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Subject: Argentina reclaims Falklands-Malvinas
Herc the Merc    3/30/2007 1:32:35 PM
Argentina presses Falklands claim By BILL CORMIER, Associated Press Writer Fri Mar 30, 3:17 AM ET BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Twenty-five years after hostilities ceased, Argentina is opening a new front in the Falklands War. ADVERTISEMENT Rather than jets and mortar rounds, however, this salvo involves diplomats appealing for help at the United Nations and the government reasserting long-standing claims to the island chain where far more sheep than people huddle against the forbidding South Atlantic winds. London, however, maintains its hold on the island, which Argentina invaded 25 years ago this Monday. Many Argentines — especially the left-wing power base of President Nestor Kirchner — see the war as a huge mistake pursued by the nation's discredited military dictators. But Argentines still universally call the Falklands — known in South America as the "Malvinas" — as their own. And in this election year, Kirchner appears poised to gain support by pushing hard against Britain's firm refusal to negotiate on the islands' fate. "Argentina has never consented to the United Kingdom's claim of rights to the territory," Eduardo Airaldi, Kirchner's top official in charge of the South Atlantic region, said as he described Kirchner's position in an interview with The Associated Press.
 
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perfectgeneral       3/30/2007 7:39:23 PM

"Argentina has never consented to the United Kingdom's claim of rights to the territory," Eduardo Airaldi, Kirchner's top official in charge of the South Atlantic region, said as he described Kirchner's position in an interview with The Associated Press.

That's okay, since we didn't ask them for permission in the first place. They can contest our right of sovreignty from now 'til doomsday for all I care. The Falklands are british. Try to change that if you dare.

 
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sofa    Good timing!   3/30/2007 10:31:35 PM
Vamo Argentina! The pricks.
But they know they don't have the stones to try.
So it's easy to whip up nationalistic frenzy, when everbody knows there's absolutely no chance of taking any military action.
 
-----
Now imagine they did try.
Sadly, 3 companies and 1 air squadron could do the deed. Then fly in defenders, more planes, and more supplies. Benefit from lessons learned. Facts on the ground.
 
What would Blair do?
 
What if this fictional Argentina was willing to take and make use of hostages?
 
 
 
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reefdiver       3/30/2007 10:44:41 PM
If every sovereignty claim dating back to 1816 (the time of Argentine independence) were today honored, the world would indeed be very different.  The Brits have been on off the Falklands since 1690, with a major claim since 1770 and had the strongest control since 1833.  It would seem safe to say they own it by now. There are a lot more serious, and much more recent, border issues to resolve than the Falklands.  Argentine claims are a no-go.
 
We hear this stuff everytime some politician in Argentina wants to gain support by taking on the Brits and flaming nationalism.  Its the macho thing to do.
 
 
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AdamB       6/7/2007 2:52:09 PM

The Falklands Question

Should either Britain or Argentina own these islands?

© Joseph Allen McCullough

Mar 4, 2007

The issues of decolonisation.


No country in the world has more experience dealing with the issues of decolonisation than the United Kingdom. For the last hundred years, this once vast Empire, has been busy extracting itself from various corners of the world. Sometimes, this has been in the name of democracy, other times it has been forced out by the will of the people. From India, to Hong Kong, to Zimbabwe, the British have turned over government to someone else, happy to have one less far-flung part of the world to worry about.

But in 1982, Britain actually went to war in order to preserve a small group of islands that is nearly as far away from Britain as it is possible for a human settlement on earth to be. What makes this case different from the others?

It is simple really. The population of the Falkland Islands is British. They are born British, they think of themselves as British, they are proud to be British.

Argentina claims these islands based on two main points. First, the islands were legally owned by Spain at the same time as Argentina declared its own independence from Spain. The problem with this argument is that Spain’s ownership of the islands has always been contested, and there was no worldwide body around at the time to confirm this ownership.

The second claim Argentina makes upon the islands is their proximity to Argentina. Actually, the islands are 400 miles away, far outside any reasonable claim of territorial waters.

None of these claims should really matter though. In the modern world, where most of the world has accepted the idea of rulership by will of the people, the will of the people is to stay a part of the United Kingdom. This isn’t the result of some modern land-grab, but a situation that has existed for nearly a century.

It is time for Argentina to worry about what goes on inside its own borders, and to let go of its weak claims to the Falklands.
 
 
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flamingknives       6/7/2007 4:03:25 PM
I was under the impression that Argentina did consent when their appointed representative on the islands removed himself in the face of British warships in the early 1830s.

But truth has no place in nationalistic politics.
 
