Hey Ynot,

One for you mate! Wear it with pride.


Honour for Falklands veterans

By Patrick Hennessy, Political Editor, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 12:24am GMT 11/03/2007

Veterans badges are to be awarded to servicemen and women who fought in the Falklands War, the Government will announce this week.

The lapel insignia, worn with civilian dress, has only previously been given to those who joined the Armed Forces before December 1969, a period which includes the Second World War, the Korean War and the Suez conflict.

Gordon Brown will tell MPs that the date will be extended to 1982, in part to mark the 25th anniversary of the campaign to recapture the Falkland Islands in which 255 British and 655 Argentinian servicemen died. The conflict is credited with propelling Margaret Thatcher on to the international stage as a war leader and contributing to the landslide Conservative general election victory of 1983.

Members of the armed forces who served in Northern Ireland in the early years of the "Troubles" will also now be eligible for the honour, as will surviving "Bevin Boys", young men conscripted to work in coal mines from 1943 until the end of the Second World War instead of serving at the front line.

Some 48,000 men, including Sir Jimmy Savile and Lord Rix, served in the corps which took its name from the Labour wartime minister Ernest Bevin.

Mr Brown's move, ahead of Britain's second annual Veterans' Day on June 27, will put David Cameron, the Conservative leader, on the spot. Earlier this year, he accused the Chancellor of "offending our war heroes" by introducing an unwanted and unnecessary Veterans' Day "when we also have Remembrance Sunday".

Now that the time limit is being extended to include the Falklands, Mr Cameron risks alienating veterans of the conflict most closely associated with Baroness Thatcher if he repeats his opposition to the scheme.

David Cameron, the Conservative leader is the reason why I am now a floating voter. The man is a waste of space. His pandering to political correctness, most recently in the Col. Mercer affair, shows him to ne nothing but a political whore.

I have always voted Tory, but that idiot Cameron makes me despair, and could be disastrous, and difficult for us to win.

The Blair / Brown team with their stupidity made it easy for us to win.

Cameron has made it impossible.

Ferret, I agree completely.

Britain forced Galtieri into invading Falklands

Sophie Arie in Buenos Aires
Last Updated: 4:01am GMT 13/03/2007

Britain forced Argentina to invade the Falkland Islands, the members of General Leopoldo Galtieri's family said yesterday in their first interview since the 1982 conflict.

The widow and children of Argentina's former military ruler claimed that the war was engineered by Britain to avoid negotiations that could have led to the loss of sovereignty over the islands.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph in the Buenos Aires apartment where Galtieri lived with his wife Lucia until his death in 2003, his son Carlos said: "I am convinced the English wanted the conflict to happen. They had realised they were going to have to negotiate (under the aegis of the United Nations). So what did they do? They made Argentina look like an aggressor."

A UN resolution was passed in 1965 asserting that the Falklands constituted a colony and calling on Britain and Argentina to negotiate. But the 1982 conflict extinguished all hopes of negotiations.

After weeks of growing tension, Argentina sent a force to occupy Port Stanley on April 2, 1982 and, in the weeks that followed, Margaret Thatcher, the prime minister, sent a task force to win back the islands. By the time Argentina surrendered on June 14, 255 Britons and 655 Argentinians had died. But the family insists that the widely accepted version of events - in which Galtieri figures as a wicked, drunken dictator who started a war to distract an increasingly discontented nation - is wrong.

"History is written by the winners. But the losers know the truth," said Mrs Galtieri, sitting alongside her son.

Vilified after the war, which led to the collapse of the military junta in 1983, Galtieri refused, until his death, to speak publicly except to say he had "no regrets".

After a "period of respect" for his father, his son explained, the family had decided to speak now, only on the subject of the Falklands, weeks away from the April 2 anniversary of the beginning of the conflict.

"I think that after 25 years it is time to start talking about this again, to seek a solution," said Carlos.

"Now is the moment to take action to see if it is possible to resolve the last example of traditional colonialism that exists in Latin America."

Using coffee table ornaments and a pot of plastic tulips to demonstrate movements by both countries around the islands, the family claimed that Britain deliberately overreacted to the arrival of a group of Argentinian scrap workers on South Georgia in March 1982, creating a diplomatic stand-off and a military build-up that left Galtieri with "no option" but to invade.

If Galtieri had accepted the British demand that the workers have their passports stamped to remain on the islands, he would effectively have been dropping Argentina's 150-year-old claim to sovereignty over the islands the Argentinians known as Las Malvinas, they said.

"He rang me in the morning to tell me they had recovered the Malvinas," remembered Mrs Galtieri, smoking nervously as she spoke.

"I thought, 'My husband is a patriot. The last in Argentina'."

