Falkland Islands -- British or Argentine?

its pretty easy for any yahoo reader to look up the history of the islands and conclude that argentina has a pretty weak claim. the root of the claim is also very suspect. In the 80's it was a right wing totalitarian regimes coverup scheme as they were dropping liberals from planes into the mountains..
meanwhile the brits have a history of being there longer than argenitna has been around

Spain owned falklands so when Argentina won their independence they lay claim to Falklands - pretty valid point. the USA adopted the MONROE DOCTRINE to prevent european influences on Americas, couple of years later British decide they want to invade and conquer Argentina so they send ppl to Falkland Is. Their invasion of Argentine fails but they remain on East Falklands. The USA should have kicked their #$%$ off the continent period, but instead used the MONROE DOCTRINE to justify fighting Spain. The MALVINAS belong to Argentina. If there are only 1000 brits there, they can go home. They don't belong there!!!

From an earlier post - "The people who inhabit the islands, that are 350 miles away from anybody, said that they want to be British. Since both countries respect freedom and democracy, the issue is closed."
A question to everyone who supports Argentina on this - if you do support Freedom and Democracy, why are you so ready to impose your will on a country that doesn't want it?

THE BRITISH ARE COMING
THE BRITISH ARE COMING

What dispute was "unresolved" after the 1982 war? Britain won; Argentina lost. We might as well say that the independence of the Southern Confederacy was "unresolved" after the Civil War.

I say let the people living in the Falklands decide what nationality they are. So far it doesn't seem like they want to be part of Argentina. Besides the British navy has always been a force to be reckon with even before colonial days. Like omg they lost 20 ships last time!... They still won the war. If the Argies and the Brits go to war again, my money's with the Tommies.

I don't like the title of this article, as it makes it appear the issue is open. The people who inhabit the islands, that are 350 miles away from anybody, said that they want to be British. Since both countries respect freedom and democracy, the issue is closed.

The Argentine's plunged their country into a horrible depression after their last attempt to wrestle the islands from the Brits. How soon the forget the atrocities of their own government against its own people during the period. If they had a legitimate claim to the oil there (that is the real issue) it is not worth the price. Wake up Argentina.

Any claim that Argentina had to the Falklands ended when they invaded the islands in 1982. If they had chosen continued diplomacy, the Falklands might even have become Argentine by now. But they chose war and they lost the war. So the Falklands will remain British forever. It's as simple as that.

I've talked with many Argentine military involved in the '82 war. The Army guys were really surprised that nobody spoke Spanish when they got there... they had been led to believe that they would be welcomed as liberators, and didn't even bring translators or interpreters.

Sounds like it is pretty British to me........if the Argentines took it over they would treat the inhabitants like slaves and discriminate against them because they are English speaking and not of Argentine descent..........why mess up something that currently works.

Certainly the author got paid for typing this, but it is just a collection of irrelevant facts. The author could have included the observation that Liberation Day was also the beginning of liberation for Argentina. When the authoritarian Argentine government fumbled their invasion so badly, it discredited them and the government quickly fell. The invasion, response, and failure of the Argentine effort was the best thing to happen to the Argentine people in decades. The fact that mutton is in plentiful supply is not nearly as important to the reader.

If the Falkland Islands belong to Argentina then I guess Alaska belongs to Russia. Same argument, and very flawed at that. Possession is 9/10ths of the law.

Alright, history lesson time. The Falklands were first settled by the French. In 1764, French military commander Louis Antoine de Bougainville founded the first settlement on what is now called Berkeley Sound. In 1765, the British arrived to explore and make an attempt at truly settling under captain John Byron who claimed Saunders Island on West Falkland. There he named the harbor Port Egmont and a settlement was built in 1766. Spain acquired the French settlement in 1767 and put it under the governor of Buenos Aires and proceeded to drive out the British in 1770 but the British returned under treaty provisions but left in 1774, never giving up their claim but under stress from N American strife. Spain lingered until 1811 when the final Spanish settlers left.

Here is where it gets sticky. Argentina declared its independence in 1816. It did not try any attempt to settle the Falklands until a German merchant, Luis Vernet, got the right to attempt settling the islands in the 1820's from BOTH the British and Argentine governments. He got there only to find the Americans and others were using the islands for sealing and whaling operations and tried to establish authority over the islands only to be attacked by the Americans who proceeded in destroying the little Vernet had tried to establish. What he had done was bring some Gaucho there to collect stray cattle along with some sealers and a few business men in the old French settlement. By 1834 the Argentines were gone along with any Argentine military and the British held full sway over the islands from 1833 on and eventually established true settlement, families and businesses providing products for local residents and off shore trade by the end of the 19th century.

So, the Argentines did not establish full settlement, although they attempted to at least control the islands it was too weak and ultimately unsuccessful and the attempt was done on top of the claims of the British with even Vernet using British authority also for his claim, so his attempt is not fully Argentine in authority. No families and inability to establish military control equals no settlement of the Falklands by Argentina. That is why the Falklanders speak English and not Spanish and why Argentina does not have any rights to the islands.

A little story about the Falklands war. The SAS landed first and immediately captured a few Argentine scouts, in captivity they told the scouts that the Gurkhas are on their way with their Kukris and are going to slit the throats of every Argentine they come across with then they let them escape. A few days later the Royal Marines landed and found that that whole part of that Argentine front was... deserted. The British did not win that war by sheer force alone, they were effective in the Psychological front too. They left the Argentinians demoralized and eventually they capitulated in disgrace.

Arg lost the argument militarily twice...they want to go a third go round ?

Falklanders, British or Argentine? The answer is obvious and that is all we need to know. Since when is it ok to use violent invasion and occupation to support a claim.? ( See Saddam Hussein).

The only thing Argentinian about the Falklands are the graves of the Argentinian soldiers who got killed the last time their moronic government started making these stupid kinds of noises. Take note though: There's plenty of room left for more Argentinian graves.

So, Alaska can be relcaimed by the Russians? St.Pierre and Miquelon, little Islands off the Canada coast, which have been French since the 1700s are to be given to Canada because some Quebecean nut - similar in mentality to an Argie, wants them for national pride? The national pride of Argentina is at the level satisfied by having corrupt military dictatorships,
a common street walker for a first lady and president, and the bloodlines of escaped Nazis and Italian facisti thugs, and the lower dregs of the latino genetics. Even the Spaniards
recognize the stupidity of a claim on Gibraltar, where the generations of monkeys have the
intelligence to accept being a Gibraltar monkey, as opposed to belonging to historically
corrupt line of dictators, a street lady and rapaciou politcal thieves who inflame them with false "macho" distractions and stupid psudo claims promoted by a bunch that couldn't reclaim a rowdy kindergarten school yard demonstration for more spiked pablum.]; which is about the mass level of Argie mentality for this current manufactured antagonism

LMFAO...I guess these Argentine supports of the Falkland Islands belonging to Argentina would be the same as Japan laying claim to Hawaii because the Japanese say it is so! Oh! Wait! They tried that about 71 years ago and their entire civilization was nearly wiped from the face of the earth.