Obama refuses to support UK sovereignty over Falklands

[Ed Anger]

Americas bloc excluding US and Canada agreed

I think that such a bloc is perfectly fair.  None of them have much chance to get into NATO, so they should be able to set up another organization for NATO-wannabes.  Sorta the South American Equivalent of the NIT.

An NIT consisting of teams with losing records, maybe

Did you see the video of Chavez ranting about Bush and the power goes out on it? Hilarious.

[Neil]

What impresses me is that Hans doesn't miss a beat.  He makes a statement about Obama and when thinking people notice it is utterly meaningless he just moves on like it didn't happen.

It's like a Glenn Beck IED.  A Hansgrenade.

That was rather witty.

[Sheilbh]

IIRC he's just continuing the standard US policy towards the dispute?

Yep.  During the Falklands war the US Administration was ambivalent, at best.  Only Cap Weinberger really supported the UK.  In that war our only real ally was France - as has been the case since the entente cordiale.

[Berkut]

I have no doubt that if Argentina invaded the Falklands again, the US would continue to profess our neutrality while supplying the UK with intelligence and support.

Which is, of course, As It Should Be.

[Razgovory]

IIRC he's just continuing the standard US policy towards the dispute?

Yep.  During the Falklands war the US Administration was ambivalent, at best.  Only Cap Weinberger really supported the UK.  In that war our only real ally was France - as has been the case since the entente cordiale.

Shame about the French rockets that sank your ship though.

[grumbler]

Shame about the French rockets that sank your ship though.

The weren't rockets and weren't French.  They were missiles, and they were Argentinian.

[Neil]

Shame about the French rockets that sank your ship though.

The weren't rockets and weren't French.  They were missiles, and they were Argentinian.

They might be rockets again some day.

[Sheilbh]

Shame about the French rockets that sank your ship though.

The French immediately supported us.  They gave us the fighter planes they'd sold to the Argies so that the RAF could train against them.  They also gave us all details about Exocet missiles so that the military knew what to expect and MI6 could try to sabotage them and helped the British orchestrate a secret mission so that the Argies would always be outbid for Exocet missiles (which they desperately needed) even though the French wouldn't receive the money and Britain wouldn't receive the weapons.

The US eventually helped us (and to give him his due Weinberger promised, immediately, that the US would help) but only after the State Department (who generally wanted a face-saving negotiated settlement for Galtieri) had spent a lot of time, not to mention Jeane Kirkpatrick's performance.

[grumbler]

Shame about the French rockets that sank your ship though.

The US eventually helped us (and to give him his due Weinberger promised, immediately, that the US would help) but only after the State Department (who generally wanted a face-saving negotiated settlement for Galtieri) had spent a lot of time, not to mention Jeane Kirkpatrick's performance.

The US Navy went to Britain's aid immediately, which led to a mini-scandal inside the service, as it turned out that some aircraft engines, POL, and (I think) some AIM-9L missiles went to the UK considerably in advance of official authorization.

[Warspite]

Shame about the French rockets that sank your ship though.

The US eventually helped us (and to give him his due Weinberger promised, immediately, that the US would help) but only after the State Department (who generally wanted a face-saving negotiated settlement for Galtieri) had spent a lot of time, not to mention Jeane Kirkpatrick's performance.

The US Navy went to Britain's aid immediately, which led to a mini-scandal inside the service, as it turned out that some aircraft engines, POL, and (I think) some AIM-9L missiles went to the UK considerably in advance of official authorization.

There was a lot of help from the US with intelligence and use of bases.

Wasn't there even talk of sending a carrier in case of loss of hermes and Ark Royal?

[Sheilbh]

The US Navy went to Britain's aid immediately, which led to a mini-scandal inside the service, as it turned out that some aircraft engines, POL, and (I think) some AIM-9L missiles went to the UK considerably in advance of official authorization.

Yeah.  My impressions are shaped by the British Ambassador in Washington and the Defence Minister's books which deal with the subject.  The general view they both had was that the DoD helped and that Weinberger was very strong from the start and that Haig came around in the end, but that the State Department was more-or-less institutionally pro-Argie and the Administration as a whole was tepid for quite some time - understandably, two American allies were going to war.