Obama, Cameron reaffirm alliance

WASHINGTON, March 14 (UPI) -- U.S. President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron Wednesday reaffirmed the military alliance between the two countries, the White House said.

Cameron was in Washington to meet with Obama.

"We have developed unparalleled military interoperability and interconnectedness, working together to meet the challenges of the Cold War, leading in NATO, and fighting side-by-side in defense of global interests," a White House statement said.

The statement cited a number of areas in which the two countries cooperate.

In March alone, "1,100 U.K. military personnel will take part in 10 training exercises with U.S. forces across the country, to include a detachment from the Royal Regiment of Artillery participating in an adventure training expedition near the Grand Canyon, a squadron of Royal Air Force GR4 Tornadoes conducting live-fire heavy weapons training in Arizona, and an RAF squadron participating in a Red Flag exercise at Nellis AFB, Nev.," the statement said.

The United States and Britain also "remain focused on the threats to a global cyberspace and to the rights of its users," the statement said. "As a handful of governments use cyberspace to oppress their citizens and prevent access to legitimate political speech, we will continue to cast light on these activities. We condemn in the strongest terms Syria and Iran's unilateral actions to deprive citizens of their rights to freely seek and impart information on-line, and reaffirm our commitment to safeguarding the free flow of information and the exercise of these fundamental freedoms, wherever they are threatened."

The two leaders recognize "our economic security and network security are inextricable; therefore, we must do a better job of sharing cybersecurity information between industry and our two governments, while continuing to safeguard the privacy and civil liberties of citizens that are the hallmarks of open and democratic societies."

The Obama administration "has proposed a new statutory framework to further facilitate the exchange of cyberthreat information between the public and private sectors, with strong protections for privacy and civil liberties. The administration is committed to working with Congress to see such legislation enacted," the statement said.