PSYOP OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS WAR psywarrior SYOP OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS WAR The Falkland Islands are approximately 8000 miles from Britain and the only major island group in the South Atlantic, about 300 miles east of Argentina and the continent of South America in the Strait of Magellan. There are two main islands, West and East Falkland and more than 100 smaller ones. The Buenos Aires government, which had declared its independence from Spain in 1816, claimed sovereignty over the Falklands. Britain began settling the islands and declared a colonial administration in 1842. Argentina never recognized the claim and historically has demanded that the islands be part of that nation. They say that “Ownership is 90% of the law” and the islands have been continuously occupied by residents who have always demanded the right to remain British subjects. In the early 1980s, the period that we will discuss, the population was 1,813 with over half living in the capitol town of Port Stanley on East Falkland. Although there are less than 2000 citizens, there are an estimated 600,000 sheep. Wool and hides are obviously the chief import of the Falklands. The islands were administered at the time by Governor Rex Hunt. They were far from Britain and certainly not an economic or military priority. There might have been some belief among the Argentineans that the occupation of these islands, called by them the Islas Malvinas would be treated by the British as a fait accompli. Map of Falkland Islands The Spanish first colonized what would be known as Argentina and controlled it for about 300 years. The nation gained independence in 1816 after a six year struggle led by General Jose de San Martin. From that time on there were a series of military takeovers and political dictators. The most famous is probably Juan Peron who was elected president in 1945. After Peron there was a series of petty dictators, with Peron himself being recalled to power in 1973. In 1976, another military coup put a junta made up of the commanders of the armed forces in charge. There were a series of generals in a revolving door leadership that led to Army General Leopoldo Galtieri holding power in 1982. Argentina was in deep economic trouble. The inflation was over 600 percent, manufacturing output down 22.9%, and real wages down by 19.2%. In addition, the Junta has kidnapped, tortured and murdered large numbers of the population. The book War in the Falklands, the Sunday Times of London Insight Team, Harper & Row, NY, 1982 comments on the civil rights violations: In just over two years, according to estimates of human rights organizations, up to 18,000 Argentineans vanished, including thousands of high-school children. Most of the disappeared were young, radical, and middle-class. Over one hundred journalists and two hundred scientists vanished. Galtieri accepted the collective responsibility of the junta. He coldly stated: In any war, there are people who disappear. The Argentine people were clamoring for change, and the leadership decided that the best way to take their mind off the numerous problems at home is to give them a glorious patriotic victory and the return of the Islas Malvinas. The campaign was originally named Operación Azul after the blue robe of the Virgin Mary, but later changed to Operación Rosario (Rosary) in what appears to be an attempt by the Argentine government to give the impression of a patriotic Catholic religious crusade. The invasion was initially planned for 25 May, the anniversary of the revolution and one of the most important national holidays. Due to the mounting pressures on the government, and mass union demonstrations in late March, the date of the invasion was moved earlier to 2 April. Its main purpose was to divert public attention from the internal problems and restore the long lost popularity and prestige of the dictatorship. There were numerous previous provocations. In 1966 an Aerolineas Argentinas DC4 was hijacked by a group of twenty Argentine nationalists known as “Condors.” They forced the pilot to fly to Stanley and land on the racecourse. The Condors took four Islanders hostage, handed out leaflets stating they had arrived to take over the Islands on behalf of Argentina, and raised the Argentine flag. They gave up to a local priest the next day and were eventually placed on an Argentine naval ship and taken back to Argentina where they received nominal prison sentences. Later that year a small detachment of Argentine Marines landed via submarine Santiago del Estero and reconnoitered potential landing beaches near Port Stanley. In 1968 another Argentine aircraft crashed while attempting a landing to publicize the Argentine demands. The 1982 Argentinean invasion did not start in the major islands. Instead, an Argentine businessman named Constantino Davidoff sailed to South Georgia Island to salvage scrap metal on the fleet transport Bahia Buen Suceso. It arrived on 19 March 1982 without British permission. The Argentine flag was placed near the work site. The British protested, the political situation escalated and Governor Hunt sent 22 Royal Marines to remove the workers, while Argentina sent 100 Marines to protect them. That quickly erupted into a gun-battle on 3 April and the Argentineans overpowered the smaller British force. The die was cast and military movements set into motion that were unstoppable. Britain protested in vain about the landing on South Georgia. On 26th March, British Intelligence reported that a number of Argentine military vessels were at sea. Hunt received a top secret telegram from the Foreign Office on 1 April. We have apparently reliable evidence that an Argentine task force could be assembling off Stanley at dawn tomorrow. You will wish to make your dispositions accordingly. Governor Hunt announced over the radio that an invasion was imminent. It occurred as expected early on 2 April. Port Stanley was defended by 40 Royal Marines and about the same number of naval personnel. The first landings occurred about 0600. The Argentineans attacked along a number of fronts with both helicopter and light armored vehicles. The British could not defend against such overwhelming odds and surrendered at 0930. The Argentineans quickly reinforced their troops to about 10,000 and put a military governor in command. Argentina made several immediate changes to the culture of the Falkland Islands. Port Stanley was renamed Puerto Argentino. Spanish became the official language of the Falkland Islands and traffic was thereafter to drive on the right side of the road. The islanders continued to drive on the left, demonstrating their determination to remain British. The Argentineans hoped that the British would accept the occupation. It was not to be. Britain announced a 200 nautical mile maritime exclusion zone around the Falklands to take effect on 12 April. Any Argentine ship found in the area after that time was open game. After formally surrendering his troops, Hunt was flown to Montevideo, Uruguay later that same day. thatcher.jpg (8426 bytes) In London, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher prepared for war. President Reagan talked of neutrality and involved himself in the peace process but it was an open secret that the United States later armed and fueled the fleet of her old ally from WWI and WWII. Britain won the diplomatic war, and gained the support of the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Commonwealth. Argentina failed to even win over the Organization of American States. The United Nations voted in favor of Britain with only Panama against, and Russia abstaining along with Poland, China and Spain. On 2 April, the Security Council passed Resolution 502 which said in part: Deeply disturbed at reports of an invasion on 2 April 1982 by armed forces of Argentina, Determining that there exists a breach of the peace in the region of the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), 1. Demands an immediate cessation of hostilities; 2. Demands an immediate withdrawal of all Argentine forces from the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas); 3. Call on the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom to seek a diplomatic solution to their differences and to respect fully the purposes and principals of the Charter of the United Nations. Britain had wide support, and General Galtieri discovered that he has totally misjudged the United Kingdom’s resolve and world opinion. President Reagan then publicly offered military aid and announced sanctions against Argentina.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 01:08:12 +0000
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