That’s simply not true. I’m sorry, owl, but you’re remembering stuff that just didn’t happen. (Since you claimed just eight posts ago that France did sell more missiles to Argentina, I would suggest to you that your memory of those events is obviously flawed.)
Here are the facts:
- Francois Mitterand called Thatcher the day after the Argentine invasion and promised full support. Thatcher herself praised Mitterand’s support. France was the first nation in the world to side with Britain.
Mitterand did this despite opposition from his own Cabinet and much of the French public. Mitterand, of course, was an Allied mole in WWII and so it’s hardly surprising he sided with the English.
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Mirages and Super Entendards (the main fighters of the Argentine air force) were supplied to Britain for technical purposes and dogfighting practice.
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On April 7, France began an embargo on weapons shipments to Argentina. A planned shipment to Peru was deliberately snafued though fictitious administrative problems, directed by the French defense ministry. There was certainly no British threat to sink a French ship; that’s absurd.
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France provided details to Britain on French-made weapons in Argentina’s inventory throughout the war. Conveniently, Aerospatiale, who made the Exocet and other weapons, was headed by Francois Mitterand’s brother Jacques.
There was no British threat to sink French ships, or if there was it was a remarkably transparent deception. (I find it amazing anyone would believe such a threat would be meekly accepted by France. Sinking a merchant ship is an act of war.) France was onboard throughout the war and provided Britian with more information and assistance than anyone else save maybe the US.
What is largely forgotten about the war is that the West had best be careful before assuming every dinky little dictatorship will roll over and die the way Iraq did. Argentina’s navy ran like a whipped dog after General Belgrano was sunk, and the army was mostly untrained kids, but their air force fought with remarkable skill and bravery, and by themselves damn near chased the Royal Navy away. Hell, they managed to sink British ships with unguided bombs, which is no small feat. NATO would be best advised to keep that in mind.