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Argentina raised the prospect of posting military forces in the Antarctic region yesterday, with the announcement of plans to use troops to defend its interests. President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner told defence chiefs that Argentina must be prepared to assert its sovereignty and protect its natural resources, as nations compete to claim areas of the region believed to be rich in oil. The plans threaten to inflame tensions between Britain and Argentina over the Falkland Islands, which the South American nation still considers to be its sovereign territory despite losing a war in 1982. Argentinian forces were driven from the...

N.B. Apologies to Pink Floyd for my lyric thievery in the title… The old adage that history repeats itself gets too much airplay and too frequently obscures the dynamics at work in a particular era. However, some things do seem to happen with a depressing regularity. Even when Thome has homered in the first and again in the 3rd, every roster in Major League Baseball has at least one idiot who would gladly pitch to him again in the 5th or the 6th instead of issuing the intentional walk. Argentinean President Cristina Kirchner seems to be winding up and preparing...

BUENOS AIRES (AFP) - Argentina's claim to the Falkland Islands, which remain in British hands after the 1982 war between the two countries, is "inalienable," President Cristina Kirchner said Wednesday. "The sovereign claim to the Malvinas Islands is inalienable," she said in a speech marking the 26th anniversary of Argentina's ill-fated invasion of the islands, located 480 kilometers (300 miles) off shore. The April 2, 1982 invasion prompted then British prime minister Margaret Thatcher to deploy naval forces to retake the Falklands, known as the Malvinas in Spanish. The short, bloody conflict led to Argentina's surrender on June 14, 1982...

BUENOS AIRES (AFP)--Argentina's claim to the Falkland Islands, which remain in British hands after a 1982 war, is "inalienable," President Cristina Kirchner said Wednesday. "The sovereign claim to the Malvinas Islands (Argentina's name for them) is inalienable," she said in a speech marking the 26th anniversary of Argentina's ill-fated invasion of the two islands located 480 kilometers (300 miles) off shore.

The inhabitants of the Falkland Islands are preparing for a South Atlantic oil rush which they hope will make them among the richest people in the world. After 10 years of frustrating delays since oil fields containing up to 60 billion barrels of "black gold" were discovered off the islands, oil companies are planning to start drilling within the next 12 months

Underwater and undercover: how nuclear subs were first line of Falklands defence Michael Evans, Defence Editor Five Royal Navy submarines lined up, submerged, on the edge of Argentina’s 12-mile territorial limit to provide early warning of bombing raids on the British task force during the Falklands conflict, according to a new account of the secret role played by the nuclear-powered vessels. Trailing wire aerials behind them, the submarines were able to pick up launchings of Skyhawks and other aircraft from the main base at Rio Grande, pinpointing their type and number, and giving the task force 45 minutes’ notice in...

The new British empire? UK plans to annex south Atlantic Owen Bowcott Saturday September 22, 2007 The Guardian Britain is preparing territorial claims on tens of thousands of square miles of the Atlantic Ocean floor around the Falklands, Ascension Island and Rockall in the hope of annexing potentially lucrative gas, mineral and oil fields, the Guardian has learned. The UK claims, to be lodged at the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, exploit a novel legal approach that is transforming the international politics of underwater prospecting. Britain is accelerating its process of submitting applications to the UN...

Argentina fury at UK bid for Falkland seas By Oliver Balch in Buenos Aires and Colin Freeman Last Updated: 1:00am BST 23/09/2007 Argentina has reacted furiously to plans by Britain to lay claim to vast new tracts of potentially oil and gas-rich territories in the seas off the Falklands. In a move likely to add new heat to the long-running diplomatic dispute, British officials are preparing to submit a bid to the United Nations to prove that thousands of extra square miles of the surrounding ocean floor are geographically part of the islands. The claim follows a new approach in...

