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Probably one of the more misunderstood wars in modern times.
How did you Brits feel when Argentina invaded? Did you ever doubt you'd get the islands back?
For myself, I was outraged. A military dictatorship with a well documented record of torturing and murdering their own citizens doing that to our people.
I never doubted that we would beat them in battle. I regret that we did not have either the capability or the political will to hit the Argentinian mainland and/or sink more of their navy.
Probably one of the more misunderstood wars in modern times.
How did you Brits feel when Argentina invaded? Did you ever doubt you'd get the islands back?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaggy001
For myself, I was outraged. A military dictatorship with a well documented record of torturing and murdering their own citizens doing that to our people.
I never doubted that we would beat them in battle. I regret that we did not have either the capability or the political will to hit the Argentinian mainland and/or sink more of their navy.
Why was it more misunderstood than any other war? Iraq for one was sold on complete lies and misinformation.
The Falklands war is another disgrace in British colonial history. Thatcher and the Tories suddenly started raging about human rights and “despicable Latin American juntas” (as Jaggy001 above implies) but where were they when Argentine leader General Galtieri launched a military coup in 1976?? The “disappearance” of some 30,000 people provoked not a whimper - nothing!
By the time the Argentinians surrendered on 14 June, over 250 British soldiers, sailors and airmen had died to keep Thatcher in power, along with over 1,000 Argentinians. The British government, of course, lied at every stage of the proceedings, most infamously over the sinking of the Belgrano cruiser on 2 May, when it was steaming away from the British imposed exclusion zone.
Just one more reason to shudder everytime I think of that evil disgrace that is Margaret Thatcher.
As someone who is neither British nor Argentine, I've done some reading on this war.
I'd say that there may be an argument the British government was not honest at all times, but the Argentine junta led by General Galtieri was not honest either. Rather than focusing their attentions on massive unemployment and hyperinflation, they diverted public attention to the Falkland Islands.
That the Thatcher government was silent on the junta's human rights abuses does not excuse or justify the Argentine invasion.
Now, what is taught in Britain re: the legitimach of Britain's ownership of these islands? The Argentine claim is that they inherited them from Spain, and that they had an outpost there whose inhabitants were forcibly expelled by Britain. I've done some research on this, admittedly using mainly British sources, and I've come to the conclusion that Argentina accepted British sovereignty over the islands and that the islands are rightfully and legally part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Lastly - is it true that in the 1960s and 1970s, British leaders spoke to the Falklanders to convince them that perhaps it was better to accept the idea of Argentine rule? Because if that's the case, who knows, could Argentina have retaken the islands via diplomacy by now? The war of the early 1980s all but assured Argentina will never have the islands.
As far as I'm concerned, as long as the islanders themselves kept on saying they were part of Britain and intended to remain so, that pretty much put an end to the argument. The junta in Argentina tried to use the war as nothing more than a PR exercise which of course failed on a massive level, resulting in 100s of unnecessary deaths on both sides.
hehehe some people here , big democrats I guess, manage to find excuses to a military junta who invades foreign territory, violating international law.
And by the way...Argentina is already 2,7 million sqkm big (the UK, even including its small oversea territories...about 266.000 sqkm, the size of Oregon).
Why did Argentina needed all tha territory ? What for ? Oil? is there an unwritten law that states allowing countries who don't have enough natural resources to invade other countries?
There is an interesting contradiction in British attitudes to the Falklands war.
In general, it was the left wing, led by people like Tam Dalziel and also by the Socialist Workers Party who opposed the war (mainly on the grounds that it was "imperialist"). That said, the war enjoyed broad support in the UK.
Yet, these are the very people who criticised successive governments - Labour and Conservative - for their failure to call out and oppose the excesses of the Argentinian military.
Interestingly, it was as a direct result of the British military victory that military rule came to an end in Argentina and with that came an end to the "dirty war" and the murder of innocent Argentine civilians.
There is an interesting contradiction in British attitudes to the Falklands war.
In general, it was the left wing, led by people like Tam Dalziel and also by the Socialist Workers Party who opposed the war (mainly on the grounds that it was "imperialist"). That said, the war enjoyed broad support in the UK.
Yet, these are the very people who criticised successive governments - Labour and Conservative - for their failure to call out and oppose the excesses of the Argentinian military.
Interestingly, it was as a direct result of the British military victory that military rule came to an end in Argentina and with that came an end to the "dirty war" and the murder of innocent Argentine civilians.
The Iraq war enjoyed 'broad support' in the UK too - and look how that turned out
The Iraq war enjoyed 'broad support' in the UK too - and look how that turned out
What is the biggest read daily in the UK again?
There are, however, big differences.
1. The Falklands war involved removing an invader from British territory inhabited by British people. This invader had attacked and captured the British garrison that was in place at the time. The Iraq war involved invading a foreign country inhabited by Iraqis who had not attacked either the UK or the USA prior to the invasion.
2. The Falklands war had a clear, achievable military objective. There was no political objective other than restoring British rule. The Iraq war had a clear military objective but a "fuzzy" political objective which involved removing the established government and replacing it with "democracy".
3. The Falklands had a homogenous population the vast majority of whom considered themselves British and wanted to be British. Iraq has a heterogeneous population many of whom did not want to be Iraqi at all and with a history of low-level civil war. In addition, Iraq had a conflicting religious tradition which added to the potential for internal strife.
1. The Falklands war involved removing an invader from British territory inhabited by British people. This invader had attacked and captured the British garrison that was in place at the time. The Iraq war involved invading a foreign country inhabited by Iraqis who had not attacked either the UK or the USA prior to the invasion.
2. The Falklands war had a clear, achievable military objective. There was no political objective other than restoring British rule. The Iraq war had a clear military objective but a "fuzzy" political objective which involved removing the established government and replacing it with "democracy".
3. The Falklands had a homogenous population the vast majority of whom considered themselves British and wanted to be British. Iraq has a heterogeneous population many of whom did not want to be Iraqi at all and with a history of low-level civil war. In addition, Iraq had a conflicting religious tradition which added to the potential for internal strife.
Where to start
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