Originally Posted by Von Tonner

Nippelspanner when you live in a country with the mineral wealth that SA has from platinum, gold, diamonds etc and ad to that mix the strategic geographical position it has regarding the sea routes around the Cape on the tip of Africa - around which ALL oil needs to go if anything happens to the Suez, as it has on many occasions, then in all fairness, it is not the SA Defence force that is going to hold the great bear at bay to make sure the free world gets its vital supplies. Our military has a proud record as any reading of both World Wars will show - 20 odd years ago no African military would have stopped us marching on Cairo.

But when you become a pawn on a chess board as what happened in the cold war between the two super powers at the time viz-a-viz the bush war of Angola and Cuban surrogate troops of one of the super powers of the time - then yes - you get down on your hands and knees and thank the powers that be that a counter super power funded by its citizens is willing to protect you by making available whatever it takes. Whether it is in their interest or not is not the point of argument here.

Let us fast forward that to today. Geographically SA's importance is still the same. Its wealth and that need by the West has not changed. So let us imagine SA awakes tomorrow and finds lying outside Cape Town an armada of Chinese, Russian - you pick your poison - war ships.

Who do you think would firstly prevent that from happening simply by its military strength in the world paid for by the US tax payer - but should any force try that, again, the military might of that country paid for again by the US tax payer would sober up any despots ambitions that might attempt it. Certainly not the SA Defence force.

No matter how weak the SA defence force might become in relation to other powers that would wish it harm, it knows it can rely on its allies to protect it. And the bottom line is, it is the tax payers of those countries who while ensuring the safety of their own countries are also, through their taxes, ensuring the safety of the free world.

That is reality.