Understanding the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale in its Strategic Context, Dr Anthony Turton

ABOUT

Anthony Turton served in the Chief Directorate Covert Operations (CDCO) of National Intelligence Service (NIS) during the last hot battle of the Cold War. This gave him a unique insight into the strategic drivers at play during the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale.

His team was directly involved in operations that targeted the decision-making line between Havana and Luanda, which yielded valuable insight into the facts outside of the hype. He was given the Chief Directorate Award in 1989 in recognition for this operational contribution.

He later became a founding member of the South African Secret Service (SASS), where he went on to serve as Staff Officer (C11) in the Chief Directorate Covert Collection and Counter Intelligence (C1). He subsequently wrote a book entitled Shaking Hands with Billy, which offered some insight into the CDCO.

The activities of NIS in general, and the CDCO in particular, remain largely unknown to this day, but had a major role in shaping the transition from a state of war, to the real possibility of a constitutional democracy. That transition was only possible because of the ending of the Cold War, something he witnessed personally when the wall came down in Berlin in 1989.

?He holds a Doctorate from the University of Pretoria and a Professorship at the Centre for Environmental Management, University of Free State.

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