hardmanbrit may have talked some rubbish on this subject, but I feel I have to back him up right now.
Errr..... we are also talking about 1980s Britain here as well!
Argentina is a vast land with massive amounts of natural resources and it is a nation that had a huge amount of French military technology at its disposal when it attacked British land in the eighties. Are you suggesting that Great Britain was so great militarily then that it was inconceivable that Argentina might beat us in the Falkland's War?
By the way, I know that hundreds of years ago we did some truly terrible things, but don't forget that we were also the first nation on Earth to abolish slavery. Our navy actually fought and killed many hundreds of slave traders around the nineteenth century!
Don't forget also that we delivered railway systems and education systems to places such as the Indian subcontinent and Africa, and how many tens thousands of vital things have we invented as a nation, from the telephone to the tank?
I know Britain has done some terrible things for this Earth, but show me a nation that hasn't and I will show you a liar.
Britishfightfan...First and foremost, i appreciate your honesty, but i rather you quote the whole post, than select out of context. In that post, you would see that i sang high praises of England. Here is the post again:
"The Falkland wars! Get serious, that was not a war...if i was you, i wouldn;t boast about that..we're talking about 1980s Argentina here. compared to Great Britain....that wasn't even a war...it was a conflict....However, i do appreciate your honesty by admitting your limited capabilities, both economically and militarily. Don;t get me wrong, England has come a long way...a long way more than any nation on earth...and that's a fact, you can look upon her actions in the late 19th, 20th and this century, It's a nation that should be proud of its moral standing in modern society. But that still doesn't erase its sodded history. British Petroluem, an instrument of the Crown, ****ed over Persia on such a scale that's comparable, if not worse that slavery. The Crown herself was responsible for numerous conflicts in that region for centuries...i could go on and on...but you already know..and that's just one tiny part of the world that still suffers today, due to prior actions by Brits."
Now to address your points. I'm sure you're fully aware of the differences between a developed, developing, and underdeveloped nations. It's the 1980s. Britain is a fully developed nation....Argentina IS NOT!!!. Having the technologies of other nations does not equate a nation with military might. If that was the case, Saddam would still be in Power, So would Idi Amin, So would Noriega and many others. Argentina was a developing pseudo-3rd world entity. Once again, i repeat...The Falkland wars was not an actual war...It was a conflict. Even your media and the world called it a conflict back then. And Yes, Great Britain was so great, it was inconceivable that most latin nations, or African nations would defeat it back then in a conflict or an actual war....is that broad an umbrella statement for you?. But it's 2009 now...China, India, Brazil, Iran and many others are almost, if not on-par with modernized western nations....That's why there's all these posturing going on....China now feels its entitled, So does India and Iran, and rightly so...but Western nations can no longer simply dismiss them like they would have in the past. You know i speak the truth. Power is in the hands on the beholder. We are the strongest Western nation around, hence all out meddling...England is no relevant in terms of military might...because simply, the times have change...and partly, because you guys inflict self-harming policies on yourselves...probably as a means of showing regret thru actions.
Brits thru actions, are becoming innately considerate, selfless, extremely social, libertarians...to the very people who remember you as quite vicious. We're humans...Emotional creatures, not everybody would be receptive to your new attitudes just because you now enspouse humanitarian ideals. Some will welcome you (of which i'm happy), others want vengeance. Once i can't blame anyone for what they want, i can only hope to understand their point of view for the actions they take...But England is not so dumb, you may lack the ability to stand-alone, but you make alliances to cover you back....hence NATO, U.K, EU, and all kinds of arms and defense treaties with western cousins. You're covered under a very nice insurance. I think that also has something to do with your low standard of living. England needs to evaluate all those self-harming policies you've enacted.
You guys just don't want to admit that you're likely the weakest in all of the high-profile western countries...but you're smart enough to know it. Besides, you got an advantage, you've all mind-**** the whole world by defining virtually every standard of life.