The United States and the United Kingdom have used the opportunity of President Obama's visit to launch a new initiative in security co-operation: a National Security Board. It is not clear why the initiative has been stepped up. Perhaps it is due to Cameron's establishment of a National Security Council, aligning institutions with Washington's structure allowing direct co-ordination. Or perhaps, the divisions over Libya were due to tactical misunderstandings, not political differences.
Whatever the motive, it is doubtful that this new body will keep the strong differences between the two nations from occasionally surfacing. Nevertheless, an emphasis upon cybersecurity, suggests that Britain faces strong attacks from Russia and China in this field - just as much as the United States does. Will the rest of the Anglosphere observe, perhaps join?