In a new outburst of antiwestern sabre-rattling, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has threatened Britain with “revenge” for the Falklands war of 1982. The belligerent Latin American leftist warned last week that his recent build-up of sophisticated Russian and Iranian weapons would be used to destroy the British fleet if it attempted to return to the South Atlantic. Speaking on his weekly television show Alo Presidente (Hello, Mr President), Chavez denounced what he described as Britain’s “illegal occupation” of the Falklands and repeated his call for a regional military alliance against Britain and the United States. “If we had been...

The first thought that crossed the mind of Flt Lt Martin Withers, precisely 25 years ago today as he brought Black Buck 1 up to attack height for his bombing run on Stanley airfield, was: "This isn't cricket." The lights were on all around the only concrete runway on the Falkland Islands, and it was clear to the RAF bomber pilot that he had taken the Argentine invaders completely by surprise. "It somehow seemed wrong to be dropping 10 tons of bombs on these people who apparently had no idea we were coming," Mr Withers, now 61, remembered. "It seemed...

My part in sinking of the Belgrano BRIAN BRADY WESTMINSTER EDITOR (bdbrady@scotlandonsunday.com) A REMARKABLE first-hand account of the hours leading up to one of the most controversial episodes of the Falklands War has emerged from a Scottish police constable. Steve McIntosh was a 17-year-old Royal Navy submariner when he helped hunt down and torpedo the General Belgrano, an action that cost the lives of 300 Argentinian sailors and remains hotly debated 25 years later. McIntosh, now a community beat officer with Strathclyde Police, was in the control room of HMS Conqueror, the submarine that sank the Belgrano, working in the...

The naming ceremony and roll out for launch of the first of class fast Astute Submarine on 8th June 2007 will be followed by an open weekend on 9 -10 June 2007. The Launch Celebration also coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Falklands conflict. Following the naming and roll out ceremony we are hosting an event which will feature a number of Royal Navy vessels and the decommissioned Oberon class submarine Onyx, which served in the South Atlantic during the conflict. There will be displays from the Army and Navy, and Land Systems will also be rolling out their...

Hague warns Argentina over Falklands By Ben Fenton in Stanley Last Updated: 1:33am BST 04/04/2007 William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, warned Argentina that any future British government would have the patience to defend the Falkland Islands and he said Britain should not be "goaded" by increased rhetoric from Buenos Aires. Speaking on the 25th anniversary of the day Margaret Thatcher announced that a task force would be sent to drive Argentine invaders off the islands, he said her resolve had "set the standard" for future British governments and increased international respect for the country. On a one-day visit to...

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...

Latin America: Does Britain want more trouble from its enemies? Then why does it embolden them by apologizing on the 25th anniversary of Argentina's Falklands invasion for the loss of life in that war? The 25th anniversary of Argentina's invasion of the Falklands should be a time of reflection and resolve, given the new threat Britain faces with 15 of its sailors held hostage in Iran. But the British government's tribute to the attack on Sunday was downright pathetic.

Invasion day, but it's business as usual On 2 April 1982 Stanley was invaded and overcome by Argentine forces. From that day life in the town was changed forever. Twenty-five years later, what is happening in Stanley and is the anniversary being marked? In short, the answer is not really. People in the town say they would rather forget 2 April, and remember 14 June, the day the conflict ended with the Argentine surrender. "That's our day," says one resident out shopping on Monday morning. Invasion warning But as much as Falklanders may want to disregard today it is inescapable,...

A quarter of a century after the war ended, Britain maintains a military presence - just in case, writes Larry Rohter in Stanley. TWENTY-FIVE years ago, Argentina invaded the windswept cluster of British-controlled islands in the remote South Atlantic known as the Falklands. After 11 weeks of combat that claimed nearly 1000 lives, British troops drove off the occupiers, allowing the islanders to continue their eminently British way of life. Today, the 2955 inhabitants face a different challenge: an influx of outsiders, brought on by the prosperity that has resulted from changes that the British introduced to their overseas territory...

To begin our series on the Falklands, 25 years on, we present some of the memorable images from the conflict. On 2 April 1982 Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. A small contingent of Royal Marines was overrun by an Argentine force ending nearly 150 years rule.

