U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton swept into the Argentine capital as part of her Latin American tour, only to face searching questions about where U.S. loyalties lay in Argentina's sovereignty claims over the Falklands -- "Malvinas" to President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and most of Argentine citizens.

Argentina and Britain went to war over the islands in 1982 when the Latin American nation was under the thumb of a military dictatorship and Britain had its first brush with the military resolve of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The Argentine task sent to the islands to enforce Argentina's sovereignty faced the full might of old Britannia, with the loss of 900 lives. The conflict enhanced Thatcher's prestige and triggered the collapse of the military dictatorship in Argentina.

Despite Argentina's shift to democracy, Argentine fervor for the Falklands remains strong, and the current controversy over the British-backed oil explorations in the Falklands basin have come as a handy populist prop for Fernandez, who is otherwise bitterly embroiled in disputes with farmers, workers and financiers over a range of issues from export taxes to an attempted trawl through Central Bank reserves to pay off a part of the national debt.

The Falklands' reported oil reserves, said to be second only to those in Saudi Arabia, have spurred Argentine diplomatic campaign in support of Argentine sovereignty over the islands.

As widely expected, Clinton's visit was received in Buenos Aires with optimistic interpretations that had little relation to reality. In Washington, State Department spokesmen were quick to point out not to read too much in Clinton's stop in Argentina as part of her South American tour.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Philip J. Crowley said the Obama administration believed the Falklands issue should be resolved bilaterally between Argentina

and the United Kingdom. Crowley said the United States has strong friendships with both the United Kingdom and Argentina and "we are willing to help."

Pressed further, Crowley cited Clinton's "precise language" at the start of her tour, adding, "Our view remains that this is an issue that should be resolved bilaterally between the two countries but, as she said on the flight down, if the United States can be helpful, we will be happy to see what we can do."

Argentine diplomats have set their sights on eliciting U.S. sympathy for their cause, in line with the explicit Latin American support they received at last month's summit of Central and South American countries at Cancun, Mexico. Canada and the United States were excluded from the membership of a new political bloc that challenges the Organization of American States, which has its headquarters in Washington.

The exclusion of North American partners from the planned strategic alliance fed into analysts' anxiety that successive U.S. administrations before Obama had neglected Latin America only to see Russia, China and even Iran making diplomatic, economic and military inroads into the continent.

Fernandez told the media after her meeting with Clinton she had requested the United States to intercede with Britain "so that we can sit to discuss about the Malvinas Islands, contemplating the interests of the islands' inhabitants."

Britain says the Falklands' sovereignty is not under discussion as Falklanders have exercised their right of self-determination.

Clinton responded: "We stand ready to help resolve the issue. We would like to see Argentina and the U.K. sitting round a table discussing the matter. If we can be of any help in facilitating such an effort, we stand ready to do so."

But the secretary of state also pointed out that the U.S. position is that "this is a matter to be resolved between the United Kingdom and Argentina. We can't force sides to sit" but dialogue "is the correct way to proceed."

Exploratory oil drilling in the Falklands' waters triggered an angry Argentine response, including a military build up and threat of sanctions against companies that help oil exploration in the Falklands.

"We're not interested in and have no real role in determining what they decide between the two of them," Clinton said. "But we want them talking and we want them trying to resolve the outstanding issues between them. We recognize that there are contentious matters that have to be resolved and we hope that they will do so."

Tensions between Argentina and Britain raised speculation the two might be heading toward another conflict. But IHS Jane's defense analyst Robert Munks said a new war was unlikely.

Munks said: "The current resurgence of interest in the Falklands carries no risk of military conflict between the two countries. Argentina's return to democracy in 1983 and its pledge to pursue its claim to the 'Malvinas' through peaceful means underline that the military option is no longer viable."

He added: "Indeed, the military balance of power in the South Atlantic is also substantially different from the time of the 1982 conflict, with the United Kingdom having qualitatively improved its defense posture on the islands at the same time as Argentina's military capabilities have stagnated and so are little better than at the time of the previous conflict in 1982."

Argentina's military has been campaigning for rearmament and recently appeared to have convinced the government of an urgent need for arms procurement and modernization. Argentina's problem is that it is desperately strapped for cash and additional defense spending may not be popular with groups distressed by the economic downturn.

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