The Falklands and Corbyn

[seanraaron]

If Argentina didn't have a democratically-elected government that didn't feel the islands we're worth going to war over again, let's face it, there's nothing the UK could do to stop them from taking them.

Before you start making wild claims you need to understand Argentina has virtually zero military capability.

Perhaps you can explain how they will deliver overwhelming force to take RAF Mount Pleasant without having their asses handed to them by the 21st century forces and reinforcement plan the UK has in place.

There is nothing Argentina could do to successfully take the Falklands short of starting a 10 year re-arming process (they can ill afford) - assuming they did we'd surely notice and reinforce accordingly. Utimately their economy could not afford the necessary forces/technology to stand a chance against the Typhoons, Type 45's and Astute SSNs Uk could deploy. It would be a turkey shoot.

I understood it took a call from Thatcher to her good buddy Ronald Reagan to delay shipment of F16s to Argentina, which would likely have resulted in defeat back in the day. The maintenance of supply lines that far in the 80s was challenging - how would the UK armed forces cope today?

Now I won't claim to know about Argentina's modern military, but remind me how long it would take to get all that fancy hardware down to the Falklands and exactly what good the UK would be to her NATO allies whilst engaged in the oh so critical defence of that key territory?

[stek]

When I lived in Scotland I had a mate in the Army, and he and his Mrs bunked off regularly to Falklands for some reason. They both hated it.....

[seanraaron]

When I lived in Scotland I had a mate in the Army, and he and his Mrs bunked off regularly to Falklands for some reason. They both hated it.....

Very popular with sheep I understand and they must be some very nice sheep indeed to warrant aircraft carriers at a moments notice!

[stek]

Very popular with sheep I understand and they must be some very nice sheep indeed to warrant aircraft carriers at a moments notice!

Well we all know the real reason Maggie sent the 'Task Force' - the Poll Tax was killing her, nothing like a bit of sabre-rattling to get the thicko's back on her side.....

[Flashman]

If the Argies really want a barren wasteland can we give them Scotland instead? Cheaper in the long run.

[vetran]

If the Argies really want a barren wasteland can we give them Scotland instead? Cheaper in the long run.

KUATB!

[BoredBloke]

I thought there was something to do with land masses and proximity to the polar region which meant that the Falklands and South Georgia gave the UK a big chunk of it and that was why the Argies really wanted them

Who owns Antarctica? — Australian Antarctic Division

[SueEllen]

Well we all know the real reason Maggie sent the 'Task Force' - the Poll Tax was killing her, nothing like a bit of sabre-rattling to get the thicko's back on her side.....

That was long before the poll tax.

The fight with Argentina was before an election she could have lost as her reforms had created mass unemployment.

However the Argentinian government decided that their armed forces should be made of conscripts. This meant professional British armed forces were fighting against 17 and 18 year olds who didn't want to be there and were poorly equipped.

[darmstadt]

I always thought the French were the first settlers but gave it up as there were much warmer islands further north

[Barley]

I understood it took a call from Thatcher to her good buddy Ronald Reagan to delay shipment of F16s to Argentina, which would likely have resulted in defeat back in the day. The maintenance of supply lines that far in the 80s was challenging - how would the UK armed forces cope today?

Now I won't claim to know about Argentina's modern military, but remind me how long it would take to get all that fancy hardware down to the Falklands and exactly what good the UK would be to her NATO allies whilst engaged in the oh so critical defence of that key territory?

The defence capability is already there to counter anything the Argies are capable of deploying.