Growing numbers Nearly 25 years after the Falklands conflict, what is the capital Stanley like and who lives there? More than 2,100 people live in Stanley, which has a growing population. Just over half of the Falklands' 2,955 residents were born on the islands, nearly a third in the UK or British territory St Helena, and more than 130 in Chile. In the local Penguin News, those who collected data for the new census were thanked for doing so "...in some very inclement weather..."

LONDON: The sinking of the cruiser General Belgrano by a British nuclear-powered submarine with the loss of 323 Argentine lives still stirs controversy, 25 years after the Falklands War. Argentine lawyers have argued that the warship was outside of the 200-mile (322 kilometre) exclusion zone established by British forces around the archipelago when it was sunk on May 2, 1982. But they have failed to win their case that British committed a "war crime" when the HMS Conqueror fired conventional torpedoes into the Belgrano, a World War II-era warship. However, in July 2000, the European Court of Human Rights rejected...

Britain is Taking Right Approach with Iran By Gerard Baker This weekend, Britain will mark the 25th anniversary of the start of the Falklands War, when Argentine forces invaded the small group of British islands in the South Atlantic, 1,500 miles off the coast of Argentina. It was inevitable, given the coincidence of timing and the circumstances, that comparisons would be drawn between that conflict, which ended in a triumphant recovery of the islands by UK forces two months later, and the humiliation heaped on Britain in the last week by the seizure of 15 British sailors in the waters...

Argentina scraps Falklands oil deal Staff and agencies Wednesday March 28, 2007 Guardian Unlimited Relations between Britain and Argentina took a turn for the worse today after Buenos Aires ended an agreement for oil exploration near the Falkland Islands. Argentina's decision came just days before the 25th anniversary of the war for the South Atlantic islands. The move ends a 1995 accord designed to foster cooperation on oil prospecting around the islands. Scientists say that there may be billions of dollars worth of oil under the waters in the area. The Argentinian foreign minister, Jorge Taiana, said the move was...

How the Falklands War was won By Michael Novak Last Updated: 1:03pm BST 27/03/2007 The opening phases of the Falklands Conflict began in December 1981 when more than 40 Argentine "scrap metal workers" landed on the island of South Georgia, pointedly refusing to report to the British base at Grytviken to have their entry visas stamped. Project Alpha was a deliberate operation designed by the new military junta of Gen Leopoldo Galtieri to test British will ahead of Project Azul, a full-scale invasion of the Falkland Islands. The Argentinians eventually left but returned on March 19, 1982 - this time...

25 years on, Falklands vets are outcast at home As teenagers they were conscripted to fight for Argentina. Now they remain haunted by memory and struggle to live normal lives Andres Schipani in Buenos Aires Sunday January 21, 2007 The Observer (UK) As the train pulls into the central station of Buenos Aires, Jose is still walking down the aisle hawking a clutch of goods. An olive-green jacket, a patch with an Argentinian flag on his right arm, and a silhouette of the Malvinas Islands signal he is one of the many veterans of the Falklands war supplementing their meagre...

25 years after war with Britain, issue still stirs passions --- Buenos Aires, Argentina — As they organize separate 25th anniversary ceremonies to remember their war over the Falkland Islands, Argentine and British officials have found that remembering is the easy part. Resolving, however, is a much trickier proposition. The windblown archipelago is once again claiming headlines here, climbing back near the top of Argentina's international agenda a quarter-century after its military surrendered the territory to Britain. Last week Argentina aimed yet another rhetorical dart at Britain, publicly reasserting its claim to islands it says were stolen by the English...

Agentina has decided to "talk tough" according to the Times in its quest for the Falkland Islands. The British government refuses to compromise. While nothing much has changed, it does put the Islands back in the news in the run-up to the 25th anniversary of the Argentinian invasion and its subsequent defeat. While condemnation of the Argentinian invasion was pretty much unanimous - the vote in UN was overwhelming, and in the US Senate only Jesse Helms voted against - subsequent refusals by the British government to negotiate have drawn condemnation. The Argentinian calls for negotiation may seem transparent: "we...

