Project Coast: South Africa’s Top Secret Chemical and Biological Weapon

To protect the safety of the country and people of South Africa, those who hold authority or control in the decision making process sometimes are faced with making tough decisions. When it comes to South Africa, President P. W. Botha decided that to best protect the welfare of the citizens, a defensive measure must be established that was secure and efficient. The idea of such measures brought on an evolution of a secret chemical and biological weapons program which became known as Project Coast. The personnel that knew of its existence hid the program from the world and used various measures to ensure that this program remained their little secret. However, no secret lays dormant forever. The idea of S. Africa partaking in such measures shined a distasteful light on a country that was already divided and fighting amongst each itself. Project Coast was against all the morals of what the United Nations had established and stood for peace and working together unified. The S. Af rican government knew this; the pride and protection of their well-being outweighed what was right. South Africa’s choice to begin a Chemical and Biological Weapons Program (CBW) was unsound but this was not the first time the country experimented with such lethal weapons. History reveals that during World War II, South Africa participated in the manufacturing of mustard gas when the Smuts government assisted Great Britain (Gould & Folb, 2002). There were two manufacturing plants that produced the gas, but by 1945 production ended and the plants were closed. When these plants were closed the idea of research still lingered on the minds of those who held office. Some years later, in 1960, a company called Mechem was founded and headed by Dr. J. P. ... ...asson. Project Coast is a reason why there are so many sanctions on chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. The intention to study and research may be good, but the idea of it getting in the wrong hands can be detrimental. Reference Bale, J. Monterey Institue of International Studies, (2006). South Africa’s Project Coast: â€Å"Death Squad’s,† Covert State-Sponsored poisonings, and the Dangers of CBW Proliferation (10.1080/1741916060623434). Retrieved from Taylor & Francis Group, LLC website: http://www.miis.edu/media/view/18941/orgianal/balecoastarticle.pdf Buger, M., & Gould, C. (2002). Secrets and Lies: Wouter Basson and South Africa’s Chemical and Biological Warfare Programme. Zebra Press. Folb, P., & Gould, C. (2002). Project Coast: Apartheid’s Chemical and Biological Warfare Programme. United Nations Publication. Retrieved from www.unog.ch/bwc