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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, APRIL 9, 1982
PAGE 10
been cutting funds for the Royal Navy, and has come under severe pressure
for doing so.
Aboard the Invincible is Prince Andrew, second son of Queen Elizabeth II.
Andrew is a sub-lieutenant who pilots an anti-aircraft Sea King helicopter.
He could very well see action if things get rough.
The size and quality of the British fleet committed to the action is far
superior to that of the Argentines. But the advantages of both time and
distance to home ports lie with the latter. If Britain chooses to blockade
the Falklands they will have to continue resupplying their ships from one
third of the way around the world, perhaps with the use of Ascension Island,
5,200 miles away, as a restaging area. Weather and other factors enter in
as well. Note this despatch in the LOS ANGELES TIMES:
The crisis has arisen as winter approaches in the Southern Hemi
sphere--a time when the weather will drastically deteriorate,
when the seas in the South Atlantic will be rough and the islands
shrouded in fog. Any amphibious operations by the British would
have to contend with a rocky, hostile coast.
Armed conflict would pit a seasoned British force, led by profes
sional officers and noncommissioned officers, against a conscript
Argentine army organized, armed and trained for internal defense
rather then for combat with a major, technologically sophisti
cated fighting force.
"The real importance," one Latin American expert said, "is the
deep Argentinian desire to recapture the islands. All their life
they are taught that the islands are Argentinian. It is a highly
emotional, deeply felt matter to all of them, and they might
fight more heroically than many of us believe they would, even
though their country is politically divided, and even though it
has not been to war in more than a century.
"Militarily, one would think the British could certainly take the
islands back, but they might have to
pay
a high price in blood,"
this source said. The situation that has developed, fueled by
explosive political situations in both countries, leaves little
room for face-saving by either country.
Does Britain, often referred to as a "Toothless Lion," still have a bite?
Prime Minister Thatcher discounts all talk about the impossibility of
regaining control of the Falklands, saying:
I'm not talking about failure.
I'm talking about my supreme
confidence in the British fleet, superlative ships, excellent
equipment, the most highly trained men, the most honorable and
brave members of Her Majesty's services. Do you remember what
Queen Victoria once said? "Failure? The possibi1ities do not
exist."
The next two weeks will prove whether Mrs. Thatcher is correct. If nothing
else, her own political future rests on a successful conclusion to the
crisis.
--Gene H. Hogberg, News Bureau