The special relationship

Lest anyone should be fooled into thinking that the “special relationship” between the UK and the US is dead simply because Obama has snubbed 5 requests from Brown for a meeting should think again, based on the evidence below. The relationship is the same as ever. The snubs are personal.

The UK-USA Security Agreement
This agreement established an alliance between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.to share intelligence. Testimony before the European Parliament indicated that UK-USA systems are in place to monitor communication through undersea cables, microwave transmissions and other lines.

RAF Fairford
The biggest bomber base in Europe, one of only three forward bases (outside the USA) for B-2 Stealth bombers. It is a NATO designated stand-by base and from a low level of activity it can be 'turned-on' overnight, receiving and deploying bombers. US tactics for the attack on Iraq involve massive aerial bombardment in the first two days of the war. The B-2's will play an active role in this, their stealth capabilities will be vital in targeting Iraq's anti-aircraft defences. The base has had extensive refurbishment recently, the largest single NATO expenditure since the end of the Cold War.

RAF Feltwell
A space surveillance station almost certainly involved with Missile Defence and likely to assist in target acquisition for the expected US attacks on Iraq. Feltwell also plays an important role as an electronic warfare and surveillance site as part of an ongoing US National Security Agency effort to monitor commercial, personal, and military electronic communications (phone, email, and radio) worldwide.

USAF Lakenheath and Mildenhall.
Lakenheath is the largest US Air Force-operated base in England, and the most important tactical nuclear bombing base in Europe. There is evidence that around 30 B61 nuclear bombs are deployed there. It is home to the 48th Fighter Wing, used in the 1991 Gulf War and subsequently, and the only F-15 fighter-bomber facility in Europe. NATO and US leaders have asserted that if America is needed again in this region, the 48th Fighter Wing will be called out first. USAF Mildenhall is a staging post for US flights to Europe and holds nuclear weapons based in Europe under the NATO nuclear sharing agreement. Aerial refuelling, special operations, air mobility, reconnaissance and intelligence are run out of RAF Mildenhall.

Menwith Hill & Fylingdales
Located in North Yorkshire, Menwith Hill is a US spy stations and and Fylingdales is an early warning base. Menwith Hill is involved in military and industrial espionage across the northern hemisphere. The UK Defence Select Committee recently approved a request from the US government to use Fylingdales to support their National Missile Defence (Star Wars) project. They said "The factors in favour of that agreement [are] the importance of the UK-US relationship, the improvement to the early warning capability, the opportunity to keep open the prospect of future missile defence for the UK and the potential for UK industrial participation in the programme's further development-outweigh the arguments against."

Northwood HQ
This base in North London is home to two NATO headquarters as well as the British Permanent Forces Headquarters.

Welford
This US munitions dump is a bomb store for RAF Fairford. It is run by the 424th Air Base Squadron and the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston.

RAF Macrahanish on the West Coast of Scotland
Tin foil hat time.