ENCYCLOPEDIA OF Espionage, Intelligence, and Security Volume ...

Agent OrangeAlso in 2000, construction began on a pipeline throughChad, an extremely poor country in which oil had beendiscovered. Rather than permit a repeat of past mistakes, aconsortium of companies (including America’s Exxon andMobil), along with the World Bank, devised a strategy toprevent the nation’s rulers from misusing funds. Agreementsincluded stipulations that 80% of all oil revenueswould be spent on improving health, education, and welfarefor the populace. Another 10% would go into escrowaccounts for future generations, 5% would be directedtoward the local populations in the area of the oil fields,and only 5% would be placed in the hands of the governmentto do with as it pleased.Nigeria: counterfeiting and advance-fee scams. Anothereconomic and legal battleground—one where problemsremain is Nigeria. One of the leading nations in Africa interms of size and potential wealth, with its oil riches,Nigeria is only slightly more stable than its neighbors, andcriminal activity is rampant. The country is particularlynotorious for its counterfeiting operations and its businessscams.Nigerian counterfeiting involves not banknotes, butconsumer and industrial goods, including garments andtextiles, electronics, spare parts, pharmaceuticals, personalproducts, and even soft drinks. The reason, in part, isthat intellectual property owners, frustrated with the nationalbureaucracy, have done little to put a stop to counterfeitingefforts there. Additionally, owners of rights tothese products are often unaware of counterfeiting activitiesin Nigeria. The Nigerian government has injunctionsagainst these crimes, but has been largely ineffective inpursuing them.In 1999, years of military rule in Nigeria ended, andU.S. officials took advantage of this opportunity tostrengthen law enforcement efforts there. In July, 2002,the two countries signed an agreement for increased lawenforcementcooperation. Part of the agreement was agrant of $3.5 million from the United States, intended tohelp Nigeria modernize its police force and provide additionalresources to the country’s special fraud unit, whichtargets 419 known scams.❚ FURTHER READING:BOOKS:Campbell, Kurt M., and Michele A. Fluornoy. To Prevail:An American Strategy for the Campaign against Terrorism.Washington, D.C.: CSIS Press, 2001.Haass, Richard, and Meghan L. O’Sullivan. Honey andVinegar: Incentives, Sanctions, and Foreign Policy. Washington,D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2000.Kissinger, Henry. Years of Renewal. New York: Simon andSchuster, 1999.Roberts, Brad. U.S. Foreign Policy after the Cold War.Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1992.Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and SecurityELECTRONIC:African Issues. U.S. Department of States. (April 29, 2003).Congo Crisis. Maxwell Air Force Base. (April 29, 2003).USAID in Africa. U.S. Agency for International Development. (April 29,2003).SEE ALSOAmericas, Modern U.S. Security Policy and InterventionsEgypt, Intelligence and SecurityIMF (International Monetary Fund)International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL),United States BureauKenya, Bombing of United States EmbassyLibya, Intelligence and SecurityLibya, U.S. Attack (1986)Middle East, Modern U.S. Security Policy and InterventionsMorocco, Intelligence and SecuritySouth Africa, Intelligence and SecuritySudan, Intelligence and SecurityAgent OrangeAgent Orange is a defoliant, that is, a chemical that killsplants and causes the leaves to fall off the dying plants.The name was a code devised by the United States militaryduring the development of the chemical mixture. Thename arose from the orange band that marked the containersstoring the defoliant.Agent Orange was an equal mixture of two chemicals;2, 4–D (2,4, dichlorophenoxyl acetic acid) and 2, 4, 5–T (2, 4, 5-trichlorophenoxy acetic acid). Another compounddesignated TCDD (which stands for 2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin) is a by-product of themanufacturing process, and remains as a contaminant ofthe Agent Orange mixture. It is this dioxin contaminantthat has proven to be damaging to human health.Agent Orange was devised in the 1940s. It was widelyused during the 1960s during the Vietnam War. The dispersalof a massive amount of Agent Orange throughoutthe tropical jungles of Vietnam (an estimated 19 milliongallons were dispersed) was intended to deprive the VietCong of jungle cover in which to hide.By 1971, the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam hadended. Even today, however, the damage caused to thevegetation of the region by the spraying of Agent Orangeis still visible. Agent Orange applications affected foliageof a diversity of tropical ecosystems of Vietnam, but themost severe damage occurred in the forested coastal areas.Agent Orange was sprayed over 14 million acres ofinland tropical forest. A single spray treatment killed about10% of the tall trees comprising the forest canopy.9