McGrath of Harlow 19 May 04 - 12:14 PM

"My comment on the Falklands/Malvinas war, and the green light given to the Generals was based on the decision to scrap HMS Endurance, which had been maintaining a symbolic Royal Navy in the Falklands area."

Never heard of Naval Party 8901 then Kevin? They were Britains symbolic presence in the Falklands - Not HMS Endurance.

Nick Barker, was Captain of HMS Endurance at the time leading up to, and during the Falklands War. I knew him years ago, and remember having a long chat to him just after he got back. Most of HMS Endurance's work was connected with British Antarctic Survey and she (Endurance) was getting pretty long in the tooth by the time the Falklands came along, the decision to scrap her had more to do with age and the cost of refitting her. Stanley was used as her "nominal" base between her trips down into the ice, the rest of the time she spent in Portsmouth Dockyard.

The British politician who did give the Argentinians the green light was Dennis Healey in 1966. After that all they had to do was watch and wait, had they in fact waited another 12 months they could have taken the Falklands and we would not have been able to do anything about it.