The '
Argentine Armed Forces' are controlled by the Commander-in-Chief (the
President) and a civilian Minister of Defense. In addition to the
army,
navy and
air force, there are two forces controlled by the Interior Ministry: the
Argentine National Gendarmerie, a
gendarmerie used to guard borders and places of strategic importance; and the
Naval Prefecture, a
coast guard used to protect internal major rivers and maritime territory.
Traditionally, Argentina maintains close defense cooperation and military-supply relationships with the
United States and in a lower scale with
Israel,
Germany,
France,
Spain and
Italy.
Structure
The military is under the direct authority of the Defense Ministry, and comprises five branches divided in two categories: Armed Forces (''Fuerzas Armadas'') and Security Forces (''Fuerzas de Seguridad'').
On
June 12 2006, President
Néstor Kirchner brought into force the Defence Law, which had been passed in 1988 as a means to modernize the doctrine of the armed forces and define their role, though successive governments had failed to put it into effect. The law states that the armed forces will only be used against foreign aggression, and reduces the powers of the heads of the armed services, centralizing whole operational and acquisitions decisions under the authority of the Armed Forces Joint
General Staff.
'Armed Forces (responsible to Defence Ministry)'
'Security Forces (responsible to Interior Ministry)'
'Inter-service institutions'
| English | Spanish | Acronym | Class | Official website |
|---|
| Armed Forces Joint General Staff (includes Intelligence Service) | Estado Mayor Conjunto de las Fuerzas Armadas | EMCFA | Joint high command | http://www.fuerzas-armadas.mil.ar/ |
| National Directorate of Strategic Military Intelligence | Dirección Nacional de Inteligencia Estratégica Militar | DNIEM | Intelligence support agency | http://www.mindef.gov.ar/ |
| Military Geographic Institute | Instituto Geográfico Militar | IGM | Geographic support agency | http://www.igm.gov.ar/ |
| Armed Forces Intelligence Institute | Instituto de Inteligencia de las Fuerzas Armadas | IIFA | Intelligence support agency | http://www.iifa.mil.ar/ |
| Armed Forces Scientific and Technical Research Centre (includes Information Security, Section 6) | Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de las Fuerzas Armadas | CITEFA | Research and development agency | http://www.citefa.gov.ar/ |
| Argentine Joint Training Centre for Peace Operations | Centro Argentino de Entrenamiento Conjunto para Operaciones de Paz | CAECOPAZ | Specialized training centre | http://www.fuerzas-armadas.mil.ar/caecopaz/index.htm |
History
The Argentine military were considerably more influential in former times. Throughout the 20th century, democratic governments were more often than not interrupted by military
coups (see
History of Argentina). The last military dictatorship lasted from 1976 to 1983 and was named "
National Reorganization Process" (in Spanish, ''Proceso de Reorganización Nacional'') by its leaders, who justified their actions (illegal detentions,
forced disappearances, torture and summary executions) as necessary for the suppression of
terrorism (see "
Dirty War").
1965 Operacion 90
In
1965, the Argentine military conducted a large-scale land military maneuver on
Antarctica. Nicknamed
Operación 90, this was undertaken ten years before the
Antarctic Treaty came into being and was conducted to cement Argentina's claims to a portion of those territories (still claimed as
Argentine Antarctica).
1980s transition to democracy
During the
Alfonsín administration, the Army was rocked by uprisings and internal infighting, primarily due to the new government's stance against the events of the repression during the 1970s. Far-right sectors of the Army rebelled themselves in the
Carapintadas (''painted faces'') movement. In
1982, the Army invaded the
Falkland Islands (
Malvinas), but was defeated in the subsequent
war with the
United Kingdom, known as the
Falklands War (
Guerra de las Malvinas). In January 1989, the Army used
white phosphorus during the
1989 attack on La Tablada Regiment, in a violation of the Geneva Convention (according to a document presented by the human rights commission of the
United Nations on January 12, 2001).
[1] It would not be until 1990, when the last military uprising in Argentine history was crushed, that the political conflict within the Army finally subsided.
1990s
In the 1990s, Argentine Armed Forces began a close defense cooperation and friendship policy with neighbors
Brazil and
Chile and focused in
United Nations mandates.
The Argentine military have been reduced both in number and budget, but became more professional, especially after
conscription was abolished. The British embargo due to the
Falklands War (
Spanish: ''Guerra de las Malvinas'' ) was officially eliminated and Argentina was granted a
Major Non-NATO ally status by
United States President Bill Clinton.
Present
While
Mercosur is only an economic entity so far, the strengthening of confidence among the member countries has been beneficial to the peace in the region, exercising a useful role in supporting democracy. The Mercosur served, for example, to discourage the
Paraguayan military from an attempted coup in early 2000.
In
2007, an Argentine contingent including helicopters, boats and water purification plants was sent to help
Bolivia against their worst floods in decades.
[2]
International participation
Argentina was the only
Latin American country to send warships and cargo planes in
1991 to the
Gulf War under
UN mandate and has remained involved in
peacekeeping efforts in multiple locations like
Croatia/
Bosnia,
Gulf of Fonseca,
UNFICYP in
Cyprus (where among Army and Marines troops the Air Force provided the UN Air contingent since 1994) and
MINUSTAH in
Haiti.
UNFICYP was also a precedent in the Latin American military as troops of
Bolivia,
Brazil,
Chile,
Paraguay,
Peru and
Uruguay are embedded in the Argentine contingent
[3]
Since 1999 and as of June 2006, Argentina is the only Latin American country to maintain troops in
Kosovo during
SFOR (and later
EUFOR) operations where
combat engineers of the Argentine Armed Forces are embedded in an
Italian brigade.
As of 2006, Argentine military forces formed part of
[1]
★
Haiti - UN
MINUSTAH
★
Cyprus - UN
UNFICYP
★
Kosovo - NATO
SFOR (CICKO)
★ Kosovo - UN
UNMIK
★
Belgium -
NATO ICC-SHAPE
★
Bosnia - NATO
EUFOR
And as military observers in
UNTSO,
MINURSO,
UNMIL,
MONUC,
UNMIS and
ONUCI.
Argentina was also responsible for the
White Helmets initiative.
See also
★
CITEFA Armed Forces Scientific and Technical Research Institute
★
Argentina and weapons of mass destruction
★
Foreign relations of Argentina
References
★
★
1. E/CN.4/2001/NGO/98, ''United Nations'', January 12, 2001 - URL accessed on February 9, 2007 ; ANSA cable quoted by the RaiNews24: See frame on the right . See also presentation of the attack here , La Historia Pensada , Los puntos oscuros del asalto a La Tablada, ''Página/12'', January 23, 1999
2.
Trabajo Conjunto en Bolivia
3. Argentine Army: UNFICYP
UN: Cyprus - UNFICYP - Facts and Figures
Chilean Army: Misión de la ONU en Chipre desde el año 2003
Brasilian Army: UNFICYP
External links
★
Ministry of Defense
★
Unofficial website
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