Brown turns page in U.K.-U.S. relations By DAVID STRINGER, Associated Press Writer

Brown turns page in U.K.-U.S. relations By DAVID STRINGER, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 14 minutes ago



LONDON - As Prime Minister Gordon Brown prepared to visit the United States on Sunday, he said he plans to use the trip to strengthen what Britain already considers its "most important bilateral relationship."

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"It is a relationship that is founded on our common values of liberty, opportunity and the dignity of the individual," Brown said in a statement. "And because of the values we share, the relationship with the United States is not only strong, but can become stronger in the years ahead."

He denied speculation that the relationship was cooling.

Brown's predecessor, Tony Blair, was often accused at home of being too compliant with the policies of President Bush, especially regarding the Iraq war. Some analysts have urged Brown to be more like Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill, who had closed ties with the U.S., but remained frank about their own goals and policies.

Brown travels to the U.S. buoyed by a surprising degree of public support after a first month in office in which he impressed with his sober handling of the terror plots in London and Glasgow.

Many observers expected Brown to flop because of a personality often derided as dour and brooding — yet these very traits have helped him appear serious and statesmanlike.

Britons seem pleased with the contrast to the kinetic Blair — and the new leader is riding high in polls. But questions abound over whether the intellectual Brown will kindle Blair's chemistry with Bush.

Visits to Camp David and the United Nations, where Brown will make a speech, are highlights of the leader's first major overseas visit since he ended his 10-year wait to succeed Blair.

Brown arrives with some thorny issues in his policy folder, not least the fate of Britain's remaining soldiers in Iraq.

Military chiefs in London have said Britain is likely to hand over control of the southern Iraqi city of Basra to local forces by the end of the year, a move certain to spark a domestic clamor for more British troop withdrawals.

Other difficult themes: the American push to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe, the Iran nuclear controversy, Darfur's misery, and the status of the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo.

Brown will be boosted in potentially testy talks with Bush about Iraq by his strong domestic standing, with polls showing his Labour party has recaptured its lead over the Conservatives.

Such has been the impact of the "Brown Bounce" that one opposition party chief last week put his lawmakers on high alert for a possible surprise autumn election — despite the fact Brown can wait until 2010 before calling a poll.

Many analysts believe Brown is itching for the legitimacy bestowed by winning an electoral mandate.

He got the keys to No. 10 Downing St. by securing his party's blessing after Blair stepped down — not through a popular vote.

Even so, early indications are that the public likes what it sees.

The Scot showed calm resolve when two failed car bombs were discovered in London's entertainment district on his second full day in office. A day later, he reassured the public when two men rammed a Jeep into Glasgow's airport.

Brown's low-key authority was a departure from the hyperactive reaction from Blair's government to last summer's alleged plot to down U.S.-bound airliners, which tended to alarm the public rather than soothe it.

The new leader has also quickly ditched some of Blair's more controversial plans, axing proposals for a Las Vegas-style casino in Manchester, launching a review of Britain's 24-hour drinking laws and moving to stiffen penalties for people using and trading cannabis.

Brown won over much of the media with a relaxed and confident performance at his first major news conference last week. But his high ratings appear to be due chiefly to his emphasis of substance over spin — a key change from Blair.

In Washington, officials expressed optimism about warm ties between Bush and Brown.

The two leaders have a "very special important relationship," White House press secretary Tony Snow said Thursday. A Brown spokesman, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity, said the two "have already established a rapport."

But there have also been frictions.

Junior foreign affairs minister Mark Malloch-Brown raised eyebrows in Washington recently when he said Bush and Brown would not be "joined at the hip" — a jab at Blair's relationship with Bush, which the press ridiculed as groveling.

The Bush administration has reportedly been alarmed at Brown's decision to appoint Iraq war critics to his Cabinet, particularly Malloch-Brown.