Many British politicians and much of the UK media has been bewailing the fact that the US withdrawal

has revealed how dependent the UK is upon US policymakers. Have you found that surprising

given that Britain's reliance on the US has been an established fact since the Suez crisis?

And what do you think it reveals about the political media class in Britain and the way that

they see Britain's place in the world? Well, I've certainly not been at all surprised. I mean,

I think the problem with the UK, and it's one of two countries are in this position, Britain and

France, for slightly different reasons, but mostly overlapping, both are countries, middle-ranking

power with delusions

of post-imperial grandeur. It is partly the seats on the Security Council. It's partly that they've

been nuclear weapon stakes. Britain was the third, France was the force to acquire nuclear weapons,

and a sense that they are big countries. It's particularly

true in the case of Britain, because there was this belief that once Brexit had happened,

we would be shed the limitations of Europe and will be there to play our key role in the world

as one of the great powers. It's a myth, but it's one which dies extremely hard

with great difficulty. In a sense, I mean, if you talk to some people who are quite senior in the

Royal Navy, they will acknowledge the reality that as far as the Navy is concerned, it's a two-ship

Navy. It can put a full carrier battle group to sea, but certainly not two. You

have difficulty keeping one at sea unless it had help. And it can put a ballistic missile

submarine to sea permanently. And so I think the point here is that there is this belief that

we're a great power, but I have to say it is a myth. And particularly in relation to the United States, it is useful to the US to have Britain as an ally.

It was so useful to George Bush when Tony Blair was involved immediately after 9-11 and crucially in the run-up to the Iraq War.

But the fact is that Britain is a middle-ranking power no more.

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