June 14: The Problem Is Not Britain. It's British Petroleum

By Sylvia Gurinsky

Quite a few people across the Atlantic are a wee bit sensitive about the criticism BP (full name: British Petroleum) is getting for its Keystone Kops handling of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

It's nothing personal.

There are some politicians who would choose to posture against a country (remember "Freedom" Fries?) because it benefits them with constituents who have an IQ of about 5. But most Americans understand that BP's behavior and the behavior of its chief executive officer, Tony Hayward, have nothing to do with Great Britain or the British people.

Hayward and his fellow BP executives seem to have a tone-deafness about cleaning up the spill and addressing the individual concerns of Gulf communities that are threatened. Time magazine's website is reporting that residents in the Florida Keys, who are known for their independence, may go ahead with their own version of the cleanup, whether BP and the federal government OK it or not:

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1996441,00.html

Clearly, the main problem rests with British Petroleum. If there is any government to blame, it's the United States government. No one else.