candidate: Through times of war and rebellion , peace and estrangement , as well as becoming friends and allies , Britain and the US cemented these deeply rooted links during World War II into what is known as the " Special Relationship " , described in 2009 by British political commentator Christiane Amanpour as " the key trans-Atlantic alliance " , which the U.S. Senate Chair on European Affairs acknowledged in 2010 as " one of the cornerstones of stability around the world .