McCain Cozies Up to UK's Brown

John McCain began his visit to Europe in London today, where he met with PM Gordon Brown and praised him as a "very strong leader," the Guardian reports. McCain and Brown discussed Iraq, the global economy, and climate change, but when asked about British plans to withdraw troops from Iraq, the presumptive GOP nominee declined to give his opinion.

"I fully appreciate that British public opinion has been frustrated by sometimes our lack of progress," he said, adding that the situation in Iraq has "improved dramatically" in the last year and that al-Qaeda is "on the run." McCain, who also met with conservative leader David Cameron, is visiting London as part of a group of American senators; they will travel to Paris next, where McCain is scheduled to meet Nicolas Sarkozy. (More John McCain stories.)