Divided They Fight: While President Bush and Prime Minister Blair stand shoulder to shoulder, their forces in Afghanistan can barely see eye to eye.

Since the September 11 atrocities in New York and Washington, British and U.S. leaders have trumpeted to the world their "shoulder-to-shoulder" stance against terrorism. President George W. Bush describes British Prime Minister Tony Blair as "a friend to America," and told a press gathering at the White House on September 20 that "one of the first phone calls I got after that terrible day was from the prime minister." "He was reassuring to me," Bush said. "He showed himself to be a true friend, and I appreciate that."
Blair, in turn, has offered Britain's "full solidarity" to the United States. "I give you, on behalf of our country, our solidarity, our sympathy, and our support," Blair said in September. He told the American people, "we stand side by side with you now, without hesitation." Blair has fought off domestic and European critics who accuse him of "getting into bed with Bush," and has sent his Royal Marines to "fight side by side" with U.S. forces in the Afghan war. "We are together on this," Blair has said.

Really? Recent events on the ground in Afghanistan tell a different story. For all British and U.S. leaders' grand pronouncements of solidarity in the face of terrorism, the "true friendship" between Bush and Blair seems to be in short supply -- at least between U.S. Marines and Royal Marines in the hills of east Afghanistan. Indeed, while politicians at home talk about standing "shoulder to shoulder," their forces on the ground can barely see eye to eye.

Britain's Royal Marines arrived in east Afghanistan at the end of March, at America's behest. In the wake of Operation Anaconda -- which ended in confusion and uncertainty over how successfully it had "found and destroyed" al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in the Shah-i-Kot mountains, and which cost nine American lives -- U.S. forces wanted British backing to finish off the enemy. But no sooner had Britain's Royal Marines touched down at Bagram airbase in east Afghanistan than the first clash between British and U.S. forces occurred.

General Tommy Franks, commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, insisted in mid-March that Operation Anaconda had been "an unqualified and absolute success," and that the British were only needed to ensure that no enemy forces had been left behind. The Royal Marines saw it differently. According to Royal Marine commanders, Anaconda had been a military and political disaster and it was up to them to make amends. As the UK Guardian reported: "Anaconda, where the USA again relied too heavily on air power, was hailed by US commanders as a success. British military officials called it a cock-up."