The Malvinas War And The Reagan Administrations' Response

Since the 1960 s,Britain and Argentina had been negotiating on the sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands(also called the Falkland Islands by the UK),but the progress was very slow.In the end,the Argentina lost patience and occupied the Malvinas island on April 2th,1982.The war broke out between Britain and Argentina.Facing the sudden war,The Reagan Administration was tortured heavily because it was a war within the United States alliances: Britain was the closest ally of the United States,belonging to the North Atlantic system,and the frontline of the United States against the Soviet Union;Argentina was an important partner of the United States in the Latin America,which belonged to the Americas system,and it also the backyard of the United States strictly guarded.For the United States,the most ideal way was to push for a peaceful negotiations between the British and the Argentina,so that the United States would not have to choose its position,nor would it offend its Allies.What`s more,it also could prevent the Soviet from entering.But the result of the actual operation was on the contrary,The Reagan Administration 's peaceful negotiation strategy was totally ineffective.In the early days of the war,the Reagan Administration's public position was neutral.The main policy was " shuttle diplomacy" of the secretary of state Haig.However,the United States privately supported Britain and acquiesced the military aid to Britain provided by the defense secretary Weinberg.At the same time,the Unite States ambassador of the United Nations Jeanne Kirkpatrick was also allowed to support the Argentine.They made the U.S.government's policy towards the Falklands war contradictory.At the climax of the Falklands war,Haig's mediation activities ended in failure.the dream of peace in the United States was completely shattered.The Reagan Administration publicly stated its support for the Britain but continuously adjusted its policies according to the situation of the war and the actions of the Soviet.As a result,the United States openly supported the Britain while sympathizing with and worrying about the situation of the Argentina,thus continuously pressuring Britain to promote peace talks.Therefore,the overall American policy during this period was to contain Britain in support and help Argentina in restriction.In short,the United States played a crucial role in this war and also determined the victory or defeat in this war.After the end of the Falklands war,the Reagan Administration was committed to restoring relations with Latin American countries,especially to improve and pacify the Argentina.However,it did not forget to consider the views of Britain concerning the Falklands.During this period,the U.S.policy towards both Britain and Argentina was to seek a balance in negotiation and compromise.In short,the coping strategies of the United States during the war were closely related to the ruling mode of the Reagan Administration.It was the result of the bureaucratic political system and the ruling mode of the improvisation to deal with the crisis: Weinberger headed by the Minister of Defense made the utmost effort to support Britain in the military;Kirkpatrick,the Ambassador of the United Nations,had been trying to maintain Argentina;while Haig tried to get his political position through the "shuttle diplomacy".The positions of these parties were defaulted by the President Reagan.They resulted in a huge disconnection between the diplomatic efforts and military actions of the United States during the war,which made the Reagan Administration's policy confusing.However,Reagan`s overall strategy was anti-Communist and pro-British.So despite the dynamic nature of the Reagan Administration's Falklands policy in the entire war and the unequal actions of various departments,the United States basically achieved the basic goal of anti-communist and maintaining stability.