Will America Listen to the Most Overwhelming Vote in History?

When 99.8 percent of the population vote for something, you can usually assume that a dictator is pretending to be a democrat. But not this time—99.8 percent of voters in the Falkland Islands chose to remain a British Overseas Territory. Only three people voted no.

With 92 percent of eligible voters turning out, this referendum may be the most overwhelming vote ever. Ahead of time, a betting agency called it “the biggest certainty in political betting history.”

The referendum was the Falkland islanders’ response to Argentina’s saber-rattling. As their economy tanks and the government restricts people’s freedom, Argentina’s leaders distract the population by resurrecting their flimsy claims to the Falkland Islands.

But the most important aspect of this story is how America’s hypocrisy over the islands shows that the “special relationship” between Britain and the U.S. has been destroyed. This short video from The Heritage Foundation sums up the situation well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6tfvfsZaMsY

The White House tries to pretend to be neutral, by calling for Britain and Argentina to sit down and talk about it. But this is not neutral—that is Argentina’s position. Britain insists that the fate of the Falkland Islands is up to the islanders. But Argentina’s leaders won’t even negotiate if the islanders are present. America is supporting them in this. They have consistently refused to listen to what the islanders want.

The hypocrisy in the White House’s position is staggering. America’s whole existence is built on the principle of self-determination: the right of a population to choose how they’re governed and by what country, if any. America is also perfectly happy to support Britain’s claims to islands which have an American military base. But on the one island without a base, they support the other side.

If British Prime Minister David Cameron were to use the same logic as Argentina and the White House, he’d insist that the Queen hold negotiations with the American-Indian chiefs to decide on the status of the USA. Except in this example, the Indians did live in America before the colonists came. The Falkland Islands have no native inhabitants, unless you count penguins and sea birds.

Former President Ronald Regan proved the special relationship was real back in 1982, when he supported Britain in the war—despite the fact that this went against America’s short term interests in South America. They even offered Britain the use of the Eisenhower—an aircraft carrier. Can you imagine U.S. President Barack Obama doing the same today?

But even Britain’s commitment over the Islands could waver. Popular opinion is strongly favor of doing the right thing and standing by the islanders. But Britain’s chronic debt problem means that it is struggling to afford the Islands’ defense. Daily Mirror columnist Ken Maguire wrote that each year, Britain “spends 75 million euros ($112 million) on troops, missiles, aircraft and warships to guard their sheep lands.”

Retired military figures have spoken out several times, warning that after cuts to the armed forces, Britain would struggle to retake the Islands again, especially if America can’t be relied upon this time. Britain doesn’t even have an aircraft carrier and would have to try and borrow one from France.

So Britain is left without the means to retake the Islands, and without a dependable ally. This collapse in the special relationship is something the Trumpet has forecast for years. For more information on this trend, see our article “The Tie That Binds America, Britain and Israel.”