Sir: Your Notebook (10 July) was almost more than I
could bear, and I write this with the 'pseudo patience' which is the symptom of exasperation. Could anyone blame Mrs Thatcher if she were suffering from this at present? And what was wrong with rejoicing when we recovered South Georgia? The criticism of the Prime Minister's voice is on the same level as that of Sir Alec Douglas-Home's spectacles a few years ago.
But the worst bit was about the General Belgrano. Do you suppose she was going for a pleasure cruise? If so, to where? Had her escorts not deserted her the loss of life would not have been heavy, but in the end her sinking may have saved life, as it pro- bably accounts for the fact that no other Argentinian surface units came out. As for the idea that the Argentinian air attacks on our ships were in revenge for her loss, that
is almost as silly as the question, 'What is the point of an exclusion zone if a ship is not safe outside it?' when applied to a warship.
The comments on the Sunday Times arti- cle show that the writer still deceives himself into thinking that a negotiated settlement was possible with Argentinian forces in oc- cupation of the Falkland Islands. As he seems to have been 'surprised' at the courage of the fighting services, it is dif- ficult to avoid the conclusion that he lives in an imaginary world in which his own coun- try is always wrong, and force should never be used, whatever the provocation, in case someone gets hurt.
D. B. N. Mel/is
(Captain RN ret'd) High Water, Aros, Isle of Mull, Argyll
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