[FPSPACE] South African - Russian claims confirmed!

[Baris Gencay]

Here is the link of that news;

The article is just been published today on M&G.

http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-09-15-sa-russia-in-r1bn-cold-war


Baris




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Keith Gottschalk" <kgottschalk at uwc.ac.za>
To: "Baris Gencay" <baris.gencay at gmail.com>
Cc: "Friends & Partners FPSPACE" <fpspace at friends-partners.org>
Sent: Saturday, September 13, 2008 3:43 PM
Subject: Re: [FPSPACE] South African - Russian claims confirmed!


>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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