"As if we did not have enough going on in the world right now. Ukraine is still not at peace; Russia is threatening NATO left and right; Iran is still a problem for us and Israel. All in all, the world is a mess, and throwing the Falklands back into the mix will not help anyone. But before we give up and just let another war happen, look for Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to earn a bunch more frequent flier miles going to and from the world's newest trouble spot."
Yes, I am old enough to remember this somewhat obscure war in the very south of South America. A group of islands called the Falkland Islands, all of a sudden became a hot spot in the world. They belonged to the UK (for some old treaty reason), but they sat right off the coast of Argentina. What is the best way to settle a dispute about contested land? Go to war, of course. For the next 74 days, a war which was never declared, was fought between the UK and Argentina.
As the saying goes, today, there is a new sheriff in town. That is, there is a new person in charge of Argentina. His name is Javier Milei, and he thinks the Falklands should be a part of his country, not England. The fact that England has dominion over the Falklands goes back into ancient history - like in the 1800's. But that was then and this is now.
What besides the location of the Falklands would be of interest to Argentina right now? For starters, a giant deep sea oil reserve called the Sea Lion Field. This is big enough to make a difference to both countries. Thus, the Sabre rattling has started once again. During the first war, the famed Exocet Anti-Ship Missile was used for the first time in anger. By Argentina against a British ship. The results were catastrophic for that ship. But the advent of that Exocet missile marked the change of sea warfare as we know it.
If push comes to shove again between England and Argentina, it puts us in a very precarious position. Why? England is a NATO friend. But Argentina is part of our hemisphere, and our current administration has been working very hard on peace, tranquility and prosperity for all who live in this hemisphere. If war, declared or undeclared, breaks out - what do we do? Who do we support? In 1982, we had no problem with supporting our friends from the UK. Our relationship with Argentina was only so-so. Now however, it is different. It would be a friend fighting a friend.
As if we did not have enough going on in the world right now. Ukraine is still not at peace; Russia is threatening NATO left and right; Iran is still a problem for us and Israel. All in all, the world is a mess, and throwing the Falklands back into the mix will not help anyone. But before we give up and just let another war happen, look for Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to earn a bunch more frequent flier miles going to and from, the world's newest trouble spot.
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