London-Washington:
The British air base "Fairford" was on a date with the arrival of a special guest, and it is related to the American B-52 strategic bombers, which are aircraft capable of launching nuclear missiles.
The arrival of this private plane came in the context of tension between the West and Moscow, and highlights the extent of the military coordination between London and Washington, which appears to bear the brunt of the burden in confronting Russia, in view of the French and German delinquency to calm.
Britain is the second country after the United States, in terms of moving soldiers in Eastern European countries, and supplying the Ukrainian army with weapons, and it coincides with Washington's rhetoric in warning Moscow of dire consequences in the event of an invasion.
The Ukrainian crisis once again shows the extent of British-American military cooperation, which appeared on more than one occasion, perhaps the most famous of the past decades: the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Since London left the European Union on January 31, 2020, Washington's importance to the United Kingdom has doubled, and the latter is looking forward to reaching an ambitious free trade agreement between the two countries, to strengthen the trade aspect of these relations.
What is the privacy of British-American relations?
The US State Department website states that there is no "closer partner" than the UK.
The term "special relationship" between the two countries appeared publicly for the first time in a speech delivered by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1946.
The term was then used to describe the supposedly unique alliance between Washington and London.
Over the next seven decades, this relationship, underpinned by language, history and shared values, endured to become a uniquely private one unaffected by the party or ideology of the White House or 10 Downing Street residents.
Defense and intelligence relations dominate the core of the UK-US bilateral partnership, and they are important during any crisis related to European security, as in the current Ukraine crisis.
The two countries are active in the so-called "Five Eyes", an alliance of 5 English-speaking countries: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, which began in 1943 with the sole purpose of exchanging intelligence.
London's special relationship with Washington was a cornerstone of Britain's foreign policy.
The latter's status as a close ally of the United States helped enhance its global influence.
In turn, British support has often helped add international credibility and weight to US policies and initiatives, and the two countries' close partnership has served their common interests in bodies such as the United Nations, NATO, and other multilateral institutions.
On the first visit of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to the White House to meet with President Joe Biden, he told reporters that "the task of any British prime minister is to maintain exceptional relations with the United States," a phrase that can be described as the doctrine that drives British political and military behavior towards the United States.
This doctrine can be understood by referring to a report of the Defense Committee of the British Parliament issued in 2018 on military relations, which shows the extent to which its army has benefited from a distinguished position in its relationship with its American counterpart, as this relationship provides it with a total of 38 billion dollars annually.
Britain takes the lead in many military projects and advanced mechanisms, and participates in the latest military programmes.
The British parliamentary report talks about the need to raise military expenditures in order to respond to American demands, on the need to develop the army and its equipment.
Why does America want to increase British military spending?
American defense planners have often considered the United Kingdom to be one of the strongest, if not the most, European allies militarily and capable of deploying forces around the world.
Since the beginning of the new millennium, London has pursued a policy of reducing military expenditures, which did not appeal to the Americans, starting with President Barack Obama, who explicitly called on the British to increase their military spending, to the former Defense Secretary James Mattis, who stressed that Britain should raise its military expenditures to reach 3% of the gross domestic product.
Indeed, London will respond to repeated American demands, by announcing the largest plan for military spending, with an increase of 23 billion dollars by 2023, so that Britain will become by 2025 the largest European spending on defense.
As for the reason for Washington's insistence on increasing London's military spending, it is the American desire to make its ally able to confront Russia in exchange for the United States to devote itself to the most important conflict with China.
Indeed, on September 15, 2021, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia launched the AUKUS Alliance, a new security partnership in the Indo-Pacific, with the aim of deepening cooperation and helping Australia build a new nuclear-powered submarine to confront China.
How London and Washington plan to confront Moscow?
Annual military estimates in the United States and the United Kingdom agree to put Russia on the list of threats facing both countries.
American and British intelligence estimates agree that the Russian invasion is still possible, and London does not know the difference repeated by some Washington allies - such as France, Germany and Norway - that Russia can invade Ukraine, but these countries do not know the timing, and they are not certain that Russian President Vladimir Putin has resolved his decision, and perhaps he will accept some sort of diplomatic settlement that could avert him an invasion of Ukraine.
To confront this threat, a five-pronged military plan was agreed upon, the first of which is a plan for the rapid redeployment of NATO forces in Eastern Europe, and the second of which is to strengthen naval movements in the Black Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
As for the third axis, it is raising the readiness of the special forces, and a plan has been drawn up to mobilize hundreds of British elite forces for landing operations in Ukraine, in the event of Russia’s invasion of the country. As for the fourth axis, it is the strengthening of the nuclear submarine fleet, especially in the Pacific region, and finally, besieging Russian military activity in the North Atlantic.