The Falkland War - Avoidable?

Hello Stefan,

Approx. 1500 settlers, in order to avoid a 2.5 billon war and hundreds of dead soldiers?? I would tend to say very clearly YES.

Regards
Kruska

 

Both sides chose the millitary option? Argentinas invasion was the only military card played. We responded to a millatary invasion. You have no qualms against states using tanks when they cant get their way., you paint a very warped picture of events. Kruska question...who made a millitary invasion in april 1982? Whose troops where they?

 

Hello urqh,

if we can agree on neglecting numbers due to the issue in 1982 - then my question to you would be who (invaded) stationed military troops on the Falkland in the first place?

And one wouldn't expect Argentina to send in boyscouts against British Marines would we?

Regards
Kruska

 

Kruska the islanders wouldnt have left... And no govt would have survived if brit public got wind of a eviction. Its that simple, the govt would be finished, you are having serious problems understanding and seperating the public from the politicos here.. However this was not the case with diego garcia which doesnt suprise me.. War was inevitable once pics of marines on ground and with hands up were seen by public in uk. Lombardo knew this too and was furious...not as much as public here though.

 

Hello urqh,

I am quite aware about Britsh public feelings and interpretations in contra to its politicians - which basically applies to any country.

I had just been in the German Army for a year when the Argentines invaded the Falklands and two of my British friends had just enlisted in the British army a year or so before.

The judgement of those two in the British army was quite different from those that could be viewed in public or presented by the crowd. It was rational and not emotional.

Regards
Kruska

 

Thats because its just a job of work when your in mob its later that you ask the questions, dont know about germans but the chance to put training into effect and adrenalin buzz figured highly to them even to wounded i was with afterwards, who the enemy was mattered little..

 

i notice you havent answered my question

 

I see,

answer: The Argentine army attacked the British invaders in 1982

who can invade his own country? so who was the invader?

To the Britsh the Argentines were invaders - to the Argentines the British were the invaders.

Who was the invader? The British who stationed troops on the Falklands first, or the Argentines who went there in 1982 to get rid of them?

Invasion is a very rhetoric useage:

In Germany the headline was;
Argentine forces have landed on the Falklands and attacked British positions.

In Argentina:
Argentine forces have landed on the Les Malvinas to liberate the islands from the British

In the UK:
Argentine forces have invaded the Falklands

Regards
Kruska

 

Hello urqh,

just read your PM, thanks! so I would suggest let us bury this thread.

Regards
Kruska

 

Forcibly deporting the majority of the population of a place because a hostile power with no real claim to the place threatens to invade, this is simply not acceptable. By that logic noone should ever defend a smaller nation against a larger aggressor, they should simply evacuate the smaller country and let the aggressor have it.

 

This is were we differentiate in our opinion!

And this is also were I rest my case

Regards
Kruska

 

Right, the Argentinians had no more of a claim to the place than the British (it was never Argentinian territory but Spanish, the people who first settled it were British and so on), historically both can be argued and neither is decisive, what is decisive is that the majority of the people living on the island, the people I would suggest have the right to decide who runs their country, were in fact British.

So yeah, it seems pretty obvious to me that the only way to avoid the war was to forcibly move the majority of the population which is quite simply wrong.

 

Certainly not kruska.. Simply responded to your own pm question. I wouldnt want anyone thinking we are colluding in any way, and nor do we have the power to bury a thread others may want to add to... Remind me what year we invaded and how many years later argentina thought it such an issue to risk a war?

 

Hello urqh,

Falkland Islands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Falkland Islands have had a complex history since their discovery. France, Britain, Spain, and Argentina have all claimed possession at some time, and have established and abandoned settlements on the islands. The Falklands Crisis of 1770 was nearly the cause of a war between a Franco-Spanish Alliance and Britain. The Spanish government's claim was continued by Argentina after the latter's independence in 1816 and the independence war in 1817. The United Kingdom returned to the islands in 1833 following the destruction of the Argentine settlement at Puerto Luis by the American sloop USS Lexington (28 December 1831). Argentina has continued to claim sovereignty over the islands, and the dispute was used by the military junta as a pretext to invade.

In January 1833, British forces returned and informed the Argentine commander that they intended to reassert British sovereignty. The Argentine commander was forced to pull down the Argentine flag in view of superior British forces.

Regards
Kruska

 

This could drag on for sometime.

Unconditional surrender anyone?


The islanders want to be British. That counts.

 

Charter of the United Nations

The Purposes of the United Nations are:
1.To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace;
2.To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace;
3.To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and
4.To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.

The Islanders of the Falkland Isles were the victims of an unprovoked invasion by a military dictatorship, the response of the United Kingdom was fully in line with principles of the UN.

 

I have read:

That before the war the British government was not really interested in keeping the Falklands and that they were co-operating with with Argentina in trying to convince the population to accept Argentine control.

At the time most of the Islands trade was with Argentina.

The Argentine government had a program to win the "hearts and minds" of the people . This included suplying goods, services and education to the islanders a little or no charge.

The Argentine grovenment promised to to allow the islanders local control of their affairs with Argentine control of international relations.

The Argentine government at the time was a dictatorship. The islanders wanted no part of it.

The Agentine occupation was actually quite benign. They were still trying to win the hearts and minds of the people.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I would like to hear from Argenteen veterans of the war. What did they think of the islands? I suspect that after seeing them and meeting the people, many wondered why they were there.

 

Sources?

 

Highway is correct to a certain extent if you look at the machinations of Brit govt of the time. I dont argue with that.

Benign, my left foot. You need to speak to some of the Falklanders put up against walls with guns...Some of Falkanders taken from houses in night in Stanleyand dumped on settlements and other half of islands at gunpoint.

The 8 year old girl who found herself at night forced up against wall at home with a gun at her back.

Benign in your head.