Milenko Kindl Cvrcko

CAMP DAVID, Md. - President Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon
Brown are expected to hold a news conference after today's meeting at
Camp David. Brown has said he would use his visit to strengthen what
Britain considers its "most important bilateral relationship."
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With little relationship of their own yet, Bush and Brown point
instead to how much their nations have in common.

The alliance of the United States and Britain, though, has long been
shaped by personalities - Roosevelt and Churchill, Reagan and
Thatcher, Bush and Blair. Now Bush and Brown will find out how much
they can do in a short time.

Brown arrived Sunday at Camp David, the presidential mountain retreat
70 miles north of Washington. It was their first official sit-down,
although they have met before.

During a private dinner Sunday and more meetings Monday morning, the
two leaders discussed strategy on the war in Iraq, killings in Darfur
and stalled global trade.

The meeting came as the two men head in different political
directions.

Brown took power just a month ago, with strong early marks for his
response to terror threats and catastrophic flooding at home. He faces
the tricky task of helping Bush tackle world crises without getting
too closely aligned with a U.S. leader scorned in Britain.

Bush, meanwhile, likes to size up a fellow world leader in person and,
over time, measure the person's mettle under fire. Yet he doesn't have
much time left. And his popularity, along with a good bit of clout,
have worn away with the war in Iraq.

"What the president wants to find out is whether the new prime
minister is a reliable ally," said Simon Serfaty, a European expert at
the Center for Strategic & International Studies. "The word to use is
reassurance. This is not about a marriage. It's a date."

Brown, in an op-ed article for The Washington Post, said that in the
battle against terrorism, "it has fallen to America to take center
stage."

Terrorism is "not a cause, but a crime. A crime against humanity," he
wrote, calling for a Cold War style cultural war against extremists'
beliefs.

To defeat extremists, Britain and the U.S. must use "all methods of
intelligence, all tools of law and policing, and all the bravery of
our security and military forces," Brown wrote.

Brown said the modern world's key struggles are "the battles that
engage military might which we have been fighting together in Iraq and
Afghanistan."

The two got off to a chatty start. Brown could be overhead remarking
on how he was honored to be at Camp David, given its rich history.
Part of that history included a stop by Tony Blair, Brown's
predecessor, in 2001 when Bush barely knew him, either.

"Do you come here a good bit?" Brown said Sunday.

"I do," Bush said. Then the president whisked the prime minister away
on a golf cart with a flourish - a 360-degree spin for fun.

They dined privately over a meal of roast tenderloin, mashed potatoes
and green beans. The all-American fare was to continue Monday, with
cheeseburgers and fries for lunch.

In between, the two had a heavy agenda, in private sessions and with
top aides.

Heading into it all, Brown downplayed Iraq as a focal point, although
he acknowledged it would be discussed. Britain has 5,500 troops there,
with forces moving from a combat role to aiding local Iraqi forces.
Beyond the specific numbers of British forces, the United Kingdom's
commitment to the war is essential to the Bush administration.

Brown's spokesman Michael Ellam said there was no plan to withdraw
British troops before the Iraqi army is deemed capable of maintaining
security. Notably, though, Brown is covering his bases. After leaving
Bush, he planned to meet leaders on Capitol Hill.

Bush's top military commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, said he
knew of no plan by the British to withdraw early from Iraq - only to
gradually hand over certain facilities to Iraqi security forces.

Brown was later to leave Washington for New York, where he will hold
talks with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and deliver a speech to
the United Nations.

Some of Brown's advisers have caused a stir with comments about the
Iraq war and Bush's famously close ties with Tony Blair, the former
prime minister. Yet just before he arrived in Washington, Brown was
careful to praise the U.S.

"America has shown by the resilience and bravery of its people from
Sept. 11 that while buildings can be destroyed, values are
indestructible," Brown said. "And we should acknowledge the debt the
world owes to the United States for its leadership in this fight
against international terrorism."