Of course the US and UK have different interests. The UK has as a very high priority abstract objective the question of "how can we exist as something other than a US client state?" Given the other priority of "how can we avoid getting on the wrong side of the US as at Suez?" this often produces incoherent policy: the ""independent"" nuclear deterrent that may not be, the aircraft carrier with no aircraft.

Al-Yamamah is simply about money. The arms industry is corrupt everywhere because such large amounts of money are involved. It's a real scandal and a tragedy that this should override the rule of law in the UK, but there we go. The UK is rather bad at state accountability; the central secret state is too big. The US of course prefers to federalise its unaccountability and distribute the abuse of power to random local police departments.

I'm curious as to why you think Americans are far more likely to "go native" than Brits? Is this perhaps a question of people "going native" in the other direction, like the Jordanian Royal family? Something about your writing suggests you're an "insider" of some sort.

(This feels odd to write, as a UK critic of UK domestic intelligence defending UK foreign intelligence, but hey)