the rollback of south africa's biological warfare program
the rollback of south africa's biological warfare program
the rollback of south africa's biological warfare program
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a drug arrest in Chicago that involved <strong>the</strong> illegal possession <strong>of</strong> Ecstasy traced<br />
back to South Africa. Apparently one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> innovative processes developed by<br />
Project Coast researchers was an extremely pure type <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> drug that had a<br />
unique root (e.g., no impurities). U.S. authorities were able to trace this<br />
particular sample back to Delta-G Laboratories. This incident led to greater<br />
international cooperation between U.S. and South African authorities involved<br />
in efforts to stem <strong>the</strong> flow <strong>of</strong> drugs internationally. 212 A similar pattern <strong>of</strong><br />
heightened U.S. interest emerged after Dr. Ford’s suicide in Newport,<br />
California in 2000. Revelations <strong>of</strong> links between Ford and his associates and<br />
Basson, Knobel and Project Coast led <strong>the</strong> FBI to initiate a “weapons <strong>of</strong> mass<br />
destruction investigation” to determine whe<strong>the</strong>r a U.S. crime had been<br />
committed in South Africa. 213<br />
Each <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se experiences suggest that effective measures designed to<br />
limit <strong>the</strong> proliferation <strong>of</strong> CBW or illegal drugs in <strong>the</strong> future will require much<br />
greater inter-agency cooperation within nation-states and new forms <strong>of</strong><br />
international cooperation among agencies in several countries. The South<br />
African case suggests <strong>the</strong> need for greater coordination between defense and<br />
counterproliferation agencies and agencies whose primary mission are crime<br />
solving and prevention. The Basson trail is also useful for illustrating <strong>the</strong><br />
complex ways that CBW project managers may be able to exploit transnational<br />
financial flows and international corporate instruments to quickly move,<br />
launder, and house large sums <strong>of</strong> money for ei<strong>the</strong>r political or personal<br />
motives. New and increased difficulties in penetrating complex international<br />
entities have already emerged as a major problem in countering transnational<br />
crime. A similar pattern emerges from <strong>the</strong> South African case in <strong>the</strong> context <strong>of</strong><br />
covert NBC <strong>program</strong>s. Thus, nonproliferation experts may have a new set <strong>of</strong><br />
problems to worry about in this era <strong>of</strong> globalization. The Basson trial may also<br />
serve as a useful reminder <strong>of</strong> what may become a more general trend: <strong>the</strong><br />
initiation or continuation <strong>of</strong> covert CBW <strong>program</strong>s primarily as a means to<br />
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