MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Foreign Secretary William Hague: “The world has changed and if we do not change with it, Britain’s role is set to decline”
The Foreign Secretary, William Hague, gave the following speech outlining the Government's vision for UK foreign policy on 1 July 2010. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesBy not talking about Malvinas dispute he is prophetizing defeat for UK in next decades.
Jul 05th, 2010 - 05:01 am - Link - Report abuse 0The man is one of the great wordsmiths of this generation of parliamentarians ... although I confess I got bored about 3/4 the way through!
Jul 05th, 2010 - 06:09 am - Link - Report abuse 0And you're wrong Billy, he may not have mentioned the islands in this speech but he has done so before .... and made it very plain that they are British and will remain so for as long as the islanders wish it!
It must be remembered that Hague had a chance to be prime minister before Cameron and lost. He is a man that thinks the Empire still exists, thus the EU is irrelevant in UK international plans. However, time has shown that the UK has long been declining in world influence and the purpose for which the Commonwealth was established has slowly faded away. I wonder how long it will be before he comes unto a head-on collision with Nick Clegg.
Jul 05th, 2010 - 08:23 am - Link - Report abuse 0http://fernandofusterfabrasblogesp.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/la-verdadera-crisis-europea-mas-alla-de-lo-economico/
http://fernandofusterfabrasblogesp.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/la-verdadera-crisis-europea-mas-alla-de-lo-economico/
It's true - we've been declining for a good 400 years .... wonder if we'll bounce when we get to the bottom :-)
Jul 05th, 2010 - 08:36 am - Link - Report abuse 0Seems strange to me that over the past 30 years or more, the Commonwealth of Nations has stagnated, but not declined. Stagnated I believe primarily for the lack of importance and direction given it by the UK. Now look at the number of countries and people wishing to associate themselves with the Commonwealth...a bit bigger than the EU elephant...all stagnant but looking for a way forward. Maybe Mr. Hague has the charisma to invigorate and rejuvenate an organisation which deserves more clout on the world, trade and politics forum?
Jul 05th, 2010 - 10:02 am - Link - Report abuse 0Hello Billy. Here's a few thoughts for you to mull over.
Jul 05th, 2010 - 11:18 am - Link - Report abuse 0(1) Mr Hague didn't mention the Malvinas because its a place that exists nowhere but in the imaginations of propagandized South Americans. The place you mean is the FALKLAND ISLANDS.
(2) The FALKLAND ISLANDS is one of the few places in the world where the United Kingdom keeps an active military garrison because of the proximity of a mendacious, grasping, belligerent state.
(3) Unlike Commonwealth nations, the people living on the FALKLAND ISLANDS are British citizens. Mr Hague speaks, as far as is appropriate, on their behalf as well as British citizens living in the British Isles.
(4) South America, according to Mr Hague, may soon see a visit from the Minister of State at the FCO. A bit of research on this site will lead you to a statement already made by Jeremy Browne on the subject of the FALKLAND ISLANDS.
(5) I had occasion recently to be in touch with my local MP, who also happens to be one of Her Majesty's Secretaries of State, on a subject related to the FALKLAND ISLANDS and he was kind enough to assure me that support for the FALKLAND ISLANDS remains a major commitment of the British Government, the various British political parties and the UK Parliament.
Get the picture? No-one in the United Kingdom has forgotten, including the comrades of those who fought or died there for the freedom of our citizens. We don't find it necessary to go ranting down the streets. We are determined. You cannot remove the British from the FALKLAND ISLANDS or the South Atlantic because there will always be more to come back.
I don't usually like repeating myself, but in much the same vein as above I'm going to copy out my response to one of Think's ill considered comments from an older thread -
Jul 05th, 2010 - 11:32 am - Link - Report abuse 0The comment being - ” ... All we had is an expensive pathetic little skirmish misarranged by idiots 28 years ago. Get over it!...”
My rwesponse - No! Whilst I'll agree with much of your last post, no, I won't get over it. 1832 was a very long time ago and the police action went peacefully. In 1982 people died. Now lets not misunderstand each other, your side started/mismanaged it so I don't give a damn about your side.
Importantly for me and my countrymen OUR people died too. So NO. We will not get over it. Not my generation and not the next ....
Communities in the Balkans are still fighting wars that started 300 years ago. The Isralies are fighting over issues that are 1000 years old. Let me put this plainly - 30 YEARS ARE NOT ENOUGH!
