Our American "Friends".... well, yours anyway.
> "We share a common language, we pretty much founded their darn country"
That's nice. It doesn't mean much nowadays, unless you expect the tail to wag the dog. But then, the problem with the UK is that it never really accepted that at some point it *did* become the tail.
On the contrary, it's the sort of self-affirmation that the UK tells itself to maintain the idea of exceptionalism and importance that have- in reality- declined massively since the days of empire.
The sort of thing that propels the self-flattering myth of the (one-way) "special relationship", for example. Something that the Americans couldn't give a toss about, but are understandably happy to exploit when it suits them.
Twenty years ago, Tony Blair was using it to flatter his- and the UK's- vanity with the idea that, by staying onside, he could moderate and influence the behaviour of George W Bush in Iraq. It was bleeding obvious even then that this wasn't the case, and the Americans were doing what they would have done regardless. (White House insiders even admitted this later on).
Blair's fawning support did nothing other than to legitimise the Americans' behaviour and distract from the fact it was all but unilateral.
And it's the same self-important flattery that led the UK to swan out of the EU- which it has always resented- bloviating that it held all the cards, and that getting a trade deal with the US would be a piece of piss.
Still waiting for that one, and I don't like to think what sort of a "deal" that bullying orange piece of shit is going to offer the UK which put itself in a position of weakness and which he now has over a barrel.
> "we have a seat at the top table with the US as one of the few nations who has a thermonuclear capability"
So does France. Difference being that theirs isn't as reliant upon another country which- in the past few weeks, if it wasn't already- it's become very clear is no longer a reliable partner.
I suppose one could technically argue that *is* a case where the UK certainly is "aligned" with the US, but only in a way that makes clear that this is completely undesirable.