Admiral Sir John "Sandy" Woodward also said that America now had little interest in supporting Britain in any conflict as a stable Argentina was more important to the State Department.
In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, Adml Woodward said Washington was pushing for negotiations over sovereignty and "significantly the islands are already being called the Malvinas by the US".
With the end of the Cold War and emergence of Asian powers Nato and Britain were not as important to Washington which in 1982 played a significant part in providing satellite intelligence and missiles to British forces.
"We can no longer rely on the Pentagon to support us in helping the islanders in their wish to remain essentially British sovereign territory," he wrote.
If as is likely significant oil reserves are found around the islands then pressure from Argentina will be immense to share in the riches. » | Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent | Sunday, June 12, 2011
