African Activist Archive

This presentation prepared for the annual meeting of the African Studies Association focuses on recent U.S. policy towards South Africa. The U.S. appears increasingly willing to make allowances for South African racism and Portuguese colonialism as unpleasant concomitants of otherwise useful, stable and reliable allies in an apparently volatile continent. The U.S. government this fall allowed a further sale of two Boeing 747s to Portugal's T.A.P. airline, backed by a $15 million loan from the Export-Import Bank. Recently, the Textron subsidiary, Bell Company, sold five helicopters to Portugal to be used for "logistical" support in the Cabora Bassa Dam area, which has been under heavy attack by the forces of the Mozambique Liberation Front. In 1970, Portugal began using defoliants against the people of Angola, and U.S. exports of herbicides to Portugal increased four times in 1970. South Africa's first nuclear research reactor at Pelindaba was purchased and installed through a U.S. corporation, Allis Chalmers. The South African Atomic Energy Board, which operates this facility, provides an example of the close scientific and technical links between the two countries. Scores of Atomic Energy Board scientists and engineers have been trained in the U.S., particularly at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) also collaborates closely with the South African regime. • The Arms Embargo - Illusion or Reality • U.S. Military Aid to Portugal • U.S. and South African Military Capability • The Commandos • The U.S. Gives South Africa Nuclear Power • NASA

African Activist Archive

U.S. - South Africa Relations: Some Strategic Considerations

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