It's only legitimate out of context. The two countries were trying to negotiate a transfer before the war broke out. Argentina was ruled by a military Junta and used the invasion to bolster its internal politics. Thatcher did the same thing by using overwhelming force over a territory that Britain was trying to get rid of. An Argentine cruiser was sunk outside of the exclusion zone.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_ARA_General_Belgrano

Afterwards Britain fortified the island to feed its military industrial complex and drum up more support for its decaying empire. Everything about this war was totally pointless except from a domestic political standpoint.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/07/british-sovereignty-falklands-absurd-imperial-hangover-argentina

[–] stark@sopuli.xyz 1 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) (1 children)

So what should have been the right move then when Argentina invaded the islands? Should Thatcher just have abandoned the people on the Falklands and let them fend for themselves?

[–] ZMoney@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

No, those 907 people absolutely had to die so that Britain could keep its frozen rock halfway around the world.

[–] stark@sopuli.xyz 1 points 5 minutes ago* (last edited 4 minutes ago)

I doubt the regime that threw dissidents out of helicopters would have just let the British Falklanders live peacefully among the Argentines.

[–] bigpEE@lemmy.world 1 points 6 hours ago

It's legitimate in context. I'm not addressing all your points, but the exclusion zone was never "this is the only place we'll be fighting"