Caspar Weinberger, the American defence secretary who secretly supplied Britain with critical military assistance during the Falklands war, died yesterday aged 88.Mr Weinberger was awarded an honorary knighthood after the conflict. Colin Powell, the former secretary of state, described him as an "indefatigable fighter for peace through strength". In the 1980s Mr Weinberger became a hate figure for the European Left when he led the campaign to match Russia's short-range nuclear devices with cruise and Pershing missiles. During the 1982 Falklands conflict he proved himself a staunch Anglophile, stripping America's air forces of the newest Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and shipping...

AN INCREASINGLY anxious UK government is closely monitoring a build-up of Argentinian military strength and a series of confrontations with the RAF close to the Falkland Islands, Scotland on Sunday can reveal. The activity has led Tony Blair's most senior advisers to demand he issues a "hands-off" warning to Buenos Aires. Downing Street is facing growing fears for the future of the islands - which were seized back from Argentinian control in a bloody and symbolic campaign ordered by Margaret Thatcher almost a quarter of a century ago. High-ranking officials in both the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office...

VENEZUELA'S president has called on Tony Blair to return the Falkland Islands to Argentina, accusing the Prime Minister of being a "pawn" of Washington. "We have to remember the Malvinas [the Argentine name for the islands]; how they were taken away from the Argentines. Mr Blair, return the Malvinas to Argentina," said president Hugo Chavez. The socialist leader has long been the most vocal critic of US president George Bush, but Mr Blair was added to his list of "imperialists" after the Prime Minister said in parliament on Wednesday that if Mr Chavez wanted to be respected, he "should abide...

BRITISH troops set to deploy to southern Afghanistan this spring could sustain losses on a scale not seen since the Falklands war, military intelligence officers have warned. They say insurgent forces in the south are preparing for a large offensive by Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, backed by sophisticated weapons and training from Iran. A new terror group linked to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s Al-Qaeda in Iraq has emerged in southern Afghanistan and is imitating his methods. Messages from the group, Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, have appeared on the same jihadist internet sites as those of Zarqawi’s terror group. The Taliban has regrouped,...

A buddy of my father served on the USS Phoenix when it emerged from the Pearl Harbor battle unscathed. The cruiser was called the "Lucky Ship" and went on to battle kamikazes in the Pacific during WW2. The ship was sold to Argentina in 1950. As the "Admiral Belgrano" the "lucky ship", former USS Phoenix, was sent to Davy Jones' locker by Margaret Thatcher in the Falklands War.

Monday, Nov. 21, 2005 2:49 p.m. EST Margaret Thatcher Threatened to Use Nukes During Falkland Islands War French President Francois Mitterrand made a stunning claim to his psychoanalyst during Britain’s Falkland Islands war with Argentina in the early 1980s: Margaret Thatcher threatened to use nuclear weapons unless Mitterrand gave the British the "deactivate" codes used by anti-ship missiles that France had sold to Argentina! That never-before-revealed scenario is disclosed in the new book "Rendez-vous: The Psychoanalysis of Francois Mitterrand,” written by Ali Magoudi, who was the French president’s psychoanalyst from 1982 to 1993. Magoudi insists that all the quotes attributed...

François Mitterrand took many secrets with him when he died 10 years ago, but now his most startling claim is revealed. John Follain reports It is May 7, 1982, shortly after 3.30pm. Ali Magoudi, a Parisian psychoanalyst, paces back and forth awaiting the secret arrival of his next patient — whose identity, if revealed, would set off an earthquake in French politics. The figure who enters, 45 minutes late, is François Mitterrand, no less — the president of France. Magoudi discovers that his patient does not want to talk about his childhood or his dreams, but about Margaret Thatcher and...

