Barack Obama ended his first state visit to Britain
Wednesday with his attendance at a farewell dinner hosted by Queen
Elizabeth II, during which the president once again stressed the
"special and essential" ties between the two allies.
Indeed, the two words have dominated British
newspaper headlines since Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron first
used them in their co-written article published on the Tuesday edition
of The Times.
"Ours is not just a special relationship, it is an essential relationship -- for us and for the world," they wrote.
Again, at their joint press conference after 90
minutes of closed-door talks Wednesday, Cameron said Britain's
relationship with the United States is a "living working partnership"
that is "essential to security and prosperity."
Obama described the bilateral relationship as "one
of the oldest and strongest alliances the world has even known" in his
speech to both Houses of Parliament at Westminster Hall Wednesday,
which is regarded as a rare treatment for a foreign head of state and
was previously accorded only to a handful of eminent figures besides
British monarchs, including Nelson Mandela, Charles de Gaulle and the
Pope.
To demonstrate the special relations, the Obamas
were invited to stay at Buckingham Palace, an honor only given to two
other U.S. presidents during the past century, and only another U.S.
president since the Queen took throne. Xinhua
