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From: Gordo Taylor
Date: 10/3/00
Time: 8:16:56 AM
Remote Name: 210.141.67.166
Well I have to admit I did think the Boers / Afrikaaners invented the system of apartheid, so I've learned something from Mr Petch - three times. I must say though that I liked your assessment of their whole-hearted acceptance of the system and continued use of it for their own advantage.
The bit about the Boers hating the Australians more than most: I read it somewhere a long time, and it's always stuck in my mind. I couldn't tell you the book now, but it's probably one I have, so if I come across it again I'll post to this board with details.
One other thing about Kitchener's role in Gallipoli. I quote from an official US Navy assessment of the campaign, when finally some of the older generals were replaced in late August:
'Thus tardily and too late did Kitchener respond to the request of Hamilton for young officers to command at Gallipoli.'
There are many other serious indictments of Kitchener's handling of the campaign. Anyone reading any book written by an author who was not in some way constarined by pressures at the time to depict him only in a good light can find them.
So let's drop the 'obsessed' tag shall we? It's just a snide way of saying 'wrong'. Pointing out something tangential to the main idea of the thread does not make someone 'obsessed', and certainly doesn't make them automatically wrong if their opinions differ to those of other posters.