Something that might interest former soldiers

[Peter Laidler]

I forwarded this thread to an ex South African Army friend of many years, who left when the tide was turning. He commented to me this morning that '........ The whole western world should have seen this coming. It is a tribal Country now' Indeed.

As a bit of an aside, I got on the London bus a couple of weeks ago and the white driver was clearly from SA(?) I asked him the usual friendly Q's and he told me was from Rhodesia. Told him that I was in Malaya and carved into the brick wall into one of our camps there, was the Rhodesian African Rifles (or was it Rhodesia Light Infantry) Lion with a tusk badge. He immediately flicked his lapel over, and there, he had a miniature RLI badge. Made his day that someone would recognise it. Made my day too as he didn't collect my fare!

Added the next day. My ex SADF friend, as above emailed me later and said that the SADF mentioned in glowing terms at the start of this thread started its visible decline shortly after the 80's freedom regime came about. That's as diplomatic as he was prepared to go. Needless to say, he saw the writing on the wall and left!

[MSW2]

The SA Air Force has more than 300 aircraft. Currently 6 are useable. They cannot move troops or supplies. No air cover for troops fighting on the ground.

[Surpmil]

For interest value: ht tps://unicornriot.ninja/2025/fourteen-south-african-troops-killed-as-congolese-war-escalates/

Copy and paste to you address bar and remove space in "ht tps".

[MSW2]

Perhaps just something I can add to what was said in the article. It is strange that troops who did not surrender are confined to where they are and not allowed to do as they please. In my experience the easiest way to tell that the people who said that the 'surrender' was just to retrieve bodies are telling lies is to watch their lips. If they are moving the lies are flowing freely.
Also, the business interests connected to minerals in the Congo that the people who sent the troops have is the reason they are there. Nothing humanitarian, just money...

[MSW2]

Saw in a newspaper article today that 250 troops have been brought back to SA. They arrived at Waterkloof AFB near Pretoria while the minister was waiting to receive them near Bloemfontein. Hundreds of kilos away in a different province...

[Surpmil]

I forwarded this thread to an ex South African Army friend of many years, who left when the tide was turning. He commented to me this morning that '........ The whole western world should have seen this coming. It is a tribal Country now' Indeed.

As a bit of an aside, I got on the London bus a couple of weeks ago and the white driver was clearly from SA(?) I asked him the usual friendly Q's and he told me was from Rhodesia. Told him that I was in Malaya and carved into the brick wall into one of our camps there, was the Rhodesian African Rifles (or was it Rhodesia Light Infantry) Lion with a tusk badge. He immediately flicked his lapel over, and there, he had a miniature RLI badge. Made his day that someone would recognise it. Made my day too as he didn't collect my fare!

Added the next day. My ex SADF friend, as above emailed me later and said that the SADF mentioned in glowing terms at the start of this thread started its visible decline shortly after the 80's freedom regime came about. That's as diplomatic as he was prepared to go. Needless to say, he saw the writing on the wall and left!

Have often thought that of all people it's the Boers who should have seen it coming. That part of the rest of the world which actually gave a damn probably knew quite well. The usual suspects were of course looking forward to adding South Africa to the usual chaos of post-colonial Africa with its resources "for sale or rent" in cash payable in the Cayman Islands. Heard a stat recently that there is more money secreted in offshore accounts by corrupt African leadership than the annual GDP of (presumably Sub-Saharan) Africa! Had the Boers been willing to make do with less and carve themselves out a state appropriate to their demographics they'd still be enjoying it now and the contrast between their little piece and the rest would so striking there'd be a queue miles long to get in.

[MSW2]

Have often thought that of all people it's the Boers who should have seen it coming. That part of the rest of the world which actually gave a damn probably knew quite well. The usual suspects were of course looking forward to adding South Africa to the usual chaos of post-colonial Africa with its resources "for sale or rent" in cash payable in the Cayman Islands. Heard a stat recently that there is more money secreted in offshore accounts by corrupt African leadership than the annual GDP of (presumably Sub-Saharan) Africa! Had the Boers been willing to make do with less and carve themselves out a state appropriate to their demographics they'd still be enjoying it now and the contrast between their little piece and the rest would so striking there'd be a queue miles long to get in.

Not to get political in any way, but that was the concept behind people living apart from each other. Not racism. What was used by communists and their kind and shown by international media was not the truth or reality of SA.

[Surpmil]

Not to get political in any way, but that was the concept behind people living apart from each other. Not racism. What was used by communists and their kind and shown by international media was not the truth or reality of SA.

What I was getting at was that since apartheid was insupportable, at least in the context of southern Africa, they might have been better off consolidating themselves into a smaller state that provided for an equitable separation of the races into different countries. I believe it is generally agreed that historically all populations were migrants into most of what was modern S.A.

[Daan Kemp]

You will be surprised how many of the Black population were recent immigrants at the time of the colonisation, and how much of the country was totally unpopulated then.

[Sapper740]

What I was getting at was that since apartheid was insupportable, at least in the context of southern Africa, they might have been better off consolidating themselves into a smaller state that provided for an equitable separation of the races into different countries. I believe it is generally agreed that historically all populations were migrants into most of what was modern S.A.

Two facts: the most content societies are the most homogenous and some cultures are incompatible with others.