Argentina yesterday officially complained to Britain about a Foreign Office warning to British tourists about the dangers of visiting Argentina at the time of the Summit of the Americas.

Argentine football hero Diego Maradona has said he is unrepentant about using his fist in a controversial goal against England in the 1986 World Cup. Speaking on his TV show, Maradona said the intervention, which he nicknamed "The Hand of God", was justified. "The truth is that I don't for a second regret scoring that goal with my hand," he said on the programme. The footballer apparently defended his goal as his response to Britain's claim to the Falkland islands. He said he wanted to let Argentines and the whole world know the truth about a key moment in football...

Royal Navy ships sent to the Falklands in the 1982 war were carrying nuclear weapons, the official history of the conflict has revealed. The book's author, Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, said there was never any intention to use the nuclear depth charges against the Argentinian navy, but it proved impossible to remove the arms from the ships before the dispatch of the Task Force to retake the islands. Prof Freedman's two-volume history is the result of eight years of research, including access to secret Whitehall files and military communications. In it, he reveals the anger of then Prime Minister Margaret...

British troops raise the flag on the Falklands during the conflict A forthcoming book has revealed Chile's military intelligence helped Britain during the 1982 Falklands conflict.The book has threatened a possible diplomatic row between Chile and Argentina over the revelations of a secret alliance with the UK. Chilean president Ricardo Lagos has forwarded parts of the book to the Argentine foreign ministry. The book alleges Chile provided intelligence in return for half-price military aircraft. 'Cut-price deal'The book, The Official History of the Falklands War, details the deal between the governments of Margaret Thatcher and General Augusto Pinochet, said the...

Chile 'helped UK over Falklands' British troops raise the flag on the Falklands during the conflict A forthcoming book has revealed Chile's military intelligence helped Britain during the 1982 Falklands conflict.The book has threatened a possible diplomatic row between Chile and Argentina over the revelations of a secret alliance with the UK. Chilean president Ricardo Lagos has forwarded parts of the book to the Argentine foreign ministry. The book alleges Chile provided intelligence in return for half-price military aircraft. 'Cut-price deal' The book, The Official History of the Falklands War, details the deal between the governments of Margaret Thatcher...

Argentina protests at Falklands link to EU By Seamus Mirodan in Buenos Aires (Filed: 30/04/2005) Argentina has voiced outrage at the inclusion of the Falkland Islands as British territory in the draft EU constitution. "We are perturbed, we reject this thoroughly, but it is not a new issue and we will have to fight about it for years to come," said foreign minister, Rafael Bielsa. Argentina has complained to Brussels and ordered its ambassadors in the 25 EU capitals to issue protests. London wants to see the Falklands permanently lodged in an annexe to the EU constitution as part of...

Kenyan newspaper lauds Pope for opposing British 'invasion' of Maldives NAIROBI, April 4 (AFP) - A leading Kenyan daily on Monday eulogized the late Pope John Paul II as a fierce foe of armed conflict, especially the war in Iraq, but raised eyebrows by rewriting history to laud his opposition to Britain's "invasion" of the Maldives islands. In an apparent computer-generated spelling error, the Standard newspaper mistakenly praised the pontiff for opposing a non-existent British war with the Maldives instead of his criticism of Britain's 1982 conflict with Argentina over the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. "He may have...

INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS: Calculating Chinese Capabilities January 27, 2005: Department of Defense intelligence analysts are having a hard time figuring out when China thinks it will be ready to make a grab for Taiwan. The recent surge in the construction of short range amphibious ships, and constant movement of more ballistic missiles to within range of Taiwan, indicate something may happen sooner rather than later. Taiwan is only 300 kilometers from China. There are about 600 DF-15 missiles (with a range of 600 kilometers) aimed at Taiwan now, and by next year, there may be 800. Moreover, it is suspected that...

