[FPSPACE] South African - Russian claims confirmed!

[Keith Gottschalk]

I myself read it in print, so I do not have a link more than knowing
that it will be something like www.mg.co.za
best of luck, Keith

>>> "Baris Gencay" <baris.gencay at gmail.com> 09/12/08 3:14 PM >>>
>Dear Keith,
>
>Thank you very much for the post but could you provide the link of
that 
>news. Actually I am lost in the online pages of M&G.
>
>
>Thanks,
>
>Baris
>
>
>
>
>
>
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "Keith Gottschalk" <kgottschalk at uwc.ac.za>
>To: "Friends & Partners FPSPACE" <fpspace at friends-partners.org>
>Sent: Friday, September 12, 2008 3:19 PM
>Subject: [FPSPACE] South African - Russian claims confirmed!
>
>
>>     Some months ago one or two FPSPACE members kindly posted links
here
>> to a reputable South African trade magazine called Martin Creamer's
>> Engineering News. One of its respected journalists ran reports that
the
>> reason that the Russian military had delayed from 16 December 2006
to
>> date to launch a South African microsat called Sumbandila (the name
>> proposed by a schoolgirl in a competition means "Lead the Way" in
Venda
>> language) because the South African Government refused to use a
Russian
>> spy satellite.
>>
>>   Today's Mail & Guardian (a weekly newspaper published in
>> Johannesburg) confirms this. Its whole page 2 (12-18 September
edition)
>> is devoted to a report titled "SA, Russia in R1bn cold war". [ZAR
one
>> billion = c. $125m]. Since I'm sure that all US members of FPSPACE
have
>> vastly more bandwidth than me, I'll mention that the Mail & Guardian
is
>> available on-line.
>>
>>   For the rest of us, as briefly as possible, the report reveals
the
>> following:
>>
>> 1. South African Defence Intelligence chief Moreti "Mojo" Motau flew
to
>> Russia sometime during 2003 - 2005 and ordered an NPO
Mashinostroyenia
>> reconnaissance satellite with optical and IR image capabilities.
Its
>> costs would have been vastly higher than the entire South African
>> defence intelligence budget, which is around R140m per year
[roughly
>> $17m].
>>
>> 2. In late 2006 - early 2007 Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota
canceled
>> the order for a spysat.
>>
>> 3. "a source in contact with the role players involved in the
dispute
>> over the military spy satellite said the Russians are heading for
the
>> Hague, where the International Permanent Court of Arbitration sits.
>> South Africa's liability, if the case goes ahead, may equal the
contract
>> price - more than R1 billion" [=$125m.]
>>
>>     During the early FPSPACE discussion I was sceptical about these
>> reports. Naturally I only have access to open source information,
and as
>> a political scientist I have found a sceptical approach to
conspiracy
>> theories & unsubstantiated claims works more frequently than any
other
>> approach. The downside is that from time to time I will appear as
naive.
>>
>>
>>    There has been much political controversy in South Africa about
>> incompetent civil servants bumbling & making mistakes with costly
>> contracts. Certainly the Defence Minister's decision appears more
>> rational than his Intelligence chief. South Africa's only military
>> forces far away from home are in various African Union & UN
peacekeeping
>> missions in Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sudan.
Attacks on
>> them are hit-and-run insurgents on foot, not huge tank formations.
So
>> their need is not for a "photint" satellite orbiting over the same
>> terrain on average once per twenty days, but UAVs buzzing around
daily
>> at a low enough orbit to film foot soldiers in ragged file walking
>> around.
>>
>>   Similarly their only communication needs can be met by satellite
>> phone or even shortwave radio. It does not matter if the US NSA's
famous
>> deciphering facilities follow the perfectly legitimate ops of UN &
AU
>> peacekeepers asking for ammo, anti-malaria medicines, tins of
condensed
>> milk, condoms, diesel and generators, and reporting cease-fire
>> violations by extremists.
>>
>>  When our microsat will be launched? The same reports claim that
the
>> Russians will in fact do that soon. Time will tell.
>> warm regards to all, Keith.
>>

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