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WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Bilateral ties between Washington and London are as strong as ever, the two top foreign officials said during a meeting in Washington. British Foreign Secretary William Hague met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington ahead of the NATO summit in Lisbon, Portugal.
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"We have a very clear long-term vision of Britain as an active global power and the closest ally of the United States," said Hague in his statements with Clinton.
Clinton welcomed the commitment of the estimated 10,000 British troops fighting in Afghanistan to give the government in Kabul room to grow.
"I appreciate, too, the trainers that are going to be committed to helping us expedite and improve the training of the Afghan security forces," she added.
London in October rolled out a national security strategy that included an 8 percent cut in defense spending. British Prime Minister David Cameron said his government would cut troop numbers by 17,000, scrap some defense equipment and work to retool the force to prepare for asymmetric threats such as terrorism, cyberwarfare and small-scale commando missions.
Commitments in Afghanistan and other parts of Asia and the Middle East would remain steadfast, the British government said.
The Pentagon reacted by saying it felt British forces would continue to provide "top-tier" fighting forces in Afghanistan and across the globe.