We have all watched the response of the Democrats to the elections, and have also yawned as the Blue pundits have solemnly advised the Democratic leadership that they need to look into this religious...values...god...thing. It's like watching a drunk trying to paper clip jello together. Utterly without a clue... There comes a point that further reasoning with the liberal Democrats is like arguing with your answering machine. They can only repeat what they were last programmed to record. But we perhaps COULD make some progress in winning a few more of our British allies over from the dark side. It...

Argentina's president has demanded that Britain apologise for sending warships to the 1982 Falklands war with nuclear weapons on board. "The UK must ask our forgiveness," President Nestor Kirchner said. Britain admitted on Friday that some of the ships it sent to the Falkland Islands carried nuclear weapons. But the UK Ministry of Defence said the arms were transferred to other vessels before entering regional territorial waters and none was intended for use. Nuclear worries Mr Kirchner said relations with Britain had not been damaged, but Argentina would stand firm in its demand "for precise and complete information". "We need...

LONDON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - British warships during the Falklands War in 1982 carried nuclear depth charges, but the weapons never entered the territorial waters of any Latin American nation, the ministry of Defense said on Friday. "The weapons were type WE177 nuclear depth charges. They were on the task force when it sailed south but never entered the territorial waters of the Falkland Islands or any South American country," a spokesman told Reuters. "The decision was taken to transfer them to other ships heading back home," he added, stressing that there had never been any intention of using the...

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Argentina's new government says it is required by its constitution to reclaim sovereignty over the Falkland islands and has called on Britain to resume talks on the contested islands' future. Foreign Minister Rafael Bielsa told the U.N. General Assembly's special committee on decolonization that Buenos Aires wanted to peacefully resolve the dispute via direct negotiations with London. But Mike Summers, a member of the island's Legislative Council, accused Buenos Aires of trying to frustrate self-government on the islands. There was no clamour for independence and island residents closely guarded the right to determine their own affairs,...

Thatcher was right. Sarandon is wrong. O welche Lust! ell, the war has been over for ages and ages — it seems so yesterday — and the press has been consumed with griping and sniping and pouting. But I'm still grateful. Still grateful and amazed at what U.S. forces accomplished. The country, with its allies, committed a great act. A noble and humane and necessary act: Don't let "them" make you forget that. According to Warren Hoge in the New York Times, Tony Blair has "avoided victory talk . . ." Far be it from me to advise the PM...

General Leopoldo Galtieri was never one of your big-time dictators, just a run-of-the-mill generalissimo of the kind who once had a hammerlock on Latin America's presidential palaces. He died on Sunday in Buenos Aires, under house arrest or, more accurately, under one-bedroom apartment arrest. But boy, you should've seen him in the old days, back at the Casa Rosada. Everything was going swell until he made one tiny slip-up: He decided that the answer to Argentina's impending financial collapse was to invade the Falklands. Hitherto, the regime hadn't put a foot wrong: some 30,000 Argentine dissidents are thought to have...

TITLE: THE FALKLAND ISLANDS WAR: WINNING WITH INFANTRY I. INTRODUCTION: The Falkland Islands War was the first amphibious and naval air war conducted in the missile age. Both sides were equipped with similar high-tech weapons which produced significant ship and aircraft loses. However, in an age of high performance aircraft, missiles, and nuclear submarines, the decisive battles were determined, not by modern weapons, but by infantry closing with and destroying the enemy with rifle and bayonet. II. GENERAL: On 2 April 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, located 300 miles off the mainland. The claim to the islands has been...

President Eduardo Duhalde reiterated Argentina's claim to the Falkland Islands in a ceremony paying tribute to the lives lost fighting Britain for control of the islands 20 years ago. "The Malvinas (Falklands) are ours. We will get them back," Duhalde said Tuesday before a crowd of 3,000, many of whom fought in the war against the British, in the town of Ushuaia, 3,000 kilometers (1,900 miles) south of Buenos Aires. "The Malvinas are ours, soaked with the tears and the blood of our heroes," he said of the thousands who, under the direction of Argentina's military leader Leopoldo Galtieri, lost...