The Costs and Benefits of Anglo-American Cooperation

The benefits for the United States of Anglo-American cooperation in the early post-war years should not be underestimated, although these benefits were associated more with the wider Anglo-American relationship than with the partnership between the two states under the military aid programme. Britain played a vital role in Western security at a time when Europe was already a theatre for Soviet aggression, a role which was crucial to the American strategy of containment. Britain was strategically placed for US air bases, and was arguably least vulnerable of all European states to Soviet attack, and so American air deployments in Britain were clearly a strategic gain for the United States in a region which it perceived as vital to its security interests. Britain also played an important leadership role within NATO, as the most stable state in war-torn Europe, both politically and economically. Finally, it was an important ally for the United States in the political and ideological realm. Hence, the Anglo-American relationship was a major asset to the US in the late 1940s and early 1950s when it was seeking to persuade Western European states to increase their commitment to North Atlantic defence. All in all, Britain’s role as a close American ally in Europe, supporting its foreign policy goals and taking important initiatives to promote the attainment of these goals, was invaluable.