17 lines
No EOL
986 B
Markdown
17 lines
No EOL
986 B
Markdown
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category: "Intelligence & Government"
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tags:
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- Person
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- Israel
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- Military
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summary: "Prime Minister of South Africa who hinted at nuclear weapons capability after the 1979 VELA Satellite detected a probable nuclear test."
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born: 1916-01-12
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died: 2006-10-31
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location: "Paul Roux, Orange Free State, South Africa"
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---
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P. W. Botha was the Prime Minister of [[South Africa]]. On September 25, 1979, three days after a [[VELA Satellite]] recorded probable evidence of a nuclear explosion over the South Indian Ocean, Botha warned the Cape National Party congress that [[South Africa]] had and could produce sufficient arms to counter terrorism. He hinted that they might have military weapons that others did not know about, suggesting that [[South Africa]] and its Israeli partners had successfully conducted a secret nuclear test.[^1]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 20. |