Politics

Margaret Thatcher on Military Victory in the Falklands

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On the Falklands War: Military Victory
The Argentineans were claiming to have destroyed a British Harrier but a BBC journalist famously disputed those facts ‘I counted them all out and I counted them all back’. The press however was revealing information that the Argentineans could use. The Belgrano’s destruction was a major military victory for the British task force intent on invading the Falklands. The Belgrano’s position was outside the TEZ, some people claim it was moving away from the British task force. There are a host of competing claims about the sinking. Thatcher blames the escort ships of ARA Belgrano for the 321 dead having not aided their fellow military officials. The claim that the British were trying to undermine peace negotiations presented by the Peruvian talks was false. It was a clear military threat that needed to be destroyed. Ireland called Britain the aggressor in this case. The HMS Sheffield was hit by Exocet missiles. 22 British soldiers died.

Thatcher had trouble planning the way this news should be revealed. The Argentineans would reveal the sinking immediately causing British families to worry about the loses while she wanted the families of the deceased told first as part of being respectful to those who have lost loved ones. Argentina was trying to get maximum international support after the conflict escalated.

Thatcher was consistent; appearing intransigent while refusing to compromise. A diplomatic route was continually explored under the tenants of the Haig agreement. The struggle was being portrayed as a David versus Goliath situation. By night the invasion of the Falkland islands began successfully. Diplomatic concessions no more. Thatcher sent her boys in to take the island. The HMS Coventry was destroyed. Unexploded Argentinean bombs were being diffused across the British task force. One bomb exploded while a serviceman was working on one. At the UN, a Spanish led cease-fire was being drafted to halt the conflict after Britain was about to win completely. Japan voted with this resolution making the vote of 9. The Japanese PM was not available to talk when pursued he gave a lame explanation claiming Argentina would have withdrawn. Port Stanley was subsequently taken over. The victory was complete as Thatcher stated that Britain was no longer a nation in retreat.

Politics

Bibliography on Quebec Federalism, The Best (English) Sources

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BIBLIOGRAPHY TOTAL
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Brenda O’Neill (eds.), Citizen Politics: Research and Theory in Canadian Political Behaviour. Agincourt: Methuen, 1985, 29-46.
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Referendum.” PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 29, No. 4. Dec., 1996, 676-682.
Clarke, Harold D, Jane Jenson, Lawrence LeDuc, and Jon H. Pammett. “Political
Choice in Canada”. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1982: 524.
Cutler, Fred. “The Simplest Shortcut of All: Socio-demographic Characteristics and
Electoral  Choice.” The Journal of Politics, Vol. 64, No. 2. May, 2002, 466-490.
Drouilly, Pierre. “Indépendence et Démocratie: sondages, éléctions et référendums au
Québec 1992-1997”. Montreal: Harmattan Inc., 1997.
Department of Finance Canada.  “Economic Union Impossible and Access to NAFTA
Arduous: The Minister of Finance Slashes at the Utopia of Separation.” Department of Finance News Release, 26 September 1995.  Accessed 16 December 2006 at: http://www.fin.gc.ca/news95/95-073e.html.
Fournier, Patrick, “The Uninformed Canadian Voter” in Joanna Everitt and Brenda O’Neill (eds.), Citizen Politics: Research and Theory in Canadian Political Behaviour. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2002, 92-109
Gidengil, Elisabeth, André Blais, Neil Nevitte, Richard Nadeau, “Citizens” (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2004), Chapters 3, 41-71.
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becoming more Important to Voting Choice in Canada?” Canadian Journal of Political Science, 2000, 1-24.
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Jenkins, Richard W., “Media, Voters and Election Campaigns: The Reform party and the 1993 Election” in Joanna Everitt and Brenda O’Neill (eds.), Citizen Politics: Research and Theory in Canadian Political Behaviour (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2002), pp. 215-229.
Jenkins, Richard W., “Media, Voters and Election Campaigns: The Reform party and the
1993 Election” in Joanna Everitt and Brenda O’Neill (eds.), Citizen Politics: Research and Theory in Canadian Political Behaviour. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2002, 215-229.
Kanji, M., & K. Archer. “The Theories of Voting and Their Applicability in
Canada.” In Citizen Politics: Research and Theory in Canadian Political Behaviour, eds. J. Everitt & B. O’Neill. Toronto: Oxford, 2002.
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sovereignty in Quebec, Conference: Making Big Choices: Individual Opinion Formation and Societal Choice, Harvard University, 2000, 9.
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au Québec.” Canadian Journal of Political Science, 27, 1994, 345-59.
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Sovereignty.” Citizen Politics: Research and Theory in Canadian Political Behaviour. Eds. Joanna Everitt, Brenda O’Neill. Ontario: Oxford University Press, 2002.
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No. 2, Jan. 1993: 203-241.
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Opinion on Quebec Sovereignty” Canadian Journal of Political Science, 36:3, 2003, 511-537.
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Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 1999, 4: 63-76.
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Analysis”. Claremont University and University of Western Ontario. 2001. California, Ontario.
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qui ébranlèrent le Canada.” Quebec: Édition Fides, 1996.
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Independence Movement: A Test of a New Model.” Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change, 9, 1986: 225-80.
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Yale University Press, 1999.
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[1] The definition of national identity will be given later, but it is now important to note that there is disagreement on the most significant variable in identity.  While this model defines identity according to attachment to Quebec (and its opposite, a dual Canada-Quebec attachment), other authors have made contradictory findings which will be discussed below.  It is also interesting how earlier work by the same authors states that Canadian identity was the significant variable (Nadeau and Blais 1992:95).
[2] Mendelsohn’s study defined level of attachment to Canada as the significant determinant of identity (521).  If an individual is attached to Canada, they possess a dual Canada-Quebec attachment, while an individual not attached to Canada will solely identify with Quebec.
[3] Howe used a more textured definition of identity to reach these conclusions.  Respondents were asked to rate their level of attachment to both Quebec and Canada between 1 and 100, and each respondent’s attachment to Canada was subtracted from their attachment to Quebec.  Respondents were then separated into 5 groups of increasing relative Quebec attachment, creating a spectrum from “less Quebecois” to “more Quebecois.” The least Quebecois were those with either equal Canada-Quebec identities, or stronger Canadian identities.  This allowed for the study of the differential influence of economic considerations between different segments of the population (Howe, 1998: 54).  This method appears to be the most accurate to date for measuring the effects of attachment.
Politics