The general, the family said, was an honourable military man who felt a duty to defend the Argentinian belief that "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" (The Malvinas islands are Argentine).

"He had no regrets. He had a clear conscience," said Carlos.

The family laughed at the idea that Galtieri had used the conflict to stay in power amid growing public protests. Galtieri would have preferred to have focused on plans to return the country to a democratically elected government within two years, they said.

"He never wanted to be president," the whole family shouted, one voice rising over another.

"He was not a politician. He was a military man. But he accepted the job because he felt it was his responsibility."

Few Argentinians sympathise with the Galtieri family or share their views.

Like many other military leaders, until his death Galtieri risked abuse or egg throwing if he ventured out of his home.

Once democracy was restored in 1983, Argentina's military leaders were pursued for human rights abuses during the seven-year-long dirty war. Galtieri served five years of an 11-year sentence for "mismanagement" of the Falklands conflict before being pardoned by then president Carlos Menem. When he died, he was under house arrest for alleged involvement in the abduction of babies born to detained dissidents.

The man was an odious fascist dictator, and his family's bizarre moral relativism can't change that.

Speaking of Ynot - has anyone heard from him recently?

I've not seen on here for a while.

If you're reading mate - hope all's well out there.

was wondering that myself, not seen him post here for ages.

A letter to the Editor in today's Daily Telegraph:

Sir - As our country approaches the 25th anniversary of the Falklands War, we write to draw attention to the uncertain future of the Type 12 frigate Plymouth, which was saved for the nation as a memorial for those seafarers who lost their lives in the South Atlantic.

The surrender of Argentinian forces in South Georgia was signed in her wardroom, she was present at the San Carlos landings and was later damaged by bombs defending the anchorage. Eventually Plymouth was the first ship to re-enter Port Stanley. She is one of the very few ships to have been involved in every action throughout the campaign. Moreover, the Type 12 frigate represents an important and successful class, worthy of preservation in its own right.

Plymouth's service ended in 1988, when she was saved from the scrapheap by the Warship Preservation Trust and became a first-class visitor attraction, first at Plymouth and, from 1992, at Birkenhead, where Wirral council and the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company gave considerable support.

Developments in the Mersey docks system, however, forced the Warship Preservation Trust to relinquish its berth and to go into voluntary liquidation.

At the beginning of 2007, arrangements were well in hand for Plymouth to be berthed once again in Plymouth's Millbay docks, owned by Associated British Ports. Interest in preserving the ship in the West Country rose and both Plymouth council and Associated British Ports made welcome sounds.

A new group of trustees was recruited to form a charity to purchase the ship and to run the operation. Unfortunately, Associated British Ports has decided it cannot berth Plymouth in Millbay, owing to development plans for the docks.

Thus the future of Plymouth has been thrown into disarray. Our concern is that this historic ship, which has a proven record as a visitor attraction, should not be allowed to fade from the public eye for want of a berth, particularly in this 25th anniversary year.

Plymouth was launched in 1959 and will be eligible for support by the National Historic Ships Committee in 2009. She is in good condition, with generators, sonar, radar and turret in working order, and her Wasp helicopter, which joined in sinking the Argentinian submarine Santa Fe, is on board.

All who take pride in our maritime heritage will recognise the importance of Plymouth once again securing a viable berth in the city of Plymouth so that she can play her rightful part in the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Falklands campaign and become a unique tourist attraction in the West Country.

Captain David Pentreath, Commanding Officer, Plymouth, 1982

Captain Michael Clapp, Commander, Falklands Amphibious Task Group, 1982

Vice Admiral Sir John Coward, Commanding Officer, Brilliant, 1982

Admiral Sir Jeremy Black, Commanding Officer, Invincible, 1982

Admiral Sir Sandy Woodward, Commander, Falklands Carrier Battle Group, 1982

How the Falklands War was won

By Michael Novak
Last Updated: 1:03pm BST 27/03/2007

The opening phases of the Falklands Conflict began in December 1981 when more than 40 Argentine "scrap metal workers" landed on the island of South Georgia, pointedly refusing to report to the British base at Grytviken to have their entry visas stamped.

Project Alpha was a deliberate operation designed by the new military junta of Gen Leopoldo Galtieri to test British will ahead of Project Azul, a full-scale invasion of the Falkland Islands.

The Argentinians eventually left but returned on March 19, 1982 - this time raising the Argentinian flag - and the Royal Navy survey ship Endurance was dispatched to South Georgia with a small detachment of Royal Marines to eject them.

UK media reports of Royal Navy nuclear submarines on their way to the Falklands panicked the junta into ordering a modified invasion force to depart on March 28. It was not in fact until a day later that three British submarines left Gibraltar for the south Atlantic.

The limited Argentine force, which included only 900 ground troops, was bound to be too strong for the 68 Royal Marines stationed in the Falklands capital Port Stanley.

