by Smitty
Hector Timerman has refused to meet representatives of the Falkland Islands government, which Argentina does not recognise as legitimate.
The islanders were expected to tell Mr Timerman that Buenos Aires should respect islanders’ rights and leave them in peace.
Fortunately for Argentina, #OccupyResoluteDesk doesn’t care about Malvinas, Melvins or the Maldives. Endives aren’t looking good, either. Are the British going to do a thing if there is another flare-up? Doubt it. The last Falklands War, back in the Thatcher era, was right at the edge the Royal Navy’s capabilities. The best the Brits can hope from from the Anglosphere is an Obama speech wherein he decries violence, regrets the mess Bush made of international relations, uses a lot of personal pronouns, and hopes the Brits don’t forget to thank him for being wonderful.
via Drudge
Argentina would be wise to work with the Falkland Islands and the British government for a partnership on oil exploration of the continental shelf around the Falklands. That is what this whole thing is about.
North Carolinians do not freak out because the British run Bermuda.
I’d start drilling and run the money from the leases to build up a decent surface action group for defending the Falklands.
“What’s wisdom got to do, got to do with it?”
This is about being a thug running a country, and needing to manage a news cycle and distract. As well as look for revenue. People who don’t like Britain will funnel resources to Argentina just to screw with the Brits.
If Argentina moves on the Falklands again the UK is screwed. No more carriers until Queen Elizabeth is commissioned, assuming they decide they can afford her, which is iffy. Plus they won’t get the support we gave them in ’82 (which included diverting nearly every Sidewinder AAM in inventory to them). The RN is even less capable of deploying that far than they were thirty years ago, and that was a near run thing.
On the other hand, the Argentine DDG Santissima Trinidad just ignominiously sank alongside the pier, so probably the Falklands are safe for the time being.
Well those Argentines squandered their legacy of a prosperous rich country to one run by socialist kleptocrats. I am glad we would never be so dumb…
Then again, we do listen to a fat rodent’s weather predictions.
IIRC, the UK has beefed up the Falklands garrison over the years. Don’t know offhand if Blair gutted it again or not.
How the mighty [and just] have fallen. That England even finds itself being seriously threatened by a tin-horn dictator in stilettos is bloody, Goddamn sad.
Using the Argentinian argument, Bermuda is US territory. As is Cuba and most of the Caribbean…
Couldn’t handle an all out conflict but probably could put enough SAS into Argentina to knock off the current queen and enough politicians to make them think twice.
If they had the will, which, of course they do not.
Bob, it;s not like they’ve never been here before….
The Falklands are a good way to divert the attention of the public from the horrible job the Argentine socialists have been doing. It’s a big issue for their people for some reason, even though they have never had any sort of close ties with the islands’ people or culture.
If Britain would just give in to the inevitable and adopt a sharia government and condemn the US, they could count on Obama’s help.
Love it! You put me in mind of this:
This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,–
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.
King Richard II, Act II, scene 1
The SAS may be the only effective weapon they have left…sad.
Jethro Tull put that or something close to music; I think they called it “Coronation”.
And of course, there’s this one:
[…] ARGENTINA Prepping The Next Conflict […]
I’ve given the Falklands a little thought:
http://xbradtc.com/2013/01/31/the-falklands-v2-0-getting-there/