to have broken diplomatic relations with any other two countries.

Reagan's reaction was, "Well, that's Maggie." I remember being furious at the British ambassador, who had put her upwards to writing the letter, but it didn't accept any issue on our bilateral relations because of the close ties between Thatcher and Reagan.

"President Reagan and Mrs. Thatcher were political and philosophical soul mates."

Lawrence P. Taylor, Economic Counselor, London, 1985-1989

Taylor: We were very much so auspicious Thatcherism on. Nosotros were very closely associated with it. President Reagan and Mrs. Thatcher, I call back, were political and philosophical soul mates. The United states of america Diplomatic mission was very shut to the (British) regime of the solar day, non but on the economic side, because that mainly was cheerleading (nosotros didn't accept a large government economic relationship with Great britain; we had a big private sector economic relationship with United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland), but on the international problems of the twenty-four hours: how to deal with the Soviet Wedlock, how to deal with terrorism, how to deal with Libya in item.

Mrs. Thatcher and President Reagan were co-leaders in the Western Alliance and in the process of taking the Alliance in a sure direction in policy and strategic terms. So aye, we were very close to that government.

What I institute in Britain – and it's the but other country that I know of in which it is true – was a natural desire and ability to think in global terms, much equally U.S. foreign policy leadership does, and not to only see things through the prism or a bilateral relationship or a regional relationship. But to think in global interests and global objectives and to approach issues through those.

Now that gave usa an affinity and, again, a mutual language – those things gave us an ability to have a human relationship with the British that I thought was quite unusual, and in the Reagan-Thatcher period it was very much a partnership. For improve or worse, that's what it was.

"I don't remember Thatcher was anybody's poodle. Perchance more similar a Rottweiler"

Richard Ogden, Economic Counselor, London, 1985-1989

OGDEN: I think the philosophy of Reaganism and Thatcherism was about the same. The implementation of the programs differed because the 2 countries faced rather unlike circumstances.

The extravaganza of Reagan in the British press and in cartoons was of a vehement cowboy, bombing Libya or setting off rockets or wiping armies off the map. The political comedies usually showed Reagan that way, with Mrs. Thatcher as his obedient poodle. They'd ever have her on a ternion with Reagan leading her around. This was the superficial and disquisitional view.

For those involved in politics, the view was very positive. I think even the Labor Party recognized that Reagan was a strong and well-liked president. And of course, Reagan had a lot of back up among the British masses.

I'm non sure sometimes who was the poodle, but that's the way it was ever depicted in the British press.  I don't remember Thatcher was anybody's poodle. Maybe more like a Rottweiler.

" Thatcher was on camera lecturing Mitterrand on the reign of terror nether Robespierre"

Lynne Lambert, Merchandise Policy Officer, London, 1987-1990

LAMBERT: In the first place, Thatcher had huge electoral majorities. She was the longest serving prime minister of the century. Her dominance was simply indisputable.

We did piece of work well with her government. When I first went to London, Reagan was President, and and so Bush-league. Particularly under Reagan, she was that crawly character. Our political appointee administrator, Charles Price, had a proficient ane-on-1 human relationship with her. She delivered. When the going was rough, she was at that place. She asked for favors in return. She was simply a very dominant political personality.

We did have a special relationship. She looked very solid. At that place were many of us in the embassy who felt she was missing the gunkhole on Europe, and that her stridency about information technology all was a liability. When we had these philosophical debates inside the embassy, a lot of us felt the train was leaving the station and she was still shouting from the platform.

You had to take notice or laugh or admirer her, whatever. Ane of the European Union summits was in French republic. It was on the bicentennial of Bastille Day. At that place was this wonderful celebration with all the fireworks. I don't retrieve everyone does fireworks like in France. Thatcher was on photographic camera lecturing Mitterrand on the reign of terror nether Robespierre. She was just a formidable lady and nil daunted her.

We had similar situations when nosotros'd have groups of senators or congressional delegations that would get to come across her. Information technology was the same thing. She lectured them on whatsoever she chose. She often told them what they'd think when they visited Brussels, but it would be wrong. She was a grapheme that was larger than life.

"A quintessentially British haughtiness would sometimes surface"

Ronald J. Neitzke, Political Officeholder, London, 1986-1990

NEITZKE: The Cold War was however very much alive, the Brits were our closest ally, there was an unusually strong personal bond betwixt Reagan and Thatcher, and we had important military bases in Britain and intimate military-to-armed forces ties, likewise as a vast intelligence human relationship, dwarfing what we had with anyone else. And there was an almost inexhaustible supply of experts in London on every corner of the former empire. So a lot of people put a finish in London on their itinerary.

There were occasionally other reminders as well that all was not exactly every bit it appeared on the surface, that although we might speak roughly the aforementioned language and have many common interests, we and the Brits were in some ways very different from ane another.

