Earlier this week, I stayed in a town called Bariloche in the stunningly beautiful Patagonia region of Argentina. The town, built on the shores of a lake framed by the majestic Andes Mountains, was originally founded by Swiss, German and Italian immigrants and is famous for its chocolate. I didn’t try any but did enjoy a couple of pints of the excellent local beer.

The locals are warm, friendly and keen for their visitors to enjoy themselves and so I felt a little uncomfortable when I walked past a hotel called Hotel Islas Malvinas, the Falkland Islands to us. As I continued my walk along the lakeside my discomfort increased when I came upon a memorial to local sailors who had lost their lives on the General Belgrano cruiser, sunk by the British on May 22^nd 1982 during the Falklands War.

The war began when Argentine dictator, General Galtieri, ordered an invasion of the British-owned Islands in an attempt to gain some popularity for his faltering government. It backfired spectacularly when the British Task force sailed half way across the world and drove out the invaders leading ultimately to the collapse of Galtieri’s regime.

But none of that is the point. The point is that here is another example of ordinary men and women on both sides losing their lives because of the policies of a corrupt, vain politician anxious to hang on to power. What quarrel did ordinary Argentinian men and women have with their British counterparts? None, of course.

It’s the same the world over and has been so since time began; innocents shedding their blood for ambitious politicians who are happy to send others to their deaths but never go anywhere near the fighting themselves. In a perfect world such politicians would be placed on a remote island, given weapons and left to fight it out among themselves while the rest of us just get on with enjoying our lives. If only.