Project Coast was a ploy on using chemical and biological agents on the inhabitants of South Africa; tear gas was not enough for the Prime Minister at the time PW Botha (Gould & Folb, 2002). Botha employed Wouter Basson who headed the program. Basson used a couple of extremely lethal agents such as CX powder and mustard gas. The Apartheid government took aim at political rivals. Project Coast known for research, development, and deploy of chemical and biological warfare. Basson was known in many parts as Dr. Death following the events of Project Coast. Basson based his research in many western nations that were already leading the advancement in weapon programs. Basson conducted a variety of trial and error experiments in the name of the Apartheid Government. Biological experiments stemmed from some well-known secretly conducted hypothesis such as black bomb that targeted the country’s black population. Basson took to using viruses which included anthrax, ricin, and E. coli. Nerve gases were general nature for Basson with Sarin and VX. Many of Basson’s concoctions used by the police and military forces alike. Experiments associated with Project Coast have not been uncovered due to the nature of secrecy. The 1980’s one of the most shrouded times for South Africa and its people with the threat of chemical weapons on its own people as a control and scare tactic. The original purpose was to combat weapons used against its troops in the Angola conflicts. Acquiring information and technology from outside sources was the government’s priority as their threat analysis elevated throughout the years. South Africa took many of the advancements learned from Cuba to further their endeavors.
Development
According to Gould and Folb (2002) Pro...
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...deemed cruel and inhumane. Governments start with brilliant ideas on the surface that would seem to defend its people against chemical and biological attacks but given this regime the end state polar opposite from the beginning. Project Coast shrouded in secrecy with go down as another South African genocide that goes unanswered. The people suffered poisons, genetic manipulations, and diseases introduced all for the sake of containing political outcries and alliances with neighboring territories.
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Guillemin, J. (2005). Biological weapons: From the invention of state-sponsored programs to contemporary bioterrorism Columbia University Press.
As we move into the Twentieth Century the similarities are almost identical. The First World War has shaped not only modern warfare but even produced global attention to the brutal and inhumane death toll of the war. As stated in the Geneva Protocol, which prohibited the use of chemical weapons in warfare, which was signed in 1925? While this was a welcomed step, the Protocol had a number of significant short comings, including the fact that it did not prohibit the development, production or stockpiling of chemical weapons.
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Matthaus, Shaw, Bartov, Bergen and Bloxham. (2011). Review Forum: Donald Bloxham, The Final Solution: A Genocide ( Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009). Journal of Genocide Research. 13 (1-2), 107
The purpose of this essay is to deal with the fact that chemical warfare should be brought back to modern warfare strategies. As Warren Rudman said, “And they will tell you unequivocally that if we have a chemical or biological attack or a nuclear attack anywhere in this country, they are unprepared to deal with it today, and that is of high urgency.” Rudman’s words are true in what they say and that we should do everything to counter-act his statement. Biological weapons are a key to outstanding success in war and therefore, I strongly suggest that chemical warfare is an effective and producible weapon tactic that can be used on today’s battlefield.
Fries, A. A., & West, C. J. (1921) The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Chemical warfare. New York [etc.] :. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.. Heller, C. E. (1985).
This lab would be built under the ruse of a logging camp and seemed rather harmless at the time. Little did the occupants know that the lab was made for testing biological weapons of war. The lab was divided into 8 different divisions, each hiding their own disgusting secret. Due to the experiments occurring secrecy was highly needed so the facility was surrounded by huge walls protected by high voltage wires. The first big test to occur by unit 731 was infecting fleas and water with disease and testing how effective they were at killing by using them on innocent Chinese citizens. These citizens were then eviscerated without anesthesia to see how the disease affected our
Largely made up of criminals, murdered suspected subversives or their allies, under dramatic names, such as “The White Hand” or “Eye for an Eye”, “They terrorised the country and contributed to the deliberate strategy of psychological warfare and intimidation.” For that they created death squads, they created different squads for different jobs. The death squad carried out planned executions and forced disappearances. They had to do what was order by people that were on top of them, they did not have the choice to say yes or no. The international community responded to the genocide in many ways.”
The End of Apartheid - HistoryWiz South Africa. (n.d.). HistoryWiz: for students, teachers and lovers of history. Retrieved February 19, 2011, from http://www.historywiz.org/end.htm
In the 1940’s the Afrikaner National Party finally managed to gain majority control and officially initiate an apartheid government. The invention of th...
McInnes, Colin. 2011. "HIV, AIDS and conflict in Africa: why isn't it (even) worse?" Review of International Studies 37 (2): 485-509.
There are 2.5 billion pounds of pesticides being applied to agricultural products each year in the United States. This is ten times more than was applied forty years ago. It is still unknown as to what type of exact effects these chemicals may have on individuals. Some farmers that have been using pesticides in their fields and developed leukemia are finding that the cause of their disease is from inhaling pesticides. These chemicals are still in use today and most of them have never been tested for the short or long-term effects that they may have on humans.
It can be easily stated that the apartheid movement bestowed cruel and unusual punishments upon the people of South Africa, in order to execute its purpose. However, apartheid could have not been carried out if they were not individuals who believed in its principles. In order to understand the National parties ideologies regarding the issue of apartheid, it is essential to acknowledge the history of Boer soc...
I was treated well in prison; security guards grew a certain respect for me. I decided not to waste my time, so I informed my cellmates about the apartheid, and their horrible laws. They listened attentively, and wanted to help, so together we organized hunger strikes and protests. After 27 years, on February 11, 1990 I was released from jail. I could’ve got out of jail in 1985, P.W. Botha offered me a release but only if I would stop the armed conflict. Without a doubt, I chose to stay in prison because I believed that the right thing to do was to put an end to apartheid. P.W. Botha was an evil man, he committed to state terrorism and to thwart black majority rule. He had a stroke in 1989 and Frederick Willem replaced Botha. Frederick on the other hand, was the complete opposite of Botha. He set me free from jail.”