For instance, I remember in one case at a formal dinner being well into a conversation on Anglo vs. American sensibilities with my British tablemate when she leaned over and, nodding toward a large group of Brits schmoozing together across the room, said, "You know, I shouldn't tell yous this, simply in individual they frequently laugh at you Americans." Although I responded, "That'south okay, in private, we sometimes express mirth at them, as well," her annotate touched a nerve.

All the same reined in it was most of the time, especially effectually us, a quintessentially British haughtiness would sometimes surface, often either amid a disagreement over policy or when yous had inadvertently butchered some arcane British nicety.

Too, despite Thatcher's preeminence and focus on the "special relationship" with Washington, this was a flow when many in the political and chattering classes saw Great britain's destiny increasingly in Europe and viewed the special human relationship with us as an anachronistic hindrance to that movement.

And leftwing British papers' were always caricaturing Thatcher every bit Reagan's poodle, an over-the-height sentiment that nonetheless resonated at least a bit with our British friends and colleagues. Merely overall, this was almost as warm and intimate and mature a bilateral relationship as y'all were likely to see.

Britain was our closest and most reliable ally. And on a personal level, betwixt Thatcher and Reagan, I dubiety there'd been a relationship betwixt a British prime number government minister and a president remotely as warm since Churchill and Roosevelt, and perhaps not even they were as shut.

They were dissimilar people with different styles, of form, with Reagan as the charmer and Thatcher more than openly feisty. But on the major ideological points, foreign and domestic, they appeared to me to be soul mates. And they plainly enjoyed existence around i another.

I had the sense that Thatcher felt shut to Nancy Reagan as well. I had several assignments in connection with a Reagan visit to London that brought me shut plenty to get some sense of this. I don't think any of them were acting. You could see that there was personal warmth.

That doesn't sum up the entire relationship, of grade. There were ups and downs, and issues, such equally the Falklands, on which our respective interests occasionally diverged. Simply I retrieve both leaders had a slap-up bargain of respect for what the other was attempting to do to reshape their ain club, and they largely saw eye to centre on meeting the challenge of the Soviet Union.

The tabloid press would often refer to Thatcher equally Reagan'due south poodle. Well, some poodle. I don't think that was the nature of the relationship at all; Thatcher was quite practiced at using her closeness to Reagan to advance Britain's interests too. And let me add together, this didn't all happen just past risk, or some quirk of personal chemistry. The relationship required constant tending at all levels.

You've probably heard of the Powell-Powell aqueduct. That was the active communications link between Charles Powell, Thatcher's Individual Secretarial assistant, and Colin Powell, then Reagan'southward National Security Advisor. That was certainly a measure of the intimacy of the Thatcher-Reagan relationship and of our two governments at that time.

"She didn't view Bush as fighting in the aforementioned weight class every bit her friend Ronnie"

Yet, [George H. West.] Bush's inauguration in January 1989 brought about a alter in the atmosphere of the bilateral relationship. Thatcher and Reagan had been, in a sense, equal partners, in terms of how they regarded one some other, in an extraordinarily close, long-term relationship. They had been through a lot together.

Although Thatcher patently preferred Bush over [Democratic Candidate George] Dukakis in the 1988 election, and was broken-hearted to be on proficient terms with him, it's fair to say that privately, at least initially, she didn't view Bush-league equally, well, fighting in the same weight class as her friend Ronnie.

She was more experienced on the world stage than Bush, had been Prime Minister for virtually x years at that point, and appeared to regard herself, although not in a gratuitously arrogant way, as the senior partner in this new relationship, notwithstanding the gross disparity in power and influence between our two countries.

This was all a very muted matter, though. I don't recall a specific statement or incident or slight. Information technology may have been more her tone than anything. She frequently sounded school marmish, even imperious.

Whatever it was, and it's possible this originated more on our side of the Atlantic than in London, the Bush squad signaled early on, although again in a muted way, not just that they didn't see Thatcher as the senior partner of annihilation, simply that Thatcher's counsel might carry somewhat less weight under Bush-league than it had under Reagan.

This was not an open falling out or anything, but at that place was a distinct early change in the bilateral atmosphere. And one issue on which this faint discord manifested itself in 1989 and 1990 was precipitated by the falling of the Berlin Wall in late 1989 and the sudden possibility of a reunited Federal republic of germany.

Support for reunification became one of the hallmarks and signal successes of Bush'due south approach to Europe, but it came essentially against the backdrop of Thatcher'due south kicking and screaming. That didn't prevent Thatcher and Bush, who essentially liked one some other, from getting on together.

Equally Bush placed his stamp on the Presidency, the push to German language reunification became unstoppable, and our two governments cooperated very closely in the showdown with Saddam Hussein after he invaded State of kuwait in the summer of 1990. The human relationship did settle into a groove, based on genuine mutual respect, just it was never quite the same equally it had been with Reagan.

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