The Economist (US), July 16th, 2005
THE Falklands war of 1982 should never have begun. In trouble at home, Argentina's military junta wanted a quarrel abroad; something it could have achieved without enraging Margaret Thatcher. Her government, for its part, failed doubly in the basics of deterrence.
First, Britain could have had a deterrent submarine on the spot, and didn't. Second, and worse: ready or not, if you are willing to give an intruder a bloody nose, warn him flatly, and you may never have to try. Britain had no force at hand to eject invaders, and no certainty that, once mounted, one would succeed. But Mrs Thatcher...
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