South Africa is Acting Like a Rogue State

[Neil]

I wonder if 'upgraded assault rifles' translates to the CR-21 south africa hasnt been able to unload on anyone, and wont use themselves?

It looks dinky.

I would rather imagine so.  There isn't much that the government of South Africa wouldn't do in order to keep Denel happy.

[Lettow77]

 Denel is going nowhere. Or, in a more literal sense its employees are, as they flee the country.

That company is washed up but doesnt know it yet. It, along with anything of value in South Africa, has been (irrevocably?) crippled by casting South Africa to the dogs.

[derspiess]

Reminds me of the old Libya-Chad war, where Chad's fleet of Toyota Pickups overcame tall odds in facing off against the Libyan Land Cruisers.

I Love The 80s

[MadImmortalMan]

Denel is going nowhere. Or, in a more literal sense its employees are, as they flee the country.

That company is washed up but doesnt know it yet. It, along with anything of value in South Africa, has been (irrevocably?) crippled by casting South Africa to the dogs.

By dogs I assume you mean lesser races. 

[Lettow77]

 Isnt it enough that they are uneducated, violent radical leftists?

[Sheilbh]

I can't stand Jamie Kirchick.  He reminds me of HIGH DRAMA Marty too much for me to take almost any of his articles seriously.

[HisMajestyBOB]

the country's National Conventional Arms Control Committee had authorized the sale of high-tech weaponry

Since when are "grenade launchers" and "assault rifles" considered high-tech weaponry?

Well, compared to machetes...

[jimmy olsen]

the country's National Conventional Arms Control Committee had authorized the sale of high-tech weaponry

Since when are "grenade launchers" and "assault rifles" considered high-tech weaponry?

I think this is what they were referring to.

"bombs that could be used to deliver nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons" (Libya),..The panel is also considering the sale of military equipment to Iran and Zimbabwe, and it has authorized a South African defense contractor to deliver a demonstration of a radar-warning system to officials in North Korea.

[Queequeg]

HIGH DRAMA Marty

I want to start a petition to change Marty's name officially to HIGH DRAMA MARTY.  Possibly with an exclamation point at the end. 

[The Minsky Moment]

I think this is what they were referring to.

"bombs that could be used to deliver nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons" (Libya),..The panel is also considering the sale of military equipment to Iran and Zimbabwe, and it has authorized a South African defense contractor to deliver a demonstration of a radar-warning system to officials in North Korea.

"Bombs that could be used to deliver nuclear, chemical and biological weapons" is a WW1 era technology or even earlier.  A basic A-bomb (my understanding) is just a metal tube with enough regular explosive to compress fissile material into a critical mass.  I.e. it's really just a decent-sized bomb; the tricky part is getting enough fissile material together to be able to start the nuclear chain reaction.

[garbon]

I want to start a petition to change Marty's name officially to HIGH DRAMA MARTY.  Possibly with an exclamation point at the end. 

It would be more amusing than when he was Martinass.

[saskganesh]

In Africa that's still pretty high tech.

Reminds me of the old Libya-Chad war, where Chad's fleet of Toyota Pickups overcame tall odds in facing off against the Libyan Land Cruisers.

Toyota Wars. I had that wargame. http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/8322

[Neil]

"Bombs that could be used to deliver nuclear, chemical and biological weapons" is a WW1 era technology or even earlier.  A basic A-bomb (my understanding) is just a metal tube with enough regular explosive to compress fissile material into a critical mass.  I.e. it's really just a decent-sized bomb; the tricky part is getting enough fissile material together to be able to start the nuclear chain reaction.

It's a little more difficult than that, as the subcritical pieces need to be brought together with great speed and precision, or else you'll get an explosion that blows apart the bomb, but not much else.  There were significant technical challenges to building even primitive atomic weapons, although a modern, industrialized economy could do so without much difficulty.

Really, it's three different technologies that we're talking about here.  Chemical weapons delivery methods predate the Great War.  Atomics are late WWII.  Biological weapons are trickier, unless we're talking about handing out smallpox blankets or dropping cardboard boxes of plague-infected fleas on an enemy city.