The Argentinians landed on the morning of April 2 and swiftly overcame the British commandos, a situation mirrored in South Georgia, which fell a day later.

The initial feeling among Margaret Thatcher's advisers was that diplomacy was the only way out, sending an expeditionary force 8,000 miles south was a perilous business and one to be avoided at all costs.

But senior figures within the armed forces disagreed. Sir Henry Leach, the First Sea Lord, told Mrs Thatcher that failure to retake the islands would leave the UK impotent on the world stage and she needed little persuasion that he was right.

The popular mood was firmly behind the British prime minister. It seemed to most people that a set of tin-pot south American dictators renowned for their willingness to resort to torture were lording it over British citizens and territory and that something must be done.

Mrs Thatcher announced the dispatch of a task force to the Falklands, with the initial elements, including the aircraft carriers Hermes and Invincible, departing Portsmouth almost immediately.

The speed with which the Task Force got underway was astonishing. By April 8, the rapidly refitted cruise liner Canberra departed Southampton with 2,000 paratroopers and commandos on board, the docksides crowded with well-wishers waving the Union Flag.

Then, as now, the navy was facing extensive cuts and the assault ship Intrepid had to be brought back into commission rapidly to take part in the race south.

With the British task force heading towards the Falklands, there was a flurry of feverish but ultimately pointless diplomatic negotiations led by Alexander Haig, the US Secretary of State.

Meanwhile, British commandos and special forces retook South Georgia; the UK declared a 200-nautical mile exclusion zone around the islands; and President Ronald Reagan threw US military support behind the British.

On May 1, British special forces landed on West and East Falkland to recce landing sites while the RAF and the Fleet Air Arm attacked Port Stanley airfield, destroying four Argentinian aircraft but failing to shut down the runway.

A day later the Royal Navy submarine Conqueror sank the Argentinian cruiser General Belgrano, with the loss of 323 lives, leading Admiral Jorge Anaya to order his ships back to port.

The decision to sink the Belgrano - famously welcomed by the Sun with the headline Gotcha - caused much controversy. But there was little doubt her Exocet missiles were a threat to the British task force much of which was already in the region.

The threat from the Exocets was confirmed two days later on May 4, when the British destroyer Sheffield was hit in "bomb alley" south-east of the Falklands with the loss of 20 lives.

She was the first Royal Navy ship lost in action since 1945 and in London the successful Argentinian attack briefly rocked the war cabinet but with little choice it held firm.

Early on May 21, troops from 2 and 3 Bns of the Parachute Regiment, plus marines from 40, 42 and 45 Royal Marine Commandos landed virtually unopposed to form the main bridgehead at San Carlos on the western coast of East Falkland.

Three days later and the Argentinians enjoyed another short-lived success when the destroyer Coventry was hit by three bombs, capsized and sank with the loss of 19 of her crew while the roll-on roll-off ferry the Atlantic Conveyor was sunk by an Exocet, killing 12.

On May 26, 2 Para set off to the south to mount a surprise attack on Darwin and Goose Green and the next day 3 Para and 45 Commando headed east towards Port Stanley.

There was much attention focused back in Britain on the fact that the commandos called their forced march a "yomp" while the paras were "tabbing", making a "tactical advance to battle".

With the BBC World service announcing that a British parachute battalion was poised to take Goose Green, Lt-Col "H" Jones, the CO of 2 Para, realized all hope of a surprise attack was lost and ordered his men to attack that night.

Despite being outnumbered three to one, they won the battle but Jones was killed and was subsequently awarded a posthumous VC.

The last Argentinian success of the conflict came on June 8 when the landing ships Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram were attacked by Argentine aircraft at Bluff Cove, killing 48, mainly members of the Welsh Guards who were being landed to join the battle for Stanley.

With the Scots and Welsh Guards now joining the force, having been ferried down on the requisitioned QE2, a substantial British force of 8,000 men was now lined up against the Argentinians.

The first phase of the assault on Stanley began on June 11, with 45 Commando attacking Two Sisters, screaming the company war cry Zulu, Zulu and forcing the Argentinians to flee with the loss of only four British marines.

Meanwhile 42 Commando lost only one man in capturing Mt Harriet and Goat Fudge. The fiercest fighting came in 3 Para's assault on Mt Longdon just five miles west of the Falklands capital. The young Argentinian soldiers stood and fought.

The paras lost 18 men in the battle and when they eventually reached the top of the mountain they found one of their own Sgt Ian McKay surrounded by dead Argentinians. He was the second British soldier to be awarded a posthumous VC for his part in the conflict.

