Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Britain's last hurrah


Falklands War 2nd April 1982
Perhaps the last occasion when Britain waged war on her own - without being the USA's poodle, that is.

Argentine President General Leopoldo Galtieri and Margaret Thatcher [who was soon parodied as Maggot Scratcher in Steven Berkoff's Sink the Belgrano] could have done better by launching this war, which Borges described as "a fight between two bald men over a comb", a day before - on April Fools Day! After all what were they fighting for? Two isolated islands - The East Falklands and the West Falklands - 776 unnamed ones and a lot of sheep. Most people in Britain knew of these islands only after Britain sent troops 8000 miles down the Atlantic. That explains why the Falklanders have been trying to raise the money to put up a statue to Galtieri!

When this stupid and inconsequential war ended 74 days later, Galtieri was woken up from his nap, and while dressed only in his underwear, told that he was no longer President of Argentina.

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