Just one regiment... the Black Watch would have done...

Vietnam flashback: "All we needed was one regiment. The Black Watch would have done"

And so they probably would... The BBC's Paul Reynolds BBC News 28.10.04 - How would Kerry view Britain? states that the Black Watch are doing more than just military services in Iraq, they are also diplomats... but he reminds us of our Labour prime minister's refusal to endorse American military and political folly... that's the longest serving (so far) Labour PM...

It is interesting to note that the Black Watch, which has been redeployed to help strength US positions in central Iraq, has played a role in this relationship before.

Vietnam tensions
During the Vietnam War in the late sixties, it looked as if the relationship was special no more. The days of the Kennedy-Macmillan era were over and those of Reagan-Thatcher were yet to come.

President Johnson dismissed an economically depressed Britain as being of no importance, though he wanted a token British military contingent in South Vietnam.

The British Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson refused and skilfully kept Britain out of the war while giving the Americans diplomatic support.

The tensions were evident. In 1968, The US Secretary of State Dean Rusk told a British correspondent: "All we needed was one regiment. The Black Watch would have done. Just one regiment, but you wouldn't. Well, don't expect us to save you again. They can invade Sussex, and we wouldn't do a damned thing about it."

cheers Mike for spotting that :-)