Falklands: Has anything changed?

BBC ^ | Monday, 2 April 2007 | Paul Reynolds

[fishhound]

Twenty-five years on, the Argentines have not forgotten and the British have not forgiven.

The Falklands will remain an irritant in relations for the indefinite future.

The fundamentals have not changed.

Argentina claims the islands on the basis that its colony there in 1833 was thrown out by the British and that the population there today should have their say but not take the decision.

Britain argues that, whatever the arguments about the past, continuous possession for so long and the modern concept of self-determination give it a right to stay.

Geography is not relevant, it says. Other islands are owned by faraway countries, like the French islands of St Pierre et Miquelon, a little piece of Normandy right off the coast of Newfoundland.

What has changed is the emergence of a peaceful strategy by Argentina following the demise of the military dictatorship, a by-product of its failure to hold the islands.

This peaceful strategy, however, has almost no chance of success.

[fishhound]

"But others, notably Caspar Weinberger at the defence department, did not. He swung behind Britain and sent the Sidewinder air-to-air missiles that did so much damage to the intrepid Argentine air force.

Mrs Thatcher and Mr Reagan then marched into history together. "

[MSF BU]

It would be interesting to see what type of reserve structure the British have put on their island. I’d imagine it would not be a bad place for some calvary and motorised infantry.

[tcrlaf]

Instead of a token force of 30-40 marines, as before, the Brits have spent some money now.

RAF Mount Pleasant, with 8500 ft, and 5,000 ft, runways, replaces the tiny base at Stanley, and allows for fast reinforcement by air, that was not capable before the War.

The RAF Maintains 4 Tornado’s(Coverting To Eurofighter Typhoons by the end of this year, a tanker, a C-130 SAR, and several Sea Kings on station now, in addition to around 2,000 total forces plus a Rapier Unit.

The Castle Class Patrol Corvette will be replaced by HMS Clyde, a brand new vessel this year. They also rotate a type 42 Destroyer in the South Atlantic Patrol Area.

While not much in US Navy terms, this is a MUCH larger tripwire force than what existed before, and would be a fairly tough nut for the Argentines to crack...