Word: argentina
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...explosively that time had finally run out in the Falklands. Hours before the British total blockade of the disputed islands went into effect, the Argentines had announced a reciprocal blockade. Any airplane or ship from either country caught within 200 miles of the Falklands was liable to be attacked. Argentina's intention to carry the fight to the British fleet meant that a major air or sea battle might start at any moment...
...while Royal Marine commandos prepared for hit-and-run raids to demoralize the Argentine troops. There were unconfirmed reports that British commando units were already ashore in the archipelago, gathering intelligence and possibly preparing for a full-scale British invasion. The Argentine occupying force on the islands, according to Argentina's military governor of the Falklands, General Mario Benjamin Menéndez, was in a state of "total alert," expecting an assault that could come, in Menéndez's words, "at any minute." The innocent bystanders of the Falklands dispute, the 1,800 English-speaking residents...
...began. Soviet spy ships had dogged the British armada as it made its slow way down the South Atlantic to the Falklands. In private conversations with Secretary of State Haig, Argentina's Costa Méndez had warned that his country might turn to the Soviet Union for military assistance in the event of a British attack. Haig was unfazed by the threat, but the very mention of possible Soviet involvement added yet another level of possible trouble that might arise from the situation...
...gunboat confrontation in the late 20th century. The last-minute oscillations between peace and war were a product of the very nature of the face-off. Britain's firm conviction throughout has been that only by means of the steady escalation of both military and diplomatic pressure could Argentina be forced to relinquish a prize that it had taken by an illegal armed invasion. As Prime Minister Thatcher, the Iron Lady of British politics, told the House of Commons last week, "Gentle persuasion is not going to make the Argentine government give up what it has seized by force...
...Argentina's response to the South Georgia defeat was to deny that it had taken place. The junta in Buenos Aires maintained that scatterings of Argentine troops were carrying on the battle from specially prepared hideouts in the rugged recesses of the island. That version of events was speedily discounted by the British. Then Argentine military sources argued that the loss of South Georgia had been expected by the junta. There was, however, no disguising the fact that the Argentine military was surprised and shaken by the attack...