Did Thatcher’s defence cuts leave the Argentine junta with the impression that an invasion of the islands would stand uncontested?

In the lead up to the invasion, why did Thatcher seek to decommission the hydrographic, scientific survey vessel HMS Endurance against the wishes of Lord Carrington … Admiral Sir Henry Leach and the Falkland Islanders? Why was the Prime Minister privately pro-Argentine sovereignty and trade, and publicly against granting full British citizenship to the islanders?

In the months leading up to the conflict, what kind of signal did this appeasement send to the Argentine junta? That any subsequent Argentine invasion was unlikely to be challenged? That would be the most likely conclusion to arrive at.

From the Argentine newspapers: “Britain is thereby abandoning the protection of the Falkland Islands.”

It’s clear to me that the unstated cause of this conflict – concealed for 30 years – was the secret activity around ceding Falklands sovereignty, all closely linked to the future military, strategic and trade interests of Britain and Argentina. According to certain autumn 1980 secret documents, a realisation was dawning on Thatcher that sovereignty could not be passed to the military junta this time around and that the islands could not be leased back to Argentina for 99 years, as Nicholas Ridley had fervently wished. At such a crucial stage in the long-term process, why did Thatcher’s priority switch to taking a sharpened axe to the UK’s presence in the South Atlantic?

If an Argentine invasion was being considered, encouraged or even actively precipitated, there could never be any traceable contact in this regard between the British and Argentine governments. This would immediately indicate collusion, and would have risked discovery, betrayal, later exposure or the collapse of the Thatcher government. There is a telling quote in the above document:

“…complete secrecy was essential to both sides”.

If Thatcher’s hidden wish was to be re-elected to power at all costs in June 1983, she could drop heavy hints in the form of positive ongoing trade talks, the ceding of sovereignty, swingeing UK defence cuts, the removal of HMS Endurance from service, etc. to imply to Galtieri that an Argentine invasion would stand uncontested, whilst quietly factoring in the surmountable, ‘acceptable’ cost of a large, but unknown number of expendable servicemen’s lives on both sides.

As it turned out, the defence cuts, trade talks, proposals for the ceding of sovereignty and clandestine meetings with the Argentine government were exactly what she carried out – amid howls of protest from senior military figures. As I’ve referred to time and again, the full details of these were kept under wraps for 30 years.

Between the early 1970s and today, I’ve felt a deep mistrust of unscrupulous political players like Thatcher, the alleged ‘free’ press and media, and a huge, burgeoning shitstorm of local authority Rotten Boroughs, stuffed with broken humans. This scandalous conduct has been around for so long, many of us feel like we’ve become virtually marinated in it.

Part ONE: https://wirralinittogether.blog/2022/03/27/the-serialisation-of-return-to-bomb-alley-the-falklands-deception-part-one/

Part TWO: https://wirralinittogether.blog/2022/03/29/the-serialisation-of-return-to-bomb-alley-the-falklands-deception-part-two/

Part THREE: https://wirralinittogether.blog/2022/03/30/the-serialisation-of-return-to-bomb-alley-the-falklands-deception-part-three/

Part FOUR: https://wirralinittogether.blog/2022/04/01/the-serialisation-of-return-to-bomb-alley-the-falklands-deception-part-four/

Part FIVE: https://wirralinittogether.blog/2022/04/04/the-serialisation-of-return-to-bomb-alley-the-falklands-deception-part-five/

Part SIX: https://wirralinittogether.blog/2022/04/05/the-serialisation-of-return-to-bomb-alley-the-falklands-deception-part-six/

Part EIGHT: https://wirralinittogether.blog/2022/04/12/the-serialisation-of-return-to-bomb-alley-the-falklands-deception-part-eight/

Part NINE: https://wirralinittogether.blog/2022/04/19/the-serialisation-of-return-to-bomb-alley-the-falklands-deception-part-nine/

Part TEN: https://wirralinittogether.blog/2022/04/23/the-serialisation-of-return-to-bomb-alley-the-falklands-deception-part-ten/