Expect more 'full and frank' talks

Speaking to reporters after the Camp David meeting with the visiting new Prime Minister of Britain, Gordon Brown, the US President George W. Bush said that he had "full and frank" one-on-one discussions -the diplomatic jargon that differences had indeed surfaced - with his guest over dinner and, later, over breakfast on July 30.

Brown had made it clear that his decision on the timing of British troop withdrawal from Iraq would depend entirely on the advice of British military commanders on the ground.

Britain has already handed over control of three of the four provinces in Southern Iraq. In contrast, Brown's predecessor Tony Blair took a bilateral approach, preferring to first "consult" - a euphemism for doing things in tandem with - Washington.

Bush faces tremendous pressure from both Democrats and Republicans in Congress to call the troops home from Iraq.

A report from General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, expected in mid-September, would clarify whether the thousands of additional troops US sent to Iraq had met with any success. General Petraeus' report will be crucial for US decision on troop withdrawal.

Despite the external bonhomie that was paraded at Camp David for the benefit of the hordes of journalists, who closely monitored every step - or misstep - which the pair took, differences were visible in the body language of both leaders.

Brown who, one should not forget, has been appointed and still needs to be elected as the prime minister, is under pressure at home to redefine his country's "special relationship" with the United States, and call back British troops from Iraq.

While Brown did not demonstrate any outward aloofness from Bush - he struck all the right notes but remained formal most of the time in stark contrast to the President's light-hearted demeanour - the prime minister dropped hints that he was going to, as it were, gently "tip toe away" from the president.

For one, Brown did not reciprocate by giving personal praise to Bush, who went out of his way personally to praise his guest as a "humorous Scotsman" in contrast to the "dour Scotsman" portrayed by the media.

Brown's reticence was, apparently, intended to impress audiences back home by showing that he was indeed taking the first step away from the US President. Though polite and friendly, Brown exercised a statesman-like restraint.

While Brown and Bush, joined by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on day two, also discussed other issues, including Iran, the Middle East, Darfur and Doha round of talks, Iraq is the litmus test.

Consequently, Bush kept saying that he was certain that Brown realised that it would be a "disaster" for both the US and the UK if they failed to win the Iraq war.

While both leaders, undoubtedly, expressed their determination to fight terrorism and extremism, Brown introduced a new element by emphasising the need to employ diplomacy along with military power, intelligence and security.

But even before the two leaders met, there were already signs that differences between the two sides would invariably surface, at least, on Iraq.

Britain's new Foreign Office Minister of State for Asia and Africa, Mark Malloch-Brown, very nearly stirred a hornets' nest in US political circles with his comment that the Bush-Brown relationship would not be "joined at the hip like the Blair-Bush relationship".

Downing Street swiftly rubbished this characterisation of the Bush-Brown relationship, thus preventing the matter from escalating into a major diplomatic incident.

At stake

American and British analysts say that both sides have so much at stake in global affairs that Brown would have no choice but to continue the close relationship with the American president.

Brown would thus have to strike a delicate balance between nurturing Britain's "special relationship" with the US and, at the same time, demonstrating to Britons that, unlike his predecessor Blair, he was not Washington's "poodle".

Brown was painfully aware that 60 per cent of Britons, according to a recent Sunday Times poll, would like to see Brown to keep "some distance" from Bush.

Brown's just-concluded visit to Washington tells us that we should expect more "full and frank" discussions in the future.

Manik Mehta is a commentator on Asian affairs.