Trump administration's shocking Falklands memo suggests a historic shift in US foreign policy
Does the Trump administration care that the vast majority of Falkland islanders want their home to remain a UK overseas territory?
In 1982, the brutal dictatorship in charge of Argentina – known for throwing their political opponents out of planes among other crimes – decided to invade the Falkland Islands in an attempt to boost their flagging popularity. Unsurprisingly, they cared as little about the islanders’ right to self-determination as they did about their own citizens’ human rights.
After a British taskforce successfully retook the islands, the military junta collapsed and Argentina became a democracy. While it has maintained its claim to ‘Islas Malvinas’, it has also committed to pursue this through peaceful means.
In a referendum in 2013, the people who actually live on the Falklands voted by 1,517 to just three to remain a UK overseas territory, so it’s clear the campaign for the islands to join Argentina has a considerable job on its hands.
READ MORE: Argentine president vows to regain Falkland Islands – but concedes they are currently in hands of UK
Little did the islanders know, however, that when Keir Starmer refused to allow UK bases to be used as part of the US attack on Iran, this might have a tangible effect on the Trump administration’s stance on their citizenship.
According to a report by the respected news agency Reuters, an internal Pentagon memo has set out options to punish Nato countries, including the UK, for refusing to join the war. It suggests reassessing US diplomatic support for “imperial possessions” such as the Falklands.
This prompted a statement from Downing Street that “the islanders' right to self-determination is not in question” and that “sovereignty rests with the UK”.
Clearly, the Iran War and the Falklands are entirely unconnected issues. The idea that the Trump administration could even consider using the islanders as pawns to punish the UK for exercising its right not to join a war is utterly sickening and deeply alarming.
It was noticeable how little Donald Trump appeared to care about Greenlanders’ opinions when he was failing to rule out military force to seize their island from Nato ally Denmark.
The idea of self-determination was famously promoted by US President Woodrow Wilson during the First World War as a way to settle territorial disputes peacefully. If Trump’s America no longer subscribes to this principle, the world should be told.
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