Margaret Thatcher on Jimmy Carter, Middle East, Industrial Maliase

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On Jimmy Carter
Profited from Watergate not his candidacy’s appeal to the American public. Carter lacked the understanding of economics. Believed in what Thatcher thinks were ineffectual price controls on gas during the OPEC crisis. Believed that Communism was an exaggerated threat, as did his Democratic Party. Consequently, Carter was not prepared for the invasion of Afghanistan and the Iranian seizure of American diplomats as hostages. Carter had no vision for America. Carter was over concerned with details and agonized over big decisions.

On the Middle East Crisis of 1980
The USSR invaded Afghanistan with a pro-communist coup d’etat. The USSR was possibly motivated by the Oil crisis to find an expedient route through which oil could be exported to Russia. The USSR was attempting to cause communist uprisings all over the world. Carter was disappointed that the UK would not freeze all Iranian financial assets, which would have ended London’s position as a world financial centre, according to Thatcher. Iraq and Iran began their war of attrition in 1980 further threatening Western interests in the region.

On Britain’s Industrial Problem
Britain was not internationally competitive. Their industrial reputation had steadily declined in the post-war era. Productivity was low before Thatcher. The problem was not the level of wages but the competitiveness of workers. The steel union BSC attempted to cut all supply of steel in the UK until they received better wages. Thatcher waited until March 1980. The steel supply was still able to continue despite the union’s attempts to strime. The union was demoralised and required a face saving arbitrator the ACAC (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service). The union got substantially less then they demanded. Their union workers were not very productive or efficient which is part of a cross industry trend. Trade unions push wages up while weakening a commercial enterprise’s competitive edge. Thatcher believed that, under successive Labour Party regimes, communist and socialist radicals had risen to the top of union organizations. These people were poisoning the organizations. They consolidated their power by intimidating their members making certain that they could not leave those unions. The Engineering Employer’s Federation (EEF) conceded a 39-hour week, increases of 13 pounds a week for skilled men and an extra week’s vacation setting a precedent that would weaken all management/union relations.

On the Iranian Embassy Siege
Terrorists captured Iranian Embassy at Prince’s Gate in April of 1980. Thatcher believed these terrorists were acting on the perceived weakness of the western powers as demonstrated by the Iranian Hostage crisis of 1979-80. Thatcher needed to defeat these terrorists somehow. Operation Nimrod was a success. Denis Thatcher was proud of the killings of 5 of 6 terrorists and famously lamented the survival of the 6th assailant according to Wikipedia.

Part 1, Part 2

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