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Lawman       6/11/2007 12:03:50 PM
One other subtle point is that this time the UK has much better precision weapons, so any Argentine occupation would be very costly. The UK could park a large amphib 40km offshore, and start firing in GMLRS rounds, and Nimrods could fly in and launch Storm Shadows (and probably a few borrowed French Apache runway attack missiles). Basically, the Argentines might be able to take the islands, but their ability to hold the islands is highly suspect, even with the major force cuts in the UK. More importantly, particularly given the way Argentina is going, I seriously doubt that the US would sit on the fence this time - they may not actually fight against the Argentines themselves, but they may well send a US carrier battle group to provide defence for the British fleet (which would be defending an ally, not attacking anyone who doesn't pose a threat...). More so, the UK would actually send larger numbers of helicopters, such as Chinooks, giving the ability to send company sized units around the islands, without the need for the long walk....
 
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AdamB       6/13/2007 2:18:25 PM
Mission Atlantic
What are 1,500 British troops doing in the Falklands?
 
 
'We don't sit here doing nothing'
by Paula Dear
BBC News
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/999999.gif" width=416 border=0>
 
One of the many legacies of the 1982 Falklands conflict was the establishment of a sizeable British military base on the islands. Nearly 1,500 service personnel are still posted there. Why are they there and what do they do?

RAF Tornado escorts flight from UKhttp://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/43039000/jpg/_43039257_stanley_tornado.jpg" width=203 border=0>
Tornado jets practise intercepting airliners with flights from the UK
 
There has been peace in the South Atlantic archipelago of the Falkland Islands in the 25 years since Argentina invaded, but the territory is still considered to be "operational" by the British government.
An hour's drive south of Stanley, over a bumpy rocky road, is the sprawling Mount Pleasant base, which also houses the families of some military personnel and civilian contractors.
With buildings linked by a central corridor nearly a kilometre (0.6 miles) long it has been nicknamed locally as the Death Star, after the huge planet-destroying space station in the film Star Wars.
The mission there - to deter aggression, maintain UK sovereignty and protect the Falklands government's economic interests - is a joint one for the RAF, Army and navy.
 
 
There are both political and military objectives in the British Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI) operation, says Cdr Chris Moorey.
Argentina has maintained its claim to the Falklands [Las Malvinas] since 1833 and there is no sign of that position changing.
 
 

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" width=5 border=0>
Major Stuart Lane, Mount Pleasant, Falklandshttp://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/43039000/jpg/_43039253_aus_203_bbc.jpg" width=203 border=0>
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif" width=24 border=0> To do all this in the UK, it would be difficult to get it all together - that's important, because they will do it for real in Afghanistan http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif" width=23 align=right border=0>
Major Stuart Lane
 
The Argentine President, Nestor Kirchner is from Patagonia - in the south of the country - and "very much has Las Malvinas on his mind
 
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AdamB       6/13/2007 2:38:34 PM
The Falklands: Generation next
 
Interviewees at FI Community Schoolhttp://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/43007000/jpg/_43007039_school_416_300_bbc.jpg" width=416 border=0>

By Paula Dear
BBC News
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/999999.gif" width=416 border=0>
Memories of the bloody battles seen on the Falkland Islands in 1982 are bound to be fading. Many of those who were children then now have children of their own. What do today's youngsters feel about the place in which they live and what are their thoughts on the future?

Life can be muddling enough for a teenager, but for 15-year-old Pamela D'Avino, coming from Argentina and living in the Falklands can leave her feeling somewhat torn.

With the long slow build-up to the conflict's 25th anniversary commemorations in June, Pam says things feel a bit "tense".

The teenager - who moved to the Falklands aged six with her Argentine father and her mother, a local - says being born in Buenos Aires can makes things "difficult".

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" width=5 border=0>
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif" width=24 border=0> You could walk around with a big wad of cash here and not worry http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif" width=23 align=right border=0>
Ariane Goss, 11

"You get the odd people bringing it up sometimes".

"I'd stick up for the Falklands, but I'd stick up for Argentina too. It's just so weird and confusing."

But, chips in her classmate Tom Burston, there's "nothing wrong with the Argentine people, it was the government of the time that was wrong".

Tom and Pam have gathered in a classroom with four other pupils from the islands' secondary school, which caters for about 160 children aged 11-16.

One of their history teachers is writing a unit on the Falklands conflict, which will have to fit in with the UK curriculum the school follows. To date there has been no formal teaching of the war, although the school is required to inform the children about the principle of self-determination.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" width=5 border=0>
CHILDREN OF THE NINETIES
Tom Burston, 16, born Falkland Islands
Pamela D'Avino, 15, born Argentina; lived in Falklands for nine years
Nadia Arkhipkina, 15, born Russia; lived in Falklands for nine years
Murray Middleton, 13, born UK; lived on islands for four years
Nick Roberts
 
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AdvanceAustralia       6/13/2007 3:41:54 PM

I was under the impression that Argentina did consent when their appointed representative on the islands removed himself in the face of British warships in the early 1830s.

But truth has no place in nationalistic politics.
"Argentina did consent when their appointed representative on the islands removed himself in the face of British warships in the early 1830s".

And again in 1982 - with the whole world watching.

 
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