Simple enough for you ?
Argentina will not renounce its claim anf will do anything to defend its rights over our islands. British f**k off!
Jul 05th, 2010 - 05:23 pm - Link - Report abuse 0will do anything to defend its rights over our islands. British f**k off!
Jul 05th, 2010 - 05:47 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Sad loss to the Argentine diplomatic corp,His Excellency jorge told us to f**K off
Pity about jorge! He's a little bit behind the times.
Jul 05th, 2010 - 09:17 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Cro-Magnon - Nope!
Neanderthal - Nope!
Ape? Not sure. What comes before Ape?
A chimpanzee?
Jul 05th, 2010 - 09:32 pm - Link - Report abuse 0No - its our jorgy-boy :-)
Jul 05th, 2010 - 11:18 pm - Link - Report abuse 0And Argentina CAN'T DO ANYTHING to defend the right it does not have!
but we have heard all this crap from argentinians before, how tough they are from afar, i remember them in the falklands tell the british what they could do, insulting them from afar, and yet when the royal navy sailed from the uk, the mouthing of got less and less as they then understood, that not only did the unthinkable happend, and the british did go 8, miles, they knew then that they would have to back up their tough guy talk. Then they heard the gurkas were coming, their own records show they couldent get of the island quick enough, and then the british finaly arrived, ,, well the rest is history, so again i say, mouth off if you dare, but you have got no bottle to try again, why, because you will be humiliated again,,so please no insults, just ecept the truth.
Jul 06th, 2010 - 12:52 am - Link - Report abuse 0long live great britain.
british presence in south atlantic is precarious
Jul 06th, 2010 - 03:13 am - Link - Report abuse 0no defense last forever
good people the bennies
but I don´t want them as my fellow country men
but I don´t want them as my fellow country men
Jul 06th, 2010 - 05:15 am - Link - Report abuse 0Just as well silly billy,cos they want to stay Brtish
Billy, if the Falkland Islanders decided tomorrow to become a part of Argentina, that would still not remove the British presence from the south Atlantic.
Jul 06th, 2010 - 06:25 am - Link - Report abuse 0You are as thick as a brick ! (Jethro Tull - great album!)
(16) Hoyt
Jul 06th, 2010 - 07:48 am - Link - Report abuse 0When you go we will play another great British album for you.
This I Promis you:
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
by Sir Elton
“What do you think you'll do then
I bet that'll shoot down your plane
It'll take you a couple of vodka and tonics
To set you on your feet again “
I admire our Head of State but I was never a fan of that particular queen!
Jul 06th, 2010 - 08:56 am - Link - Report abuse 0;-)
Jul 06th, 2010 - 10:16 am - Link - Report abuse 0Thats why I choose her......
If you leave quickly we could agree on the Band playing Jethro's Bouree for you!
That is a good offer
Think about it!
My personal favourite is 'Locomotive Breath', but Bouree ain't bad!
Jul 06th, 2010 - 11:35 am - Link - Report abuse 0Prefer Instrumentals......
Jul 06th, 2010 - 11:42 am - Link - Report abuse 0No English :-)
rule Britannia, will be around for years to come, even when the Falklands become selfgoven, we will still be around watching you, even when you sleep you will have nightmares of British creeping above you, watching listening, following you, creepy or what
Jul 06th, 2010 - 02:25 pm - Link - Report abuse 08 jorge! You will do anything to defend your rights. That's what you said, isn't it? Okay, here's the deal. Gather together all the people in Argentina who think like you, trot down to the coast, everybody shucks down to their underwear, ropes themselves together and then you walk to the Falklands. No cheating, no scuba gear, no accompanying boats, no walking on water. Just walk. One after the other. Actually, run if you want. It's only 300 miles. If you can keep it up to 4 miles per hour, you should be able to make it in 75 hours. Hope you have BIG lungs.
Jul 06th, 2010 - 05:57 pm - Link - Report abuse 0does drownd rats spring to mind ??
Jul 06th, 2010 - 11:38 pm - Link - Report abuse 0At the end of the day, Britain's role will never decline. One has only to compare nations. Britain........................Argentina.
Jul 08th, 2010 - 02:31 pm - Link - Report abuse 0No brainer really!!!
argentina cant even hold a ball properly , only touch it with their hands.
Jul 08th, 2010 - 11:03 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Cheats
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