A former aide in the administration says that officials always stressed the importance of the relationship to British visitors but would make jokes behind their backs Paul Hackett / AFP / Getty ImagesUS government advisers regarded the idea of a special relationship with Britain as a joke, a former aide in the Obama administration has claimed. Jeremy Shapiro, a senior advisor to Philip Gordon, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs between 2009 and 2013, said that the relationship was “unrequited”. Mr Shapiro told Cheltenham Literature Festival that although officials stressed the importance of the relationship to British visitors, they would make jokes about the Falklands in private. He told an audience at the festival that he would insert references to “the Malvinas” — Argentina’s name for the Falklands — into press conferences. Mr Shapiro, a former member of the US State Department’s policy planning staff for North Africa and the Levant, said that the…

Source: The Times October 10, 2017 10:52 UTC