Word: fleetly
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...obvious a fact was not seen before last week's events-before the destruction of two ships, at least nine aircraft and more than 300 people-was partly a matter of pacing. The three weeks it took for Britain's fleet to reach the islands was originally thought to be useful for diplomacy, and so it would have proved, had diplomacy worked. But that prolonged stretch of time also allowed a grand illusion to grow in the public mind-the idea that this war was going to be a cultural event, with the participating nations displaying the ceremonies...
...Weighing against that possibility was the fact that much of the equipment necessary for the invasion of the islands was aboard ships sailing from Ascension Island, 3,800 miles away, and was not expected to arrive until midweek or so. Britain, meanwhile, continued to requisition vessels of its commercial fleet, including the 67,500-ton Queen Elizabeth 2, the world's second largest passenger liner (after the 70,202-ton Norway), to ferry additional troops and supplies to the Falklands region...
...Woodward's prophecy comes true, the British would move to the still largely undefined Stage 3. The chief option being considered: a further long-range strike by British strategic bombers, this time against Argentina's mainland airbases. It would be carried out by Britain's venerable fleet of Vulcans, the planes that took part in the airfield attacks last Saturday. Once part of the country's nuclear deterrent force, the Vulcans, most of which are some 20 years old or more, have been refitted to carry as many as 21 conventional 1,000-lb. bombs each...
...action was diplomatic. The day of the South Georgia assault, Argentine Foreign Minister Costa Méndez had been scheduled to meet with Haig to discuss U.S. proposals for a peaceful solution to the crisis. They included 1) an Argentine withdrawal from the islands and pullback of the British fleet; 2) an end to economic sanctions against Argentina imposed by Britain's supporters; 3) establishment of an interim U.S.-British-Argentine authority for the Falklands while the two disputing countries negotiate ultimate sovereignty over the territory. The U.S. already knew the principal British objection to the proposals: they...
Among many problems facing the task force, two stood out. Winter was approaching. The increasing violence of some of the worst weather in the world made it imperative to act soon. Keeping a fleet of that size at sea about 8,000 miles from home would raise problems even in the conditions of a tropical paradise. In autumn in the Roaring Forties [the South Atlantic from 40° to 50° latitude, a region near the Falklands known for rough seas] what has to be done must be done quickly. Argentina's advantage lay in spinning the negotiations...