Obama, Cameron: Alliance bound by history

WASHINGTON, March 13 (UPI) -- The U.S.-U.K. alliance is one bound by history, traditions and shared values, President Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron said in a Washington Post op-ed.

"The alliance between the United States and Great Britain is a partnership of the heart, bound by the history, traditions and values we share," the two world leaders wrote in the commentary published Tuesday. "But what makes our relationship special ... is that we join hands across so many endeavors. Put simply, we count on each other and the world counts on our alliance."

Cameron was in the United States Tuesday and Wednesday.

As leading world economies, the two countries work with the Group of Eight and Group of 20 to get people working again, sustain the global economic recovery and stand by "our European friends" as they resolve their debt crisis, the two said.

Turning to international military intervention, Obama and Cameron wrote, "As the two largest contributors to the international mission in Afghanistan, we're proud of the progress our troops have made in dismantling al-Qaida, breaking the Taliban's momentum and training Afghan forces."

However, recent events underscore "this remains a difficult mission. We honor the profound sacrifices of our forces, and in their name we'll carry on the mission," the op-ed said.

Obama and Cameron said they will discuss the NATO summit in Chicago, where the alliance will determine next steps in transitioning security duties to Afghan forces by the 2014 withdrawal of international troops and "ensuring that NATO maintains an enduring commitment so that Afghanistan is never again a haven for al-Qaida to launch attacks against our citizens."

Turning to Iran, Obama and Cameron said the international community has been united in imposing sanctions on the Islamic Republic's regime over its nuclear program and believe "there is time and space" to pursue a diplomatic solution.

"Meanwhile, as the United States imposes its strongest sanctions to date and the European Union prepares to impose an embargo on Iranian oil, the choice for Tehran will be sharpened -- meet your international obligations or face the consequences," the commentary said.

"Finally, as two peoples who live free because of the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, we're working together like never before to care for them when they come home," Obama and Cameron wrote.

Soldiers and citizens "have long shown what can be achieved when British and Americans work together, heart and hand, and why this remains an essential relationship to our nations and the world," the commentary concluded. "So like generations before us, we're going to keep it up. Because with confidence in our cause and faith in each other, we still believe that there is hardly anything we cannot do."