Is it possible for the South American ABC nations (Argentina, Brazil, Chile) to develop nuclear weapons and nuclear arsenals?
I could see one of them teaming up with Israel and South Africa to develop nukes. For obvious reasons only one of the ABC countries could be part of the alliance.
It seems a reasonable plan, get a nuclear program and a few bombs first then go for the Falklands.No Falklands War could lead to the program lasting long enough to produce a weapon.
Or it could persuade Britain to go nuclear.It seems a reasonable plan, get a nuclear program and a few bombs first then go for the Falklands.
No way they could deliver them, but they might hope having the bomb would get Britain to think twice about retaking the islands.
If it would or not I don't know.
Or it could persuade Britain to go nuclear.
Sounds like something stupid enough for the junta to try. And have blow up in their faces, perhaps literally.
Argentina making abomb threats would mean that any argentine naval vessel outside territorial waters gets sunk by torpedo. Imo.
They could plant a bomb in the Falklands and, when the British forces overrun its position, remotely detonate it as a final "fuck you" to Britain.Even if Argentina has nuclear weapons, they probably don't have any means to deliver them to Britain. So the worst they can do is try to use them against the British fleet, and that just makes things worse for them, because Britain has more and better nuclear weapons; even if it stays at a tactical level, there's just no way that can end well for Argentina. Or anyone, really, but especially the Argentineans.
They could plant a bomb in the Falklands and, when the British forces overrun its position, remotely detonate it as a final "fuck you" to Britain.
And then what?
Britain has to respond. You can't let a nuclear attack go unanswered. The only acceptable answers would either be regime change - which Britain can't do - or nuclear retaliation. So something Argentinean gets nuked. Hopefully not a city, but no guarantees. Argentina can only lose harder by escalating to a nuclear level.
I'm not saying they wouldn't do it - people do stupid shit all the time, and I don't know enough about the Argentinean junta to say if they would be dumb enough to do this or not. But it would be a really, really bad idea.