Ms. Fernández de Kirchner is not threatening force, and she points to a provocation -- the arrival in the islands' territorial waters of a British company's oil rig. Most experts seem to be skeptical that the drilling will produce a big find. But the president has seized on the episode to stoke the curious jingoism that the islands inspire in her country. The weirdness lies in the fact that there is no modern history of an Argentine connection to the "Malvinas," as they are called in Buenos Aires. The 3,000-odd inhabitants are mostly descendants of immigrants from Britain, and they overwhelmingly support continued British rule. That means that Argentina's claim that the territory should be "decolonized" into its hands is fundamentally at odds with the principle of self-determination.

Were oil to be found in the Falklands, Argentina could be a prime beneficiary, if it could set aside its senseless nationalism. Its ports and firms could provide a staging ground and supplies for the industry. Even better, Ms. Fernández de Kirchner could persuade oil firms to begin exploration in Argentina's coastal waters, which are empty of the rigs now lining up off the coast of Brazil. This, of course, would require the Argentine government to regain the confidence of foreign investors it has driven off with its toxic mix of populism and crony capitalism. For Ms. Fernández de Kirchner, it's easier to make speeches about colonialism -- even if they don't bring much return.