Initially the United States was neutral, which meant they would send no bullets but instead transfer every ream of code intelligence, satellite data, and electronic eavesdropping they could muster straight into British hands. Did the Argentinians actually find it plausible the US/UK “special relationship” would buckle under the weight of some banana-republic swagger? Yes, they did, proving why Argentinian politicians should not practice international relations. They do not comprehend its basics, let alone its complexities. Six hundred forty-nine Argentinian soldiers paid the ultimate price for this idiocy.

Worse, from the Argentinian-on-the-street point of view, is that now it’s a certainty that Britain will never relinquish the Falklands. At a time when the Scots are peacefully allowed to vote on whether to even continue as part of the United Kingdom, these remote islands are very far off the table. The Falklands are no longer a declining power’s marginal outpost; they have become a symbol, and as such can never be surrendered.

In other words, dismiss it Argentina, because as long as there is one British politician left on Earth you are never going to assume control of the Falklands.  You might have had it once for the asking. But now? It simply isn’t going to happen. Not ever, and you did it largely to yourselves.

Argentina stakes its claim on incredibly weak legal evidence. The Falklands are within “territorial waters”? Not exactly, given those are recognized as 12 miles out at best and the Falklands are over 250 miles away. Argentines once claimed the Falklands? Dubious, since the nation constituted as Argentina when the British assumed ownership in 1833 had only existed for 17 years, with its present borders being set only in the 1870s when they (ahem) finally dominated the last resisting indigenous peoples of Patagonia and southern Pampas.

Violent invasions and racist name-calling aren’t considered catching flies with honey, which was the only plausible way Argentina was ever going to have these islands returned.

Should any non-executive Argentinian officeholder read this, understand that I hold the greatest respect for your people and nation. I have been there and found it charming. There are many wonderful things about Argentina: the tango, the neoclassical architecture, and the women’s sartorial splendor. The citizens were universally cultured and polite. Yet never have I known any elected officials to so thwart their people’s desires by more useless and counterproductive measures.