Opinion: Obama's Betrayal of Britain

Barack Obama's shameless Falklands betrayal will overshadow David Cameron’s Washington visit

By Nile Gardiner, The Telegraph

Does the Obama administration know the difference between Great Britain and Argentina? You wouldn’t think so, listening to the remarks of Roberta S. Jacobson, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs. On a visit to Latin America, Jacobson was asked to comment on the growing tensions between Britain and Argentina over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, and responded by treating the two countries as though they were equal partners in the eyes of the United States.

In her remarks in Lima (reported here by the Andina news agency), she reiterated the Obama administration’s call for a negotiated settlement between London and Buenos Aires over the Falklands:

    Our position remains the same. This is a problem between two of our partners. We do not want to change our position (…) We prefer that both countries negotiate a diplomatic solution in that matter.

Jacobson’s comments were subsequently backed up by State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland:

    We believe that this is a bilateral issue that needs to be worked out directly between Argentina and the United Kingdom. That’s what we are encouraging both sides to do as we head towards this anniversary… we are encouraging Argentina and the UK to work this out peacefully, to work it out through negotiations.

Washington fully understands that Britain will never negotiate away the sovereignty of the Falkland islanders, over 90 per cent of whom are British. Yet it still continues to call for a “diplomatic solution” to the sovereignty question when there is nothing at all to negotiate.