Wash your Humus down with a Martini and chill

Ok, so we spied a little, worked together with 'friends' on ‘weapons of mass destruction’ (sea to air and air to ground anti-tank missiles and a few nuclear bombs in the 1970’s and 80’s), and traded in oil and illegal arms during the so-called 'isolation years'.  It still happens to this day unsurprisingly, although perhaps not the nuclear bomb part, yet in a slightly different guise and perhaps less transparent a manner than one might hope.  But really, are these 'spy documents' really so shocking?  Perhaps to the naive and ignorant, however there's no country worth its salt, that isn't doing likewise.  Perhaps the only thing worth noting is the fact that the South African State Security Agency (SSA) is a little understaffed these days and that the information has somehow, embarrassingly gotten out.  Someone wanting a little extra retirement money perhaps?  Nevertheless, I have no doubt that their reward was safely stashed into a numbered Swiss Bank account, with a pseudonym of ‘The Spy Who Never Really Loved Us’ as the account ID.

Yesterday (Mon 23^rd Feb 2015), Al Jazeera and The Guardian exposed piles of confidential and top secret documents, allegedly communication links between the South African State Security Agency (SSA), Russia’s FSB (the renewed KGB), the UK’s MI6 (home of the real James Bond types), Israel’s Mossad (in my opinion the most effective ‘spy’ agency globally), as well as numerous other Middle Eastern agencies, amongst others. These documents supposedly cover correspondence between the various secret bodies between 2006 until the end of 2014.

Sorry to say, but I’m damn sure that this is a mere storm in a tea-cup, as it has been going on for years, and that’s no secret.  Anyone who served in Naval Intelligence during the ‘dark years’, will know what I mean.  Who we have been spying on, and why, may however be somewhat embarrassing, particularly to the ANC, who openly pride themselves in their friendships with countries the USA believe to be unsavoury bed fellows.  I’m not saying either is right or wrong here, as there are many contradictions and manifestations of propaganda in the making. Nevertheless, it may however expose a touch of ‘forked tongue’ when it comes to our ‘true friendships’. I’m not sure how our Iranian, Syrian, Egyptian, Lebanese, Libyan and other ‘mates’ will think of our close friendship and ties with the likes of Israel, when ‘we’ go all out publically to side with the Palestinians at every given opportunity.

What does it say about us?  Well, it confirms that there’s never a dull moment in being South African, that’s for sure, but more than that it says that we are merely diplomatic traders and associates of anyone who wishes to be our friends, or doesn’t.  Will it have any major implications? I doubt it, however it all depends on what sort of detail is revealed, and perhaps questions the motivation behind the leaks in the first place.  Who really wants to hurt whom?  I suspect it may be a plot to embarrass Israel more than South Africa.  Let’s wait and see.  

In the meantime, don’t forget to accompany your matzah bread and humus dip snacks with a dry Martini, shaken or stirred, as variety is the spice of life..