Living Weapons: Biological Warfare and International Security by Gregory D. Koblentz

Author:Gregory D. Koblentz [Koblentz, Gregory D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: International Relations, War, Military, Biological & Chemical Warfare, Political Science, Arms Control, History, Security (National & International)
ISBN: 9780801457661
Google: VMjIHwf03U4C
Goodreads: 7311576
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Published: 2009-08-06T00:00:00+00:00

Autonomy

The structure of Project Coast and autonomy enjoyed by Basson were driven primarily by the SADF’s need for plausible deniability as the SADF could not afford to be linked to his activities. To compensate for the risks involved, Basson was provided with a generous level of funding and minimal oversight. The only restrictions placed on his activities, aside from the injunction for secrecy and deniability, were that he operate within the approved annual budget, did not transport hazardous materials on commercial aircraft, and did not enrich himself at the project’s expense.86 The responsibility, freedom, and financial rewards granted to Basson due to the perceived need for secrecy led him to realize that no one else in SADF knew anything about chemical and biological weapons and that “in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.”87

Basson was able to leverage his supposed expertise in CBW and his superiors’ desire for secrecy to serve as their sole source of information on the project. Due to the strict compartmentalization of Project Coast, Basson served as the only direct link between CMC and the project’s front companies.88 Basson also controlled the three working groups established by the CMC to guide its decision making and exercise oversight over the project.89 This arrangement allowed him to prepare all of the documentation for the committee and therefore monopolize the information flowing to it.

The high degree of compartmentalization of Project Coast allowed Basson to circumvent the usual organizational and procedural checks and balances of secret military programs. All secret SADF projects were assigned a security officer, who would report to the chief of staff for intelligence, to handle the physical security of facilities, proper classification and handling of documents, screening of personnel, advice on how to route finances to prevent them from being linked back to the SADF, and other counterintelligence activities. To fulfill his duties, the security officer would have to know as much as possible about the project to anticipate or detect breaches in the project’s secrecy. Johan Theron, the security officer for Project Coast, testified at Basson’s trial that he had been denied access to all transactions conducted by Basson and that he reported directly to Basson, not to the chief of staff for intelligence. As a result, the security officer had no ability to act as a check on Basson.90

As Burger and Gould observe, “even the highest echelon of the SADF was entirely dependent on Basson for every detail of the CBW programme it had created.”91 D. John Tuter, who managed one of Project Coast’s front companies, testified at Basson’s trial that “Wouter Basson was Project Coast—end of story.”92 As a result, Basson could control the entire program and manipulate his overseers as desired. Basson oversaw personnel decisions, the program’s research agenda, budgetary matters, overt and black market procurement, and was responsible for keeping senior political and military leaders informed about the status of his program. The investigation by the TRC as well as Basson’s two-and-a-half-year criminal trial revealed how he was

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.