Obama, David Cameron 'Special Relationship' Strained

File this under collateral damage: The BP oil spill will cloud talks between President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron in Washington on Tuesday, potentially complicating the “special relationship” between the U.S. and U.K. The pair will discuss BP’s role in the massive oil spill blackening the Gulf of Mexico and the oil giant’s role in getting the convicted Lockerbie bomber released to Libya. (Cameron has agreed to meet with senators about the Lockerbie probe after originally saying he did not have time.) This is Cameron’s first visit to America since he was elected, and he has to defend BP for the sake of many British pensioners who depend on the oil giant’s dividends. U.S. officials are calling for an investigation into BP’s role in the Lockerbie case; the British government insists the company had no role in the release of bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi. Aside from the BP controversy, Obama and Cameron have a full plate: The war in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and the global economy are on the agenda.