Good morning Orca,
Please do not think for one second I was in disagreement with your valid points, I submitted that post to corroborate your very valid point.
Originally Posted by Orca
IMHO only a complete moron would argue that Argentine forces should have been granted freedom to manoeuvre in any location at all, let alone in the South Atlantic. Again, only my opinion but only the extremely naive would argue that hostile forces, engaged in, or supporting, the occupation of British sovereign territory should not be engaged due to their location relative to a circle of arbitrary size based on a fairly arbitrary lat/long.
The Admiral in Command of the Belgrano Battle Group also agrees with you. To me this issue is simply trying to open up wounds that are best left were they belong and as you rightly say, we should respect all those of both sides and let by-gones be by-gones. RESPECT
As Brian Clough so eloquently summed up the silliness of a clause in the off-side law in football....
If a player is not interfering with play then he shouldn't be on the pitch.
Or to translate,
Any warship or military aircraft that belongs to an opposing force should always be fair game unless there are extenuating circumstances. Could that 200 mile exclusion zone possibly have been a delaying tactic used to make Argentine Forces think twice before getting too close to the islands? (question)
I strongly object to how Great Britain is still being portrayed (or even betrayed) over this situation. To me I like to think that the Falkland islanders have a choice, they can vote to remain how they are governed or become a part of Argentina! Their choice, their decision, but if they opt to still fly the Union Flag then so be it. there choice, not mine, but whilst that flag flies then boo hoo to anyone that dares to interfere.. Is that telling them are what?
Regarding your description of the video clip I posted, if you look at all that 'muck' coming out of the funnel, that highlights the forces at work from that explosion. Just imagine the carnage if those boilers were operating? Steam at a temperature of possibly in excess of 800 degrees Fahrenheit?? and a pressure in excess of 500pounds all being let loose in that explosion. I have given very rough figures but hopefully they are not too far out (do I have history of getting things front to back?)
Bottom line is that a torpedo is going to spoil your day....
Permission to whittle?
I was on exercise looking for a US submarine that was trying to attack us. I was off-watch and on the flight deck talking to a colleague who confidently predicted there would be a successful attack and the torpedo would come from a certain direction.......... Within thirty minutes of that prediction, there we were on the upper deck looking at the trail of a torpedo as it hurtled under our ship and it had come from the exact direction that my colleague had rightly predicted!!
An aircraft we can detect, an incoming exocet we can detect.. We can detect an incoming torpedo but getting out of its path is a whole different ball game and not for this forum.
Hopefully the threat of our silent service will be enough to deter any future unlawful occupation of the Falklands
