A really useful war: few subjects galvanize Argentines like the Falklands, but it's just a cheap political ploy for Kirchner.

War has certainly done wonders for the windswept Falkland Islands. While the British government commemorated the 25th anniversary of its military victory over Argentina last month in front of Buckingham Palace, the islands' political leaders boasted of bank reserves of US$360 million; a $154 million a year fishing industry; cruise ships that bring some 70,000 visitors a year; 500 miles of new gravel roads, and, most importantly, Latin America's highest standard of living. Annual per capita income is $50,000.

It has been a remarkable turnaround. I visited the desolate archipelago 10 months before the 74-day war over sovereignty began, on April 2, 1982. Argentina had tried to retake Las Malvinas--as they call the islands--land Britain wrested away in 1833.

At the time of my two-week visit, the economy centered on wool and mutton and was dominated by the Falkland Islands Co., one of the world's last monopolistic trading companies. The company and absentee U.K. landlords treated the islands as a private domain, rarely reinvesting their profits. Thirteen thousand kilometers from Britain, they were a financial drain, logistically and militarily, so much so that then-Gov. Rex Hunt told me that Whitehall was considering handing them back to Argentina.

After the conflict ended, Britain divided up the company's farms, giving local farmers grants and loans. It also created a 322 kilometer fishing zone, which gave the Falklands control over fish-rich waters. Former President Carlos Menem dropped the sovereignty issue once diplomatic relations were restored in 1990.

Argentine President Nestor Kirchner is again playing the nationalist card, claiming that the Falklands are "a permanent and irrevocable objective of the Argentine people." Under his administration, Argentine diplomats have lobbied new U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to support sovereignty talks. A 1995 accord with Britain to explore for oil and natural gas around the Falklands has been scrapped.

Why the sudden tough stand? The recent 25th anniversary of the conflict provides a convenient spotlight for an otherwise forgotten war. But the more relevant date is Oct. 28, the next presidential and legislative elections in Argentina.

Falklands' sovereignty is the one issue that Argentines on the left and the right can agree on. At a Salta nightclub in the 1970s, I saw a comedian who was bombing badly. Few laughed at his lame jokes. Desperate to get off the stage, he suddenly blurted: "Remember, Las Malvinas are ours!" before dashing off to thunderous applause.

Britain says the islands will remain British as long as the 3,000 islanders want it that way. They always will. Kelpers, as they are called, are grateful for their economic prosperity but also identify heavily with the motherland, referring to the United Kingdom as home and singing God Save The Queen each year to honor Queen Elizabeth's birthday.

Instead of cheap political ploys to attract votes, Kirchner should sit down with British officials and hammer out economic matters that would benefit both sides. It makes no sense to back out of a joint deal to explore for offshore oil reserves that are rumored to be as large as those of Kuwait. Tourism could increase exponentially if the two sides agreed on air travel terms and cleared out remaining land mines.

Apart from cruise ships, the Falklands receives just 1,000 visitors annually. They have just two ways to get there by air, via Chile on a weekly LAN flight or on a charter from the Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire, England. Kirchner has banned charter flights to and from the Falklands that cross Argentine airspace, and the Kelpers refuse to allow regular flights by Aerolineas Argentinas. Both sides continue to squabble over who will pay to clear the estimated 20,000 mines laid by the Argentines.

Kirchner also should concentrate on getting Argentine war veterans the overdue care they deserve. So far, some 350 have committed suicide, a number more than half of the 649 Argentines who died during the conflict itself. Many suffer post-traumatic stress disorder, having been sent to fight without adequate equipment or training and pushed into battle by abusive officers. Just this year, Falklands veterans filed a collective lawsuit against officers for the murder and torture of their own troops.

Agreements on fishing, tourism and oil and natural gas could signal the end of a long-standing enmity over islands that have more sheep than people. As much as I detest colonialism, Falklands sovereignty is a dead issue.

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