Britain Could Not Reclaim Falklands, Former British General Sir Michael Jackson Warns

Britain was the world's supreme power a little over a century ago. Today, it wouldn't be able to hold onto its territorial possessions if it had to.

At Telegraph UK, "Britain could not reclaim the Falklands if Argentina invades, warns General Sir Michael Jackson":

The Falklands will be lost forever if Argentina invades again, one of Britain's senior military figures has warned.

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, the former head of the army, General Sir Michael Jackson, says defence cuts have made it "impossible" to win the islands back after a successful invasion, in the way the British task force did in 1982.

"What if an Argentinian force was able to secure the Mount Pleasant airfield? Then our ability to recover the islands now would be just about impossible," says General Jackson, who was Chief of the General Staff until five years ago and led the army into Iraq.
"We are not in a position to take air power by sea since the demise of the Harrier force."

Britain no longer has an aircraft carrier and the Harrier fleet which performed with such distinction during the Falklands War has been sold to the US Marine Corps.

"Let us hope we do not live to regret that decision," says General Jackson, responding to what he calls "disagreeable noises coming from Buenos Aires" as the 30th anniversary of the war approaches.

Continue at the link.

And previously, "Britain and France to Share Aircraft Carriers."