The second phase of the assault followed on June 14 with the Gurkhas taking Mount William and 2 Para attacking Wireless Ridge backed up by heavy shelling from their own artillery and naval guns. They lost only three men and found more than 100 Argentinian bodies.

But the fiercest hand to hand fighting came on Tumbledown, taken by the Scots Guards with the loss of seven men to around 30 Argentinians killed.

With the British troops now poised to take Stanley itself, the Argentinian commander Brig-Gen Mario Menendez surrendered, thoroughly vindicating Mrs Thatcher's courageous decision to ignore her advisers and retake the Falklands.

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"Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat its mistakes..."

Army of lost souls ignored on their return

By Sophie Arie
Last Updated: 1:37am BST 28/03/2007

# In pictures: War in the Falklands

The Argentine veteran never talked about the war.

When Jorge Martire met his wife-to-be, Maria Laura, he omitted to mention that he had recently gone through hell in the Falklands.

The couple had three children, and Mr Matire found a job at a local government office in La Plata, south of Buenos Aires, while studying to become an architect.


Steel helmets abandoned by Argentine armed forces who surrendered at Goose Green to the British Falklands Task Force

Then in 1992, a decade after the end of the conflict in the Falklands, something inside him snapped.

"He got lost one day," his widow recalled. "And when he came home he couldn't recognise anybody. Not me. Not his daughter.

"He was very afraid of storms and rain and noises. His hands and feet started to get old and wrinkly. Then he lost his sight. He was looking but he couldn't see anything. He was lost."

In his hospital bed, being treated for atypical psychosis - known by veterans as "Malvinas syndrome" after the Argentine name for the islands - it all finally came flooding out.

"He told me how he had been hungry and thirsty. They were terrified," Maria Laura remembered. "Under cover but always wet. And all the time it was dark. Really dark with flashes of bombs and guns."

On March 1, 1993, he slipped out of the hospital and bought a gun. Then he had a coffee in a bar, and afterwards walked into the lavatory and shot himself.

Jorge Martire, who was 18 when he was conscripted, joined the ever growing ranks of Argentina's Falklands fighters to have died long after the country's brief and bizarre battle with Britain for control of the islands.

Britain lost 258 servicemen in the conflict. Twenty-five years later, there are no exact figures, but relatives of the Argentine dead believe that more of their countrymen have now committed suicide because of the trauma than the 650 men who were killed on the battlefield or at sea. The most conservative estimate is 350.


Maria Laura Capperelli's Falklands veteran husband killed himself

"Only now, is the reality of what we went through finally being talked about," said Edgardo Esteban, a veteran and journalist who has made the one and only feature film in Argentina about the conflict. Illuminated by Fire is not a story of heroes and glory but a catalogue of military incompetence and cruelty, human suffering and shattered lives.

Several veterans committees are reportedly now preparing legal cases against wartime officers who they claim submitted them to torture as well as depriving them of food.

One conscript, now a public prosecutor in La Plata, describes how he was pinned in a crucifix position with tent pegs onto the sodden freezing ground on Wireless Ridge as a punishment for raiding the military food store rooms back in Stanley.

"The same military who were running the Dirty War went to the Malvinas," said Mr Esteban. "They did the same things to the conscripts as they did to political opponents at home. They saw us as civilians who needed softening up."

Unlike their British counterparts, when the Argentine troops came home, they were ordered by the humiliated military junta not to speak about their experiences and viewed with contempt and shame by much of the population. The young veterans slunk quietly back to their homes and struggled to find jobs or girlfriends.

Many of the veteran suicides have been recorded in the poor, hot northern provinces of Chacos and Corrientes, where conscripts had not only never used a gun but had never seen the sea or snow before being sent to the Falklands.

Even after the fall of the military junta in 1983, democratic governments have provided little support for the veterans. They were only awarded pensions - modest ones - in 1991. Many, particularly those left crippled, resorted to begging on commuter trains.

Today's government, under President Nestor Kirchner, a former victim of Argentina's military regime in the 1970s, is determined to set right the years of neglect for human rights.

He has increased veterans' pensions, but only after the more strident among them camped out for weeks outside his presidential pink palace in Buenos Aires demanding not to be ignored any longer.

And while determined to defend Argentina's continued claim to sovereignty over the islands, the Kirchner government has ambiguous feelings about honouring the veterans of a military force many of its officials personally despise.

"They have been much quicker to find compensation for victims of the Dirty War than for the Malvinas veterans. And they have found more money for them," said Maria Laura.

______________________________________________

"Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat its mistakes..."

The Argie shot through both temples didn't actually survice - as this photographer claims. I've got another narrative, and a pic which says different.

Any way, here ya go:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/core/Slideshow/slideshowAudio.jhtml?xml=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/AudioGallery/news/falklands/nosplit/falklands.xml

______________________________________________

"Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat its mistakes..."