Leopoldo Galtieri

“Jorge Rafael Videla”

“Standing well over six-feet tall, broad-shouldered and ramrod straight, he is an imposing military figure. He is considered a "soldier's soldier" who can joke and swear with the best of them and has attracted great loyalty among his juniors. Opposition leaders say he is not a sophisticated analyst, preferring to see the world about him in black and white, and making quick decisions. But since taking power he has displayed a shrewdness that has surprised both friends and foes.”

“Had it not been for Galtieri's folly, in making that absolutely blatantly unprovoked military invasion of the Falklands, I think the Falkland Islands might well by now have been part of Argentina.”

“What most puzzles me is how someone so mediocre in all senses reached the top.”

“Few Argentinians sympathise with the Galtieri family or share their views. Like many other military leaders, until his death Galtieri risked abuse or egg throwing if he ventured out of his home.”

“He might have been forgiven by at least some of his fellow Argentines for his ruthlessness, but not for his stupidity.”

“I thought we could have put up more of a fight. Not that we were going to win, but that we would offer more resistance.”

“Even with the loss of Puerto Argentino and without internationalizing the conflict, we should have continued the action in such a way that the enemy would have been faced by serious, permanent and systematic difficulties and risks and be obliged to realize that we Argentines were not going to surrender.”

“My own opinion on Mrs Thatcher is very simple: I think she's unsuited to our historical period, and I say this referring to her as a prime minister, and not as a woman.”

“Personally, I judged that a British retaliation was improbable. However, I never expected such a disproportionate response. Nobody expected it. Why would a nation in the heart of Europe be affected by some distant islands in the Atlantic which serve no national interest? I don't think it makes sense.”

“Foreign debt and inflation have nothing to do with my decision. Indeed, I can assure you that [the Falklands war is] not going to alleviate inflation or debt. It is true that the Falklands have served to unite Argentines. But I swear and repeat that the idea of ​​solving these issues through war has never crossed my mind.”

“Observe where the islands are located, how the continental shelf extends over that area and connects the coast with the islands. It's easy to see the natural correlation between them and the mainland. Indeed, the Falklands belonged, and will belong, to us both historically and geographically.”

“[The Falklanders] are all British because the British have never allowed Argentinians to buy land, start businesses, get employment, or simply live there. If I were to go to Rome with enough money to get an apartment, a business, or just settle there, the Italian authorities would let me. The British however have kept these islands as a personal fiefdom and have prohibited Argentinians from settling there.”

“... for 149 years, the Argentines have denounced the assault by the British in 1833 when they stole the Falklands, and have tried to recover them through diplomatic channels or through the United Nations for 17 years... British colonization could not continue.”

“Remember when the British were defeated at Dunkirk during the Second World War? Well, in 1945 they were in Berlin. In other words, the fall of Puerto Argentino will not mean the end of conflict or our defeat. I therefore have no regrets. Indeed, I am not alone in believing that what we did on April 2 was right. All the Argentine people believe this.”

“I am going because the Army did not give me the political support to continue as commander and President of the nation. I am not one of those who abandon the ship in the middle of tempests or difficult hours such as those the nation is living in today. The people of the nation know this.”

“The blood that is spilling is not my responsibility. It is the responsibility of Mrs. 'No.'”

“The flag of Argentina is raised here. For all the respect I have for the English people, Great Britain should understand that history has gone by, that centuries have passed, the world has evolved and certain things from the past cannot return.”

“We are prepared to continue the dialogue, to search for ways to compose it together, to satisfy the interests of Great Britain, of the people of the Malvinas.”

“The nobility... of the Argentine people, in this square and all the country’s squares, causes us to offer our hand to the adversary, but this must not be taken as weak- ness. If it is necessary, the people, whose feelings I try to interpret as President of the nation, will be ready... to offer a hand, a gesture of peace with nobility and in a gesture of peace with honour, but they will also be ready to teach a lesson to anyone who dares to touch a square metre of Argentine territory.”