Obama loses reliable partner in face of Brexit
WASHINGTON — In his public reaction to the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union and the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron, President Barack Obama offered assurances that the two countries would remain “indispensable partners.”
He insisted he respected Britain’s decision and added he was confident the nation would pursue an orderly transition to life outside the EU.
Yet before the vote, Obama had warned of the consequences for Britain leaving the EU.
He put the U.K. on notice it would become a low priority on trade while pushing back on the isolationist and anti-immigrant sentiments that have taken root in the U.S. and elsewhere and now seem to be tearing at Europe’s seams.
With U.S. and global markets reeling, Obama wants to avoid the perception that U.K. relations will suffer. At the same time, downplaying the significance of the exit could undermine his calls for Europe remaining integrated under the EU banner, just as other European nations start demanding their own votes about whether to leave.
White House officials said they expect no immediate changes to the myriad areas where the two countries are working together, including the British military’s involvement in the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group. After all, Britain’s withdrawal from the EU could take years.
Still, there’s far less assurance that Britain and other European countries will reflexively take the U.S. side.
Though the U.K. will remain in NATO, the disarray in the EU raises the possibility of less unity on issues like Russia. With Britain’s support, Obama has been pushing to maintain sanctions on Moscow over its actions in Ukraine, but consensus has been hard to maintain as countries like Germany and Italy, which trade heavily with Russia, lobby to lift them.
Britain’s record as a partner isn’t unblemished. Obama has said Cameron’s failure to persuade Parliament to approve airstrikes against Syria’s government was a wake-up call that heavily influenced his decision to call off his own planned strikes in 2013.
The White House also was frustrated that after leading the call for a NATO intervention in Libya in 2011, the U.K. seemed to lose focus as Libya descended into chaos.
