When the inhabitants of the Falkland Islands, a small British
Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic, go to the polls this
weekend to determine their future relationship with the United
Kingdom, their voices will fall on deaf ears in Washington, D.C.
Instead of backing British sovereignty over the Falklands and
the right of the islanders to determine their own future, the
United States has sided with Argentina by supporting its
repeated calls for a negotiated settlement over the islands. To
make matters worse, the U.S. State Department has refused to say
that it will recognize the outcome of the upcoming referendum.
This policy plays right into the hands of Argentina and makes a
mockery of the Anglo–American Special Relationship. As Heritage
Foundation research has pointed out: As the Falkland Islands
referendum approaches, the United States should strongly support
the right of the Falkland Islanders to self-determination and
should condemn Argentina’s aggressions. Washington should also
make it clear that