More Than Half Of South Africa's Army 'May Have HIV'

Independent (UK) ^ | 7-15-2002 | Jean Le May

[blam]

Ping.

[quebecois]

Funny....I seem to recall the SADF was a real kick-butt organization....wonder what changed?

[El Sordo]

Mandela took over.

Everything went to hell after that.

[Kozak]

Seems like their best tactic would be to bleed o the enemy

[Prodigal Son]

Jesus, that's pretty grim. I mean we can laugh about it, but whoa! Imagine if 60% of our military was suddenly no longer medically fit to fight. Lucky for them nobody is likely to invade them.

[Prodigal Son]

Oh aye, I'm aware of that, but for some reason the military is such a basic thing- you don't have one, you'll eventually get overrun (if you've got anything worth having that is). I couldn't imagine our country being left defenseless by a disease.

It just struck me in that instant that I had never thought about the myriad little (and big) ways that AIDS is affecting Southern Africa. I mean, you always think about the numbers they throw out, 25% infected, x millions will die..., one in three children- whatever and you digest these numbers but I never thought about African militaries and how AIDS would impact them. It's so Middle Ages you know? Plague wiping out a people to the point where they could no longer protect themselves from invasion.

That's an interesting and compelling dynamic to consider and I will have to give that one some head scratching and pondering before I know what to make of it.

[Lazamataz]

I remember when the South African Army was the most feared, most respected fighting force on the African continent.

[blam]

"I remember when the South African Army was the most feared, most respected fighting force on the African continent."

Yup, me too...and they had nukes.

[Pearls Before Swine]

I seem to recall the SADF was a real kick-butt organization...wonder what changed?

I guess the "k" in "kick" got changed to an "L".

Obviously, soldiers in the advanced stages of HIV aren't much good as fighters--they're more dangerous as biohazards. In the early stages, these soldiers become especially dangerous if rape is a common victory practice.

[Drew68]

Yup, me too...and they had nukes.

Thank God they had the foresight to dimantle their nuclear weapons program before the reigns of power were handed over to the ANC.

[AppyPappy]

The way it looks, the ANC may all be dead before too long. The only people left will be the Afrikaaners.

[Drew68]

The only people left will be the Afrikaaners.

This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.

[Jorge]

This is scarey.

[CWRWinger]

RE:Post #13

You have got that right. Give it 10-20 years and the balance of power may change. However, I'm a realist. The ANC is desparate to remain in power forever. Look for them to call on their white comrades in Russia for help.

[Nowhere Man]

Dang at the rate they are going, looks like the SADF will be "an army of one." Sorry couldn't resist. B-) B-P. Seriously, I figure once the ANC got in charge, things would go downhill. B-(

[crystalk]

Why would Russia, no longer communist, no longer devoted to the overthrow of Western hegemony in the world...

have any interest in helping these incompetents? The only possible interested parties would be China and India, which would very much like to have a new, vast continent full of natural resources to exploit, savage peoples to exterminate.

For China, Africa is now what the Americas were to Spain, England, France etc. in the sixteenth century.

[CWRWinger]

no longer communist

IMO, Russia never stopped being communist. They ran out of money and lost contol of their satellites, but not their desire to support other communist regimes. Comunists have a plan and are determined to stick with it. They will try to stay in power at all costs.

[Paleo Conservative]

I'd hate to need a battlefield transfusion.