With the world gathering for a well deserved round of Mandela-worship it is worth remembering that it is only five years ago that this great man was taken off the US terrorist watch list.
The actual date was 1 July 2008 when US President George W Bush actually signed Mandela off.
I hope it is not too late for a massive, very public apology from the current President of the US, Barack Obama, for the terrible wrong the governments of the US did by continuing to support brutal Apartheid policies for decades and for keeping Mandela on the terrorist watch list for so long after his release from prison and appointment as President of South Africa. It is the least they can do.
Here is the BBC back in 2008: “US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had called the restrictions a “rather embarrassing matter that I still have to waive in my own counterpart, the foreign minister of South Africa, not to mention the great leader Nelson Mandela.” http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/