Just seen this pop up elsewhere....so sorry for nicking it. Thought provoking....the Falklands was an event that changed my life pattern really.... Plus i like a bit of OT subjects................ As tension rises over the 30th anniversary of the war between Britain and Argentina over the Falkland Islands, the Argentinian government has named the upcoming football season in honour a naval ship sunk by British torpedoes in the conflict. The season, which begins on Friday, will be the known as the Crucero General Belgrano Primera División or Cruiser General Belgrano First Division in English. Argentina lost 649 servicemen in the war, 323 of whom were crew members on the Belgrano. The Argentinian government owns the rights to First Division matches and shows games on free-to-air TV. Advertising time during the matches is often used to promote the accomplishments of the government, which says the islands it calls "Las Islas Malvinas" belong to Argentina. The 30th anniversary of the start of the 10-week war is 2 April. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/feb/07/argentina-football-league-general-belgrano
I know that Britain is thousands of miles from the Falklands, but I believe that they are also around 600 miles from Argentina, which in my eyes weakens their arguments for claiming them...For me, as long as the population want to remain with Britain then Argentina should respect that...
Mr Raw you know i like talking to you, so here's a question..... What if they decide to take the Falklands again.....how could we stop them...or how could we re-take them again with all the cutbacks? Knew this would go OT..
ITs an isue of self detremination The UN charter states that any people have a right to self-determination. If the population of the Falklands wants to remain part of Britain they will be. Any act taken by argentina will be illegal in terms of international law and they would face full UN sanctions (probably) If Argentina did go for them again (which I can see happening) Britian would deploy the maximum force available. The strategi oil supply that has been recently found there is worth too much to the UK just to leave it. If I was a Falklander though. I would Secede. They are fully entitled to and with all that oil would be sitting pretty.
That's the worrying part........where's these ships etc......it's not 1982....the UK is a spent force on this level.
When there is Oil at stake, its surprising how many friends you have. It is in the British national interest to keep the Falklands, of course it is. But its also in the argentinian national interest to take it. I wouldnt be surprised that in the next 20 or so years there will be a massive ramping up of tensions
Far sooner than that mate....it's been simmering all along... Don't expect to have many friends in this one....most will keep out of it.....inc.the Americans.
I honestly don't think we now have the capabilities at present to mount an operation to re-take these islands like we did in 1982...However, we do have far stronger defences in place down there now, which I think will deter the Argentinians from launching an attack.
I said first time round, when tensions were rising sell the Falklands to the Argies and give the money to the islanders! If they then wanted to stay they could, if they wanted to come to Britain they would be millionaires anyway. Once the Argies invaded the whole ball game changed, Britain had no option but to go to war against them. Now it isn't about a lump of rock in the Atlantic, it's about oil. As we all know oil makes this a totally different action, we are no where near as strong as we were then. And the Argies spend a lot on their military. This is one I wouldn't like to call.
The Falklands war was fought out on TV for me, I was managing a sales team selling insurance and was all wrapped up in making money, selfish but true. Then around a year after the war I intervied a nice lad called Steve and gave him a job, I got to know Steve and his wife very well. I knew from his interview that Steve had served in the falklands but he did not make a lot of it but he needed time off work, quite often, self employed so it was his pocket hit, he worked hard to make it up. Steve was a winch man during the war and was one of the first on and last off The Sir Galahad, picking up the injured. He was told to come off but decided on one last drop, he sliped on the wet slimy surface and fell down some stairs, the hand rail had been blown away so one piece went in at the side of his groin and up into his stomach. I remember Steve telling me how he arrived back home on a stretcher, flags waving, crowds cheering, one of many heroes. He spent time, a long time, in hospital then home. Found it hard to get a job because of his injuries and the time off needed, he was no longer an hero just a man, maybe a scrounger to some who did not know, collecting his sick money. When I think of the Falklands I always think two things, how selfish I was watching it on the news then rushing off to make money and how unfair our country was to Steve and all the other heroes like him.
Syd that is a cracking piece... Glad you helped one of them.....more than the goverment seems to do.... It was at a terrible time for the country....although i was still at school... Saved the goverment...who then destroyed a whole lot more within the boundaries of the uk.................(but that is the voice of a young lad during the miners strike...even though my dad was a miner, tells it slightly different).
Britain's interest was undoubtedly having a future 'base' for when Antartica's minerals will be harvested. I also recall at the time that the French were suppying Argentina with the exocet missiles - I'll certainly never forget that.........
Worst four months of my life spent down there. Horrible place. As long as the locals want to be British however it is our country's duty to defend them. Whilst the amount of hardware down there is very minimal our big stick (Nuclear Subs) is enough on it's own to deter the Argies. And they know it. The only reason this pops up every so often is to win favour in Argentina...Can't personally see them ever invading again. Their military has gone even further back than ours in recent years.
Have to agree with Cyprus, not my favourate tour i ever did but i cant see a war kicking off. When i was down there in 99 they started to let some of the widows and familes vist the islands (quite tight security at the start) and it all got a bit heated just like now. It soon died away, which i feel is what will happen here after the aniversary and so on.
Yes it would be different, because we have formidable military assets in place, Early warning systems, Anti aircarft missiles, A squadron of 'Typhoons' which is the 3rd best warplane in the world, after the US F22 AND F35) Plus the patrolling nuclear Subs. They wouldn't get close. And if neccessary the Yanks would help us logistically, as they did in '82. Rlax it wont happen.
One more thing to add from me. At the time of the Falklands war, Argentina were a Military Junta. Now they are a democratic nation. Democratic peace theory would suggest that it is very unlikely that war (in the conventional sense) would break out between the two nations. (Im using far more of what I learned in lectures on this thread than I have ever used in an exam. Which is scary)
