Correct about SA's long term friendship
But I think their stability is like the old USSR's stability: quiet on the surface but seething underneath.
BTW, the country is not really 100 years old yet. Old by third world standards, but young in the world.
The religious extremism that is part and parcel of the state is not statid; it is eating the state up.
The population boom has led the demographics to change quite abit, but the structure changes basically zip.
Their finances are not as great as the oil income would imply.
But you are right: demonizing SA when Iraq is still under Saddam's tyranny is silly.
Ed