SA was a first world jewel placed down in a third world swamp. They are slowly sinking into that swamp today due to Communist rule. Mbeki and Mandela and any realistic future candidates for president were all educated in the USSR and are at least borderline commies. The only reason SA isd still a viable country is that Mandela...who is certainly NO "hero"... was, at least, hand picked and smart enough (or controlled enough) not to immediately "kill the golden goose". (and, thanks to Regan, the fact that the USSR failed as a nation and thus was not able to follow up on its African promises)

For better or worse, SA was deeply involved in SWA / Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, and Rhodesia in efforts to stave off what was the inevitable onslaught of communism and black rule, thanks to the turning of a blind eye by the US and GB, not to mention the rest of the world. In truth, the rigid, stiff- necked Boers also did not help themselves with the aparthied crap, although at the end they had quite a few black soldiers fighting FOR SA. (For a long time they would not even consider training black soldiers) The SA government also was complicit in the fall of Rhodesia, as many there had no love for the English (and still don't) and the story is full of double and triple-crosses, not to mention much wrong and right on both sides. In the end, it almost came to full civil war with several factions, including white-on-white, and while it was a close run thing, it did not actually materialize.

I have been there many times and have very good friends who are current and ex-military as well as LEOs...and several who are Rhodesian as well. I have never heard any of them mention the Chinese, but, for sure, the Russians, Cubans, the Israelis and the CIA were deeply involved.

ETA: Here is a good COIN site from the Rhodesian Selous Scouts...as fine a group of fighting men as ever walked in this world...

members.tripod.com/selousscouts/intro.htm

Quoted: An old arfcommer (who may have, IIRC, lived or fought in SA/SWA at one time) once told me to read up on Koevoet. I can't remember if he sent me this link, or if I found it myself afterwards. Remember first that anything you read has a bias because it was written by a human with biases. http://www.dispatch.co.za/2000/09/28/features/KOEVOET.HTM Though it probably isn't considered a "hostile" website, if it's just the same I'd prefer to keep the link cold.

If you did, in fact, read up on them, then you know that Koevoet translates roughly to "Crowbar", that they were SA Police, not military, and that they were extremely successful in SWA / Namibia. Right? (I did not read the websites)