The Falklands War

25 years ago today it started.

do you think it was justified?

i think there was an element of thatcher going to war in order to improve her approval rating, but overall, i think it was justified.

an unelected fascist regime invade a british island populated by british citizens and claim it back. if the people of the falklands saw themselves as argentinian, then i would think differently due to the geographical position of the falklands and the de-colonisationof the british empire during the 50s and 60s. but they were/are proud of their british identity, so i think we were right to go there and get it back from the argentinians.

but yet i wear an argentinian shirt with "heinze 6" on the back and chant "argentina!", so what do i know?

It was justified after the Argies invaded, though this could've been avoided saving us a fortune in the process.

Totally and utterly unjustified. Cynically, deliberately, willfuly and in full knowledge of what would happen Thatcher sacrificed the lives of hundreds of young men on both sides so she could win an election.
It was obscene.

theres going to be lots of threads on this topic between now and july

in the interests of historical accuracy and not recognising the war crimes comitted by the thatcher govt, can we refer to them as "the Malvinas" ?

Originally Posted by dodger

Totally and utterly unjustified. Cynically, deliberately, willfuly and in full knowledge of what would happen Thatcher sacrificed the lives of hundreds of young men on both sides so she could win an election.
It was obscene.

So you're saying that Thatcher let the Argies invade (indeed that it even could have been avoided) so she could then go down there and kick their backsides in order to win an election.

Hmmm, don't you think this is slightly far-fetched.

you can keep that puff Ardiles
cos we goint have yer malvinas


I have no political comment to make

Originally Posted by no fun

theres going to be lots of threads on this topic between now and july

in the interests of historical accuracy and not recognising the war crimes comitted by the thatcher govt, can we refer to them as "the Malvinas" ?

Err, no.

Originally Posted by wikipedia

The islands are referred to in the English language as "[The] Falkland Islands". This name dates from an expedition led by John Strong in 1690, who named the islands after his patron, Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount Falkland. The Spanish name for the islands, "Islas Malvinas", is derived from the French name "Îles Malouines", bestowed in 1764 by Louis Antoine de Bougainville, after the mariners and fishermen from the Breton port of Saint-Malo who became the island's first known human settlers.

Originally Posted by HarkNowHear

you can keep that puff Ardiles
cos we goint have yer malvinas


I have no political comment to make

oy, tebbitt, wind it in

Originally Posted by red red robbo

Err, no.

fair point

ok, can we call them the malvinas just to wind up toilet sniffer and tatty ?

Originally Posted by red red robbo

Err, no.

Wikipedia doesn't make it so.

i reckon alot of peoples judgement on the validity of the falklands war will be, understandably, clouded by what thatcher did to large parts of northern england and wales. but i think it's a seperate issue personally.

Originally Posted by red red robbo

So you're saying that Thatcher let the Argies invade (indeed that it even could have been avoided) so she could then go down their and kick their backsides in order to win an election.

Hmmm, don't you think this is slightly far-fetched.

Why is it far fetched? Are you saying you think a governemnt would care about a few hundred lives to save itself?

Did you know the government didn't want the Falklands any more? They were expensive to run and they had been negotiating with Argentina about giving them up?

Originally Posted by no fun

oy, tebbitt, wind it in

Fray Bentos and cheap red wine
its all they have in the argentine
but after a scrap wit english navy
theyll ask for the recipe for chips n gravy

Costa Mendes lives in fear
from real men who can hold their beer

hey up

the (labour) government had the chance to give them up in 1977 when the argies threatened to invade previously. however, they chose to send the navy to warn them off.

I know a woman from the Falklands, she is a right miserable bitch.

Originally Posted by Qwertyuiop

I know a woman from the Falklands, she is a right miserable bitch.

what accent do people from the falklands have?

once again, declan says it all




Is it worth it
A new winter coat and shoes for the wife
And a bicycle on the boys birthday
Its just a rumour that was spread around town
By the women and children
Soon well be shipbuilding
Well I ask you
The boy said dad theyre going to take me to task
But Ill be back by christmas
Its just a rumour that was spread around town
Somebody said that someone got filled in
For saying that people get killed in
The result of this shipbuilding
With all the will in the world
Diving for dear life
When we could be diving for pearls
Its just a rumour that was spread around town
A telegram or a picture postcard
Within weeks theyll be re-opening the shipyards
And notifying the next of kin
Once again
Its all were skilled in
We will be shipbuilding
With all the will in the world
Diving for dear life
When we could be diving for pearls

Originally Posted by no fun

fair point

ok, can we call them the malvinas just to wind up toilet sniffer and tatty ?

I think that would be acceptable

Originally Posted by Fuzzy Dunlop

Wikipedia doesn't make it so.

No, but in this case it is fact.

Originally Posted by dodger

Why is it far fetched? Are you saying you think a governemnt would care about a few hundred lives to save itself?

Did you know the government didn't want the Falklands any more? They were expensive to run and they had been negotiating with Argentina about giving them up?

Bit of a risky strategy though. Could easily have backfired. We were damned lucky that we managed to take them back. If the argies had been even slightly more organised and had a bit more of a stomach for a fight then we would have been deep in the shit. That wouldn't have won maggie any elections.

Incidentally, the Falkland Islands now turn a nice tidy little profit due to tourism and the sale of fishing rights.

Originally Posted by dodger

Did you know the government didn't want the Falklands any more? They were expensive to run and they had been negotiating with Argentina about giving them up?

Yup, Thatcher was far too hardline in the negotiations which the Argie Junta used as an excuse to invade. I believe that the offer was a 100 year leaseback agreement giving us plenty of time to convince those idiots who live there we could find them somewhere equally dreadful to live. Thatcher for some reason was against this and we ended up spending hudreds of lives and billions of pounds on that shithole.

whether the war was justified is to sidestep more pertinent questions. Foremost among which is, could the war have been prevented?



The answer is almost certainly, yes. Once Argentina invaded, Britain had little option but to defend sovereign territory. But there is little doubt that with a little foresight on the part of the British government, and in particular the foreign office, the invasion would not have taken place. Although there is a plausible argument, made in Richard C Thornton's The Falklands Sting (which places the conflict in a Cold War context) that the occurrence of the Falklands war was less of a mishap than it might seem.



This is interesting, too: http://www.guardian.co.uk/falklands/...516277,00.html