Immigration Forum / Canada / February 2006

Falkland fear as Argentina steps up show of strength
The Scotsman
BRIAN BRADY
February 27, 2006

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 have confessed to concerns that the changing political situation in
Argentina and Latin America, as well as Britain's growing military
commitments around the world, are conspiring to undermine the security of
the Falklands.

The sense of threat surrounding the Malvinas islands, regained from the
Argentinian military junta in 1982, has been gathering for several months as
President Nestor Kirchner's government has presided over an unprecedented
revival in the strength of its air force - now at twice the strength it was
during the 1982 conflict.

Several planes are believed to have overflown island airspace in a bid to
test RAF defences. A number of Falkland vessels have been seized in waters
close to Argentina.

The already tense situation has been further exacerbated by the Venezuelan
president Hugo Chavez, a Kirchner ally, who responded to criticism from
Blair this month by telling him to "return the Malvinas to Argentina".

[ed. Except my dear little Marxist, the "Malvinas" were never, ever
Argentinian in the first place - and they certainly weren't Venezualan,
so keep it out...]

Scotland on Sunday understands that the British government still hopes to
reinforce the peaceful relations between the two nations with "a diplomatic
offensive", including a series of gestures of reconciliation in the run-up
to the 25th anniversary of the conflict next year.

HMS Endurance became the first Royal Navy ship to visit an Argentinian port
since the conflict last month, when it arrived in Ushuaia to participate in
a ceremony commemorating those killed on both sides during the conflict.

But many Argentinian veterans opposed the move, and a Foreign Office source
last night conceded that Tony Blair now faced having to reinforce Britain's
commitment to the islands - perhaps by sending more troops to the South
Atlantic.

"There have been a number of incidents, and even if they weren't all
connected, they might suggest that the government in Buenos Aires is feeling
a bit bullish," the source said. "No one is saying they are about to invade
but you have to maintain your position. We all remember that, after the
original conflict, Britain was accused of giving the junta the impression
that their invasion would not be opposed.

"We would, of course, prefer them to get the message, but maybe -
sometimes - we just have to underline it ourselves."

The British military presence in the South Atlantic has dropped from 1,900
troops in 1998 to 1,200 now, while 8,000 troops are deployed in Iraq and
3,000 are heading for Afghanistan. The Falklands garrison is dwarfed by the
20,000-strong British presence in Germany, the 10,000 in Northern Ireland
and even 3,400 in Cyprus.

But critics warn that the garrison, which costs more than £110m a year, is
hopelessly inadequate for fending off any renewed threat from abroad.

Defence experts and staff within the MoD have become concerned about the
increase in military activity under Kirchner, and about his political
allegiances - particularly with the controversial Chavez.

In recent years, the Argentinian air force has doubled in size, and is now
the largest in South America. A major upgrade has fitted new missiles to
Mirage fighters and Pucara ground-attack planes.

The British government believes that increased military flights have probed
RAF radar defences in the Falklands to assess the time taken by Quick
Reaction Alert Tornadoes to reach the area.

The activity is matched in the disputed local sea-space, where each side
operates a 200-mile exclusion zone around its coast. A British patrol found
an Argentine submarine off the waters of South Georgia, while Argentina's
coastguard last week captured a Falklands-flagged fishing vessel it claimed
was operating in the country's "economic exclusion zone". The vessel, John
Cheek, and its 31-strong crew were taken to the port of Comodoro Rivadavia,
945 miles south of Buenos Aires, where they faced the prospect of heavy
fines or having their catches seized.

The vulnerability of British outposts around the world has been underlined
by the increased commitments of UK military forces in trouble spots
including Iraq and Afghanistan. A number of critics in London and the
Falklands believe that the Argentinians may take advantage of the
"overstretch" to cause trouble in the south Atlantic.

A senior Ministry of Defence source said: "This could be termed as
sabre-rattling, but when our forces are deployed in so many locations, its
potential for causing mischief is magnified. We've been watching a steady
build-up of the Argentine air force over the past year. Frankly, they have
no need for such a large fighting force, and there is concern in Whitehall
as to what this is all about."

He added: "The Argentine air force is at least twice the size of that we
fought during the Falklands War and the question has to be asked: how many
more aircraft do they need?"

Tory MP Andrew Rosindell, chairman of the all-party Falkland Islands Group,
said: "It is time the British government told the Argentinians they won't
get away with this alarming hostility. I hope the Argentine government is
not planning any military action, but we have got to learn the lessons of
the past and any actions have to be rebutted. The moment we are seen to be
weakening, our resolve is going to be questioned."

Rosindell said residents' fears of abandonment were reinforced last week
when the BBC announced it was cutting its twice-weekly bulletins to the
islands.

Dr Francisco Panizza, senior lecturer in Latin American politics at the
London School of Economics, said the signs of a new power base around Chavez
had sparked anxiety among Western governments.

"Kirchner's leadership is characterised by his populism, defining Argentina
against her enemies," he said.

"He has used multinationals and oil companies, so referring to the Malvinas
would fit in with that - but I don't think he is in a position to invade the
islands again."

[ed. Send over an aircraft carrier and a couple of nuclear submarines on
"exercises" to ensure this reasoning continues. And also, knock the buggers
out in the world cup!...]

Panizza added that the Venezuelan leader's intervention "would have
resonated very well in Buenos Aires".

[ed. Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if the traitors in power in
Britain are negotating the hand over as we speak - "we're multicultural 'cool'
britannia now!!!" big thumbs up and photo op next to muslims...]

--
Jim
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Western_Nationalist
Unite Against Multiculturalism!

"Abolish Multi-Culty and String Up the Traitors!"