I wonder if there are any forumites who might have been involved with this. I wonder why the need for the SA government to keep the information classified. Surely its history book time? The specific event I am interested in is the Vela incident
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vela_Incident
There are many things that remain at best classified or of not classified officially closed (All records destroyed), for safety sake, and to prevent any ramifications to any personal still alive.
There are many things best left out of the history books.
S.A. had quite a few dark secrets in those days, and most is best left in the past.
I.E. Not many people are aware of the Arms for Oil deal S.A.did with Iraq back in the 80's, G5 & G6 artillery pieces.
South Africa's involvement with Iraq during the 1980s included the trade of US$4.5 billion's worth of oil for G5 artillery
http://www.ecaar.org/za/Papers/denel.htm
A quote regarding those Pieces:
ask the Iraqi locals to give y'all a demonstration of their South-African-made G6 artillery, specifically MRSI (Multiple Round Simultaneous Impact) capability. For Mr. Rumsfeld's benefit, that's the capability for a single gun to fire six rounds at a target and have them arrive at the exact same instant.
http://servingiraq.blogspot.com/2006/05/compliment-to-field-artillery.html
If we look at Janes assessment of the G6:
An artillery system that rocked the world with its 39km range when it entered service in the early 1980s is being modernized to outrange the latest NATO howitzers. The technology can be readily applied to weapons already in the inventories of countries such as China and Iraq. South Africa’s G6 155mm howitzer is now being developed to achieve ranges of 50km, 60km or even 70km,
http://www.janes.com/press/pc011109.shtml
What isnt too readily publicised about the G6 is that with ranges of 50Km and more, it is capable of delivering certain "packages" I.E. Chemical, Biological and Tactical Nuclear.
S.A. did have a Nuclear test area in the Kalahari, but was bust before it could exploit it properly.
http://cns.miis.edu/research/safrica/chron.htm
http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Safrica/SABuildingBombs.html
http://web.mit.edu/ssp/seminars/wed_archives_01spring/albright.htm
Considering what is available with a little research via the internet, there must be reams of documents in offical archives that are not available for scrutiny without some serious clearance.
I.E. Battle plans ... for the use of ....in the event of ....
A: Invasion (at the time)
B: Civilian uprising (at the time)
C: Civil war (at the time)
D: Genocide aimed at the Afrikaner (at the time)
Etc, Etc.....
One can find a lot if one cares to read a lot
