America secretly backed Argentina’s demands for sovereignty over the Falkland Islands in the weeks before the Royal Navy joined the battle in 1982.Papers released to mark the 30th anniversary of Argentina’s invasion of the territory today show that then U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig privately tried to strike a deal that would have seen the UK hand over power – but it was rejected by the Argentine junta.
In one private briefing for Congressmen, the Secretary of State even makes smutty jokes about sexual relations between the farmers and their sheep.
Mr Haig, who began diplomacy between London and Buenos Aires in the weeks following the invasion, described both sides as behaving like ‘a demented man on a ledge ready to jump... but unable to grab our hand’.
Minutes of a National Security Council meeting in Washington on 30 April 1982 reveal the deal would have seen some form of shared sovereignty or lease-back arrangement promising Argentina future ownership.
He told President Ronald Reagan: ‘Our proposals are a camouflaged transfer of sovereignty.’ Despite Mr Haig’s plans the meeting agreed a ‘tilt’ in diplomatic stance towards Britain. Read More
