Much as the black-ruled nations of Africa might detest it, they cannot ignore the fact that the pariah state of South Africa is the economic and military superpower south of the Sahara. This galling reality is the backdrop against which State President P.W. Botha is staging a new diplomatic offensive. In three weeks he has met publicly with three African heads of state and secretly, officials in Pretoria claim, with two others. Flying home from Zaire last week, Botha announced jubilantly, "We are going to other African countries as well, where we will be busy this year and next year." Replacing...
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