Nice quote from Martin Kettle’s review of Christopher Meyer’s memoir, DC Confidential…

Meyer is wisely unsentimental, too, about the so-called “special relationship”. The phrase was banned from use while he was ambassador, quite rightly, and he smartly observes that the only countries that can truly lay claim to such a status in Washington – in the sense of being able to have significant influence on US politics and policy – are Ireland, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan, and certainly not Britain, even under Blair or Thatcher.

Martin was the Guardian’s Washington bureau chief from